Declan Schroeder, PhD

Declan Schroeder (PhD) was appointed in February 2018 through the Agricultural Research, Education, Extension and Technology Transfer (AGREETT) program. He is an Associate Professor of Virology in the Veterinary Population Medicine Department in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. He also holds an honorary Chair in Viral Metagenomics in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading, United Kingdom. He was the former Director of the Marine Biological Association of the UK Culture Collection where he was also a Senior Research Fellow in Viral and Molecular Ecology (2001-2018).

He has over 20 years of research experience as a molecular biologist in the areas of virology, biodiversity, pathology, and genomics – in particular, the use of genomic tools to study key biological processes. His research focusses on a diverse array of host-virus systems, however, more recently he has been focusing on a new virus resistance mechanism in honey bees.

His move to Minnesota means that the Schroeder lab will continue to develop molecular tools to enhance detection and surveillance; secure and improve agricultural productivity through an improved understanding of the true impact of:

• viral pathogens on honey bee health
• viral pathogens on swine respiratory disease
• virus or phage therapy in pig, cattle and fish farms
• the Virome in disease outcomes in pig, cattle, honey bee & aquatic production systems

• Chair in Viral Metagenomics, University of Reading, UK
• Honorary Research Fellow of the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science
• Member of the Microbiology Society Microbiome Expert Working Group
• Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol
• POGO Visiting Professorship at the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa