Elisabeth Rajala
Elisabeth Rajala researches antimicrobial resistance from a One Health perspective, focusing on the dynamics of AMR in livestock production and its dissemination in human-impacted environments. Her work combines epidemiological study design with phenotypic and resistome data.
Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor
Department of Animal Biosciences at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Research focus and interests
- My research focuses on antimicrobial resistance from a One Health perspective, with particular interest in the dynamics of AMR in livestock production and the dissemination of antibiotic resistance in human-impacted environments.
Research expertise and methodologies
- Epidemiology and risk factor analysis
- Quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research
- Longitudinal and cross-sectional study designs
- Interdisciplinary One Health approaches
Ongoing research projects
Investigating the occurrence, dynamics and risk factors of antimicrobial resistance in livestock and environmental settings, combining epidemiological approaches with phenotypic AMR and resistome data to explore reservoirs and potential pathways of AMR dissemination.
Key Publications
- Ladyhina, V., Sternberg-Lewerin, S., Sannö, Bongcam-Rudloff E, Dicksved J, Rajala E. Longitudinal investigation of the resistomes in Swedish pig farms. npj Antimicrob Resist 4, 45 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44259-026-00251-2
- Rajala E, Ladyhina V, & Sternberg-Lewerin, S (2026). Factors affecting farm-level antimicrobial resistance among bacteria in livestock: a scoping review. Animal Health Research Reviews. 27, e5. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S1466252326100127
- L Trang, V Hoffman, K Ambler, M Murphy, J Lindahl, E Rajala, S Lâm, S Boqvist, F Unger, H Nguyen-Viet. (2026) Pork safety across Vietnam's traditional markets: microbial contamination and vendor knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Prev Vet Med. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106757
- Ladyhina V, Rajala E, Sternberg-Lewerin S, Nazirzadeh L, Bongcam-Rudloff E, Dicksved J (2025). Methodological aspects of investigating the resistome in pig farm environments, Journal of Microbiological Methods,107103, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2025.107103.
- Ladyhina, V., Sternberg-Lewerin, S., Andersson, L., & Rajala, E. (2024). Antimicrobial resistance among indicator Enterococcus faecium and Escherichia coli in Swedish pig farms. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 66(1), 34. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-024-00756-8
- C Atterby, K Osbjer, V Tepper, E Rajala, J Hernandez, S Seng, D Holl, J Bonnedahl, S Börjesson, U Magnusson, JD. Järhult (2019). Carriage of carbapenemase‐ and extended‐spectrum cephalosporinase‐producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in humans and livestock in rural Cambodia; gender and age differences and detection of blaOXA‐48 in humans. Zoonoses and public health. https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.12612.