Ronald Dijkman

PD Dr. Ronald Dijkman is Group Leader of the Experimental Virology Research Group within the Institute for Infectious Diseases (IFIK) at the University of Bern Medical Faculty. His laboratory is located at the Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (MCID), underscoring his central role in Swiss infectious-disease research infrastructure.

Education & Training:
While the supplied pages do not list explicit degrees, the title PD Dr. indicates that he has completed a PhD, post-doctoral training, and the Germanic Habilitation, qualifying him as an Associate Professor-level faculty member.

Research Focus:
Dr. Dijkman’s team investigates host–pathogen interactions in the respiratory epithelium, concentrating on three pillars:

• Innate immunity triggered by influenza and coronaviruses in human and animal airway epithelial cells.
• Viral genetic determinants that modulate immune evasion and cross-species transmission.
• Host determinants that either restrict or facilitate infection across species barriers.

To dissect these questions, the group has pioneered genetically-tractable, well-differentiated primary airway epithelial cell (AEC) cultures derived from humans, pigs, cattle and bats, creating a unique comparative platform for zoonotic-risk assessment.

Funding & Collaborative Networks:
His research is currently supported by:

• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) – project on Molecular characterization of Influenza D virus–host interactions.
• EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie ITN “HONOURs” – a multi-partner training network on host-switching pathogens and zoonoses.
• Federal BLV grant – implementation of nanopore sequencing for rapid identification of OIE-notifiable animal viruses.

These grants enable a team of one post-doc and four PhD students, together with technical staff.

Scientific Output & Impact:
Since 2010, Dr. Dijkman has authored >60 peer-reviewed articles. His work on SARS-CoV-2 reverse genetics (Nature, 2020), MERS-CoV receptor usage (Nature, 2014) and single-cell influenza pathogenesis (bioRxiv, 2020–22) has been highly cited, reflecting broad scientific impact.

Laboratory & Team:
The Experimental Virology group occupies BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art live-cell imaging, lentiviral genetic engineering, and nanopore sequencing pipelines. The group presently comprises:

• Larise Oberholster – Early Post-doc
• Alina Baltensperger – PhD student
• Jean-Claude Makangara – PhD student
• Mike Javan Mwanga – PhD student
• Karen Stevers – PhD student
• Cinzia Moscardelli – laboratory technician