Ruben Schols

My research focusses on understanding what factors drive the transmission of trematode parasites. Previously I looked at the trematode communities within enigmatic herbivores within African conservation areas, the influence of invasive exotic snails on trematode transmission, and the development of molecular tools for infection diagnosis in intermediate snail hosts.

Since my PhD I have been trying to understand the snail-trematode-microbiome interaction and its role in the outcome of infection. During my ETH Zurich Postdoctoral Fellowship, I will leverage Eawag’s knowledge and facilities to understand the epigenome-microbiome axis as a potential mechanism of thermal adaptation and parasite resistance in disease vectors. To address this topic, I will work with the freshwater snail Bulinus truncatus and the human blood fluke Schistosoma haematobium.

If you are interested in why my research is so important watch this little video clip on external page YouTube