Six Questions for the New Professor – Meet Lone Madsen

The smallest organisms have shaped Lone Madsen’s career path. Her research focuses on disease control and bacteriology at DTU Aqua’s Section for Fish and Shellfish Diseases. You can hear much more about her work on Friday, 19 June, when Lone Madsen delivers her inaugural lecture to mark her appointment as Professor. Read Lone’s answers to our six questions.

 Professor Lone Madsen in her laboratory at DTU. Photo: Anne Trap-Lind

Monday 15 June 2026

Anne Trap-Lind

Lone Madsen is a true laboratory researcher, complete with white lab coat, microscope and Petri dishes, as Professor Lone Madsen works with some of the smallest organisms of all – bacteria. She does so in the Section for Fish and Shellfish Diseases / Aquatic Disease Control and Bacteriology at DTU Aqua.

Lone Madsen was in fact appointed Professor back in December 2024, but the official celebration will take place on Friday, 19 June 2026. To mark the occasion, we present a brief profile of Lone Madsen through six questions.

How do you feel about being appointed Professor?
“It is a recognition that the work carried out in aquatic disease control and bacteriology is important and therefore a priority for the institute,” says Lone Madsen, who has been employed at DTU Aqua and its predecessor institution, the Danish Institute for Fisheries and Marine Research (DFH), since the mid-1990s.

Lone Madsen graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL) in 1993. In 2001, she completed a PhD in fish diseases at KVL – the field that would go on to define her research area and her work as a Professor.

Could you describe your research in around ten lines?
“I work with diseases, more specifically bacterial diseases in fish, as well as diseases affecting oysters, mussels and other bivalve molluscs.”

“The common thread running through my research is disease prevention. Preventive measures and, consequently, the prevention and limitation of disease outbreaks require detailed knowledge of individual pathogens, that is, disease-causing organisms.”

“This is also the knowledge required for us to use the most effective diagnostic methods, ensuring that the screening and monitoring of pathogens are carried out in the most appropriate way.”

“In many cases, other environmental factors contribute to disease outbreaks, which is why it is essential to understand what causes a pathogen to trigger disease in its hosts. This can provide valuable insights into how disease can be prevented or treated. In other words, the interaction between pathogen, host and environment – namely water – is a fundamental part of my research.”

RESEARCH AREA

EksExpert in fish-pathogenic bacteria and diseases in molluscs

> Research, diagnostics and scientific advice
> Disease prevention, including bacteriophage therapy
> Diagnostic methods
> Controlled infection models: pathogen transmission and survival on and in the host
> Pathogenesis
> Influence of feed and feed additives on health including the intestinal microbiota of the fish. 

How will your field of research at the institute develop following your appointment as Professor?
“There will be a greater focus on the field, which may lead to more students enrolling in MSc and PhD programmes, as well as increased research funding for projects within the area,” believes Lone Madsen.

Lone Madsen has lived in Copenhagen since beginning her studies at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL), apart from a period between 1993 and 1994 when she lived in Haderslev in Southern Jutland and worked for the Danish Food Inspection Service in Haderslev.

Now let’s take a big step back in time. Where did your interest in marine life begin?
“During my studies, my primary interests were microbiology and diseases affecting animal species other than livestock and companion animals,” says Lone Madsen, who later attended a NORDPLUS course on fish diseases in Norway during the final part of her veterinary studies.

“When I was then given the opportunity to work as a research assistant at DFH/DFU on a project concerning deformities in fish caused by bacterial infections, oxytetracycline treatment, and related factors, I took it – and I have never looked back since.”

In practice, this means that Lone Madsen has continued to work in the field and at DFU/DTU Aqua in various positions, apart from the period from 2010 to 2018 when she was employed as a Senior Researcher and Senior Adviser at DTU Veterinary Institute.

Why is marine research important?
“From my perspective, research into diseases affecting fish and shellfish – and therefore the prevention of disease – is of great importance.”

“I would also say that major collaborative research projects involving participants with different areas of expertise, where various preventive measures are evaluated both in the laboratory, through experimental infection and treatment trials with fish, and in the field, can lead to methods that may ultimately reduce disease-related mortality in fish and shellfish aquaculture.”

“Research into diseases affecting fish and shellfish can also help shed light on the causes of mortality in wild fish populations.”

How will your field of research, through this new professorship, contribute to a better and more sustainable world?
“Ultimately, through improved survival rates in fish and shellfish aquaculture. And through an important contribution to research that may lead to higher survival rates in both farmed and wild populations.”

Blå bog

2024 - present - Professor (Aquatic Disease Control and Bacteriology) at DTU Aqua
2019 - 2024 – Senior researcher at DTU Aqua (DTU National Institute of Aquatic Resources), Section for Fish and Shellfish Diseases (Public Sector Consultancy, Unit for Fish and Shellfish Diseases in 2019-2022
2018 - Employment transferred to DTU Aqua, Aquatic Animal Health Unit
2016-2018 – Senior advisor at DTU National Veterinary Institute (DTU Vet), Section for Diagnostics and Scientific Advice, Fish Diseases Unit
2010-2016 - Senior researcher at DTU Vet, Research group for Bacteriology and Pathology (from 2012 Section for Bacteriology, Pathology and Parasitology)
2008-2010 - Senior researcher at DTU Aqua, Section for Fish Diseases
2001-2008 - Research scientist at DIFRES (Danish Institute for Fisheries Research - from 2007 DTU Aqua), Fish Disease Laboratory
1999-2001 - Research assistant at DIFRES, Fish Disease Laboratory
1995-1999 - PhD student at DIFRES, Fish Disease Laboratory
1994-1995 - Research assistant at DIFRES, Fish Disease Laboratory
1993-1994 - Veterinarian at the Food Microbiology Laboratory, Haderslev

  • 2001 - PhD, Fish Diseases, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (RVAU), Denmark
  • 1993 - Cand.Med.Vet. (Graduate in Veterinary Science - DVM), RVAU

Contact

Lone Madsen

Lone Madsen Professor National Institute of Aquatic Resources Phone: +45 35886826 Mobile: +45 93511922