Dan I. Andersson

Research Statement

AI generated · Oct 26, 2026

Dan I. Andersson's research centers on the evolutionary and genetic underpinnings of antibiotic resistance, particularly how bacteria respond to sublethal drug exposure. His highly cited reviews frame the biological and clinical costs of antibiotic resistance and whether resistance can be reversed, while his senior-author work experimentally demonstrates selection of resistant bacteria at very low antibiotic concentrations and the evolution of high-level resistance during low-level antibiotic exposure. Related work examines selection of multidrug resistance plasmids by sublethal antibiotics and heavy metals, and he has reviewed mechanisms and clinical relevance of bacterial heteroresistance. Beyond these, Andersson contributed to definitions and guidelines for research on antibiotic persistence, helping standardize a field-wide framework. Earlier senior-author work in Science addressed how environment shapes compensatory mutations that ameliorate the fitness costs of resistance, a theme connecting his reviews on resistance persistence and its fitness burden. No software, datasets, patents, or grants are indexed beyond his publications. Across these outputs, his contributions trace a consistent line: quantifying the selective forces and fitness trade-offs that govern resistance evolution, from low-dose exposure through compensatory adaptation.

Most Cited Works

Antibiotic resistance and its cost: is it possible to reverse resistance?

Dan I Andersson, Diarmaid Hughes

Nature Reviews Microbiology2010

2,301Citations

Microbiological effects of sublethal levels of antibiotics

Dan I Andersson, Diarmaid Hughes

Nature Reviews Microbiology2014

1,761Citations

Research Areas

Bacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyAntibiotic Resistance in BacteriaEvolution and Genetic DynamicsAntibiotic Use and ResistanceAntimicrobial Resistance in Staphylococc

Affiliations & Education

Employment

2004–present· now
Uppsala University(SE)
Professor · Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology

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