Saria Otani

Saria Otani is an Associate Professor at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), where she is a member of the Research Group for Genomic Epidemiology and the DTU Microbes Initiative. Her research focuses on genomic epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance, metagenomics, and microbiome dynamics in global health contexts.

Her research interests lie at the intersection of microbial genomics and public health. She investigates the spread of antimicrobial resistance in diverse environments, including human populations, animals, and wastewater. Her work leverages high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics to track pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae and mpox virus, and to understand how diet, lifestyle, and environmental factors shape microbial communities. She is particularly active in projects related to the resistome and plasmid-mediated resistance transmission.

The recent articles highlight a strong trend in global infectious disease surveillance, integrating genomics with epidemiology. Her publications span outbreak investigations (e.g., mpox in DRC, cholera in South Kivu), environmental microbiome studies (e.g., impact of vegetarianism on sewage resistome), and evolutionary microbiology (e.g., co-diversification in African Hominidae). The research employs cutting-edge genomic tools to address public health challenges in low-resource settings and agricultural environments.

Saria Otani actively supervises PhD students and participates in major research projects. She has served as supervisor in multiple PhD projects, including Functional Microbiome of Africa and Global Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance. She has also contributed to research projects on rapid DNA-based methods for Salmonella serotyping. Her collaborative network spans across continents, with significant work in Africa and Southeast Asia.

She is involved in several research groups and initiatives, notably the DTU Microbes Initiative and the Research Group for Genomic Epidemiology. Her work often involves interdisciplinary teams and international collaborations, particularly with institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thailand, and the Netherlands. These teams focus on pathogen detection, genomic surveillance, and the development of public health interventions.