Lonneke VerveldeDr. Vervelde gained a BSc and MSc in Biology (Immunology Parasitology and Ethology) at the Wageningen University, the Netherlands, followed by a PhD on the immune responses in chicken to Eimeria tenella performed at the Central Veterinary Institute i Lelystad. She then went to the Institute for Animal Health in Compton to continue her work on immune responses to avian diseases, in particular infectious bursal disease virus. Currently she leads research projects investigating host-pathogen interactions within the mucosal immune system aiming to define the mechanisms whereby natural immunity is achieved and how protective immunity is induced by vaccination. The research focusses on antigen presenting cells and their interaction with other cells of the innate and adaptive immune system with the overall aim to modulate these cells to improve immune mediated resistance and to understand their contribution to pathogenesis. Read More Read Less