Cecilie Brandt Becker is a PhD student in veterinary sciences at Copenhagen University and a part of the Host Pillar of the PIG-PARADIGM project. The primary goal of PIG-PARADIGM is to identify key factors that can predict whether an animal is likely to suffer from post-weaning diarrhea after being weaned from the sow. Previously, veterinary students were taught that post-weaning diarrhea was caused by toxin-producing E. coli. However, recent findings suggest that this relationship is more complex, necessitating new studies like the PIG-PARADIGM to better understand this economically significant and antibiotic-consuming disease in the pig industry.

As a veterinary pathologist, Cecilie contributes to PIG-PARADIGM by providing insights into the internal conditions of the animals. Through necropsies, she examines how various organs are affected by disease. In the PIG-PARADIGM project, tissue samples are collected from five different regions of the intestinal tract from a large cohort of piglets raised on a commercial pig farm in Denmark. These samples are preserved and processed in the lab to analyze the gut at a cellular level. Traditionally, histological tissue samples were evaluated one by one using a microscope, but advancements in technology now allow for a different approach.

The PIG-PARADIGM project employs computer software for digital image analysis, utilizing deep learning models and pattern recognition. This software helps identify and quantify changes in the tissue samples that might otherwise go unnoticed by the naked eye. The main focus is on investigating changes in the intestinal barrier, which protects pigs from infections by microbes present in the intestinal content. This barrier consists of a protein-rich mucous layer covering the internal surface of the intestine and the intestine wall itself, which acts as a barricade between the gut content and the bloodstream. Immune cells are also present to guard against microbes that may penetrate the mucus layer and pose a threat to the pig.