Coralie Goetz, microbiologist, working on the development of microbial strategy for the prevention of bovine intramammary infections
Coralie Goetz is a French microbiologist who is working since January 2023 on the PrevBIM project at Institut Agro Rennes-Angers, in the STLO unit in collaboration with the PEGASE unit. She will be under supervision of Dre Sergine Even (INRAE-STLO), Dre Marion Boutinaud (INRAE-PEGASE) and Pr Romain Jeantet (Institut Agro Rennes-Angers-STLO).
[BIENVENUE Team]: Hello Coralie, what is your background?
I obtained a « Diplôme d’état de docteur en pharmacie » at the « UFR des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et biologiques » in Montpellier (France). In parallel, I enrolled in a master’s degree in health biology to be able to target, after completing doctoral and postdoctoral studies, an academic position. To achieve this goal, I did a PhD in veterinary sciences at the Université de Montreal in Canada followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in food science at the Université Laval in Quebec City (Canada).
Why did you choose to do scientific research?
My ambition to do scientific research, particularly in the field of microbiology, has always been fuelled by the desire to contribute, even on a small scale, to the reduction of morbidity and mortality attributable to infectious diseases. I am also passionate about research that contributes to the development of new technologies. In this perspective, I am interested in the development of new prophylactic or therapeutic tools. These reasons motivated my decision to work on the PrevBIM project which aims to develop a natural alternative to antimicrobials to prevent bovine mastitis (BM).
What is your project about?
The aim of the PrevBIM project is to evaluate the relevance of a microbial approach to prevent BM through completing 4 objectives: 1) Evaluate the impact of application of a selected strain of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on the teat at the microbial, immune, and physiological levels; 2) Elucidate in vitro the mechanisms of interaction between the microbiota (including LAB), pathogens, and epithelial cells; 3) Evaluate the safety of such a strategy, regarding milk quality and downstream dairy processes and 4) Develop a LAB-based formulation using an innovative drying process.
Why is it important to develop alternative to prevent bovine mastitis?
Bovine mastitis (BM) is the most common and detrimental disease in dairy industry affecting approximately 40% of cows in France annually. BM has a major economic impact on the production and quality of milk. The antimicrobials frequently used to treat the cows are unfortunately not entirely effective, which increase the risk to spread antimicrobial resistance. The use of chemical products for post-milking dipping such as chlorine or iodine is contested because of their impact on the cow health including an irritation of the teat skin. Besides, presence of iodine residues was reported in milk, which may be of safety concerns especially for young consumers.
Why did you choose to implement it in this particular laboratory?
The PrevBIM project is realized at the UMR STLO in collaboration with the UMR PEGASE. Both STLO and PEGASE research units combine human resources from INRAE and Institut Agro Rennes-Angers to build a strong joint involvement in education and research in their field. One of the missions of STLO is to increase the quality and safety of dairy products. STLO is involved in the development of alternative approaches to the control of BM, in particular microbial approaches. The PEGASE research unit aims to better understand how animals and farming systems interact with the environment to contribute to the development of innovative, competitive and sustainable farming systems. Furthermore, the PEGASE unit has an experimental facility for dairy production in Méjusseaume, which is equipped with a rotary milking system, an automatic feeding system and physiological rooms. This farm has been involved in the experimental design of the PrevBIM project.
Thank you Coralie!
