Brian Lund Fredensborg

Brian Lund Fredensborg is an Associate Professor at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Section for Organismal Biology, within the Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen. He has held this position since September 2012, following his role as Assistant Professor at the University of Texas-Pan American from 2007 to 2012.

His educational background includes a PhD in Zoology from the University of Otago, New Zealand (2005), an MSc in Biology from the University of Aarhus, Denmark (2001), and a BSc in Biology from the same institution. His PhD thesis focused on the impact of the trematode parasite Maritrema novaezealandensis on intermediate hosts in New Zealand's intertidal zones.

Dr. Fredensborg is a parasite ecologist who investigates the ecological and evolutionary dynamics between parasites and their hosts. His research examines how parasites interact with other stressors like pesticides inside the host, using helminths in arthropod hosts as model systems. He studies parasite transmission in relation to host diversity, abundance, and distribution, demonstrating how parasite metrics can serve as sensitive indicators of ecosystem health. A significant portion of his work focuses on life history adaptations, particularly parasite behavioral manipulation of hosts to enhance transmission, with the trematode Dicrocoelium dendriticum and its ant hosts as his primary study system.

His recent publications (2019-2023) reveal a strong interdisciplinary focus spanning parasitology, ecotoxicology, and behavioral ecology. His research examines how chemical stressors interact with parasitic infections across various host organisms, with particular attention to trematodes, helminths, and their effects on insect and mammalian hosts. This work has applications in understanding ecosystem health indicators and the consequences of anthropogenic changes on host-parasite dynamics.

Dr. Fredensborg has secured research funding including a National Science Foundation Ecology of Infectious Diseases Grant titled "Anthropogenic effects on host-trematode dynamics." He has presented his research at numerous venues, including lectures on Ivermectin history and host specificity of behavior-manipulating parasites.

His work has received significant media attention, with his 2014 presentation on "Parasitic puppeteers" being covered by 56-63 news outlets, referenced in Wikipedia, and widely shared across social media platforms. As an educator, he teaches courses including Basic Parasitology, Animal Parasitology, and Host-Parasite Interactions at the University of Copenhagen, emphasizing research-based, interactive learning experiences.