Liisa Veerus

Dr. Liisa Veerus is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Dr. Martin Blaser, studying the associations between the microbiome and health. She received a DPhil in Zoology from the University of Oxford, where she investigated the reproductive tract microbiota of the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) and its potential connection to host evolutionary ecology in the lab of Dr. Tommaso Pizzari. She earned a BSc in Biology from Imperial College London, researching bacterial invasion ecology in the lab of Dr. Thomas Bell, and completed an exchange year in France, where she studied fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) reproductive behavior in the lab of Dr. Frédéric Mery. Liisa’s research focuses on understanding the interplay between the host and its microbiome, particularly in the context of reproduction, by utilizing both laboratory and computational microbiome research tools. 

Liisa was a National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) IMPACT Fellow (2022–2023) and has served as the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Ambassador for New Jersey since 2024. She is also actively engaged in science communication and outreach.

Interdependence between microbiome and health

BSc in Biology (Hons) with Research Abroad, Imperial College London, 2016, DPhil in Zoology, University of Oxford, 2021

2025 CABM Postdoctoral Prize in Research Excellence 

2025 National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC) Ambassador

2024 New Jersey Health Foundation (NJHF) Research Grant recipient

2024-2025 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Ambassador for New Jersey

2023 Rutgers RBHS-IDEA Grant recipient

2022-2023 National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) IMPACT Fellow

2016–2019 Recipient of the prestigious Oxford-Merton-NaturalMotion Graduate Scholarship

2016 First Class Honours and Associate of the Royal College of Science

2014–2020 Six-time recipient of the competitive Ene Silla ESFUSA Scholarship

2012 Gold Medal award for top academic achievement across all national curriculum subjects

2012 Young Scientist Award from the University of Tartu

Dad's gut microbes matter for pregnancy health and baby's growth., The Reproductive Microbiome: An Emerging Driver of Sexual Selection, Sexual Conflict, Mating Systems, and Reproductive Isolation., Fighting experience affects fruit fly behavior in a mating context., Sexual harassment induces a temporary fitness cost but does not constrain the acquisition of environmental information in fruit flies.