Disease and Environmental Exposures

This section presents our current major areas of collaborative research, which include one or more PhD fellows, master's students and partners at the national and international levels.

Drug delivery and formulation

We are developing in-house nanoparticulate formulations for large drug molecules, such as peptides, for use in the treatment of various diseases and disorders.

The major focus area is infectious diseases: projects include the incorporation into nanoparticles of the recently discovered antibiotic teixobactin for treatment of biofilm-based infections (co-operation with the University of Liverpool) and bacteriocins for treatment of topical infections.

The latter project is in collaboration with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and Agribiotix AS.

This collaboration has received internal funding from the university’s Intelligent Health initiative and the Research Council of Norway, where we are partners on the FORNY2020 project 341669.

In 2025, we received funding from the university’s Intelligent Health initiative for the project Smart development of nano-antibiotics – phase 2. A related project forms the basis of a 2026 PhD study (Marikken Sundnes).

Microbiota in health and disease

As a part of the 'dry-eye initiative' – a collaboration with the Oslo Dry Eye Clinic and Oslo University Hospital – we are performing the to-date most comprehensive investigation of the microbiota of dry eye patients and controls, with a view to identifying robust microbiological signatures of the disorder.

In 2023, the research received funding from its partners, the Pasteur legacy and the university’s Intelligent Health initiative.

The role of skeletal muscle in non-infectious diseases

With a broad network of national and an international partners (University of Urbino, Italy), we are studying the role of skeletal muscle in particularly obesity and type II diabetes.

Physical activity can help to both prevent and treat obesity and type 2 diabetes, and an overarching aim of the research in the group is to study how energy metabolism in skeletal muscles is regulated and affected by obesity, how insulin resistance develops in skeletal muscles and why physical activity is beneficial.

In 2025, the work received funding from the Norwegian Diabetes Association and the University’s Intelligent Health initiative. The Intelligent Health funded study The role of skeletal muscle-derived extracellular vesicles as exercise factors is also closely related to a recently initiated PhD research project in the group (Stian Christiansen).

Green recycling of plastics

In 2025, the group received both internal funding for a PhD position connected to enzyme-based plastic recycling (Bjørn Bjerre Berg) and Qualification funding from the Norwegian Research Council (project number 360493).

Infrastructure and Equipment

The group is well-equipped to support its research ambitions. There are dedicated facilities for microbiology, cell culture and pharmaceutical production.

We have in-house most of the equipment required for our work, including a recently purchased Malvern Zetasizer ultra for nanoparticle analysis.

• Bacteriocin-containing therapeutic formulations for efficient treatment of topical infections.
• Biocompatibility and safety of dental devices made from base metal alloys and digitally manufactured orthodontic resins.
• Characterization of extracellular vesicles from human myotubes.
• CiRCle – Immune profiles in ColoRectal Cancer.
• Electrical stimulation of human myotubes as a model system for physical activity.
• Energy metabolism in human myotubes.
• Enzyme-based plastic recycling
• Evaluation of lipid tests relevant for point of care testing analysis in pharmacies.
• Pharmacist interventions to promote the correct use of asthma and COPD medications
• Plastic-degrading bacteria in the Norwegian environment: biochemical potential and genetic basis.
• Whole genome sequencing of dry eye biomarkers: on the road to developing new evidence-based solutions for the treatment of a debilitating condition.

Ongoing

• Bacterial components and their effect on energy metabolism in human skeletal muscle cells. PhD candidate: Ragna Husby Tingstad. Supervisors: Vigdis Aas (main); Ane Gedde-Dahl (co-supervisor); Colin Charnock (co-supervisor).
• Biocompatibility and safety of dental devices made from base metal alloys and digitally manufactured orthodontic resins. PhD candidate: Ketil Hegerstrøm Haugli. Supervisors: Jan Tore Samuelsen, NIOM (main – outside of group); Vigdis Aas (co-supervisor).
• Drug formulation design for new antibiotics using artificial intelligence. Ph.D candidate: Marikken Lærum Sundnes. Supervisors: Sanko Nguyen (main supervisor); Anis Yazidi, Colin Charnock (co-supervisors).
• Developing unique, polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-plastic-degrading enzymes for efficient recycling of a major environmental contaminant.Ph.d - candidate Bjørn Bjerre Berg. Colin Charnock (main supervisor). Hege Tunsjø, Per Ola Rønning (co-supervisors).
• Exploring the gut-joint axis is the microbiome of the gut influencing the background inflammation seen in osteoarthritis patients. PhD candidate: Marthe Tofthagen. Supervisors: Niclas Karlsson (main – outside of group); Colin Charnock (co-supervisor).
• Pharmacist interventions to promote the correct use of asthma and COPD medications. Ph.D candidate Zin Anwar. Sara Bremer (main supervisor), Ane Gedde-Dahl (co-supervisor).
• The role of skeletal muscle-derived extracellular vesicles as exercise factors. PhD candidate: Stian Christiansen. Supervisors: Oliwia Witczak (main), Vigdis Aas and Kari Bente Foss Haug (co-supervisors).

Completed in the last five years

• Application of next generation sequencing and machine learning to decipher the effects of oral antibiotic treatment on dry eye disease. PhD candidate: Maria Naqvi. Supervisors: Colin Charnock (main). Professor Tor Paaske Utheim, OsloMet and Professor Anis Yazidi, OsloMet (co-supervisors) 03.02.2025.
• An investigation of the presence of antibiotic resistance determinants and resistant bacteria in the Norwegian environment by examination of water treatment plant sludge. Dr Ingvild Falkum Ullmann. Supervisors: Colin Charnock (main); Hege Tunsjø (co-supervisor). 24.01.2020.
• Exploring the Built Environment Microbiomes of Norwegian Kindergartens and Nursing Homes. Dr Anders Benteson Nygaard. Supervisors: Colin Charnock (main); Hege Tunsjø (co-supervisor). 03.04.2019.
• Exploring Fusobacterium spp. as non-invasive biomarkers for colorectal cancer screening: Examination of a Norwegian cohort using stool and colonic biopsies. PhD candidate: Thulasika Senthakumaran. Supervisors: Hege Tunsjø (main).
• Improved compliance with antibiotic treatment through competence and skills transfer in pharmacies. PhD candidate: Yngvild Bergsholm Rochette. Supervisors: Lene Berge Holm, OsloMet (main – outside of group), Colin Charnock (co-supervisor).
• Nanoparticulate drug carriers for delivery of cutting-edge antimicrobials (teixobactin) to biofilms. PhD candidate: Ahmed Amer. Supervisors: Sanko Nguyen (main supervisor), Colin Charnock (co-supervisor). 17.09.2025.
• The ability of hematology analysers to detect patological cells in blood. Dr Heidi Eilertsen. Supervisors: Tor-Arne Hagve (main – outside of group). 22.04.2021.

• University of Oslo
• University of Bergen
• Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
• Akershus University Hospital
• Oslo University Hospital
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health
• Cancer Registry of Norway
• Agribiotix AS (Norway)
• Pharmaceutical Production Laboratory (Ås, Norway)
• The National Institute of Occupational Health in Norway (STAMI)
• Nordic Institute of Dental Materials (NIOM, Norway)
• GE Healthcare
• University of Toledo
• University of Porto
• University of Liverpool