As Head of the Microbiology and Pathology Laboratory at the BIOR Institute, Mg. med. vet. Žanete Šteingolde works at the intersection of animal, environmental and public health, advancing research grounded in the One Health approach. Her work focuses on infectious diseases in animals, including zoonoses, combining laboratory diagnostics with epidemiological analysis to better understand how pathogens emerge, spread and affect both animals and humans.
"Science allows us to perceive and interpret the world more broadly and deeply, basing our decisions on research and proven facts rather than assumptions."
The Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR” is an internationally competitive research centre of national importance. It develops innovative analytical methods, conducts applied and fundamental research in public and environmental health, food safety, fisheries, and veterinary medicine. With modern infrastructure and strong scientific expertise, BIOR is one of the most advanced laboratories in the Baltic region.
"My scientific and professional work is related to veterinary medicine, particularly infectious diseases in animals, including zoonoses. I focus on laboratory diagnostics and the epidemiology of these infectious diseases," explains Žanete Šteingolde.
She emphasises that researchers in small countries often work across diverse and wide-ranging fields – and it is encouraging when this work is recognised by leading laboratories internationally.
"Work in the laboratory is interesting and dynamic. We must continually expand our knowledge and stay current with the latest research trends and emerging diseases. But the more you learn, the more you realise how much remains unknown. Scientific work reminds us every day that nothing in nature happens by accident – every phenomenon has a cause," says the researcher.
One example of these unexpected discoveries was the first identified case of West Nile fever in Latvia. In autumn 2024, the virus was detected in a dead bird. West Nile fever is a zoonotic mosquito‑borne disease primarily affecting birds and horses, but humans can also become infected. Latvia participates in the international EU‑funded surveillance project One Health, where West Nile fever is among the monitored diseases. Participation enables the collection of essential national data – earlier, Latvia lacked any extensive studies of this pathogen.
Studying zoonotic pathogens in animal populations helps improve public health by determining where diseases are present, how they spread, and what risks they pose to humans. Collecting and analysing these data plays a crucial role in the One Health framework, which is internationally recognised as one of today’s most important research directions.
The science calendar “Research Latvia 2026” and the researcher descriptions were developed within the ERDF-funded project No. http://1.1.1.1/1/24/I/001 “More Efficient Implementation and Management of Latvia‘s Science Policy”, implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science.
