Rounge group

The overarching aim of the research group is to discover biomarkers for early cancer prediction through integrative omics analyses of biobanked samples. To achieve this, we also develop tools and pipelines tailored to the needs of large-scale omics studies, particularly in the field of microbial bioinformatics. These include TameSeq, Genomicon and Virmake.

We work closely with a wide network of highly skilled researchers in Norway and internationally. Our collaborative efforts are illustrated in the co-author network below.

Image may contain: Clothing, Smile, Jeans, Team, Event.

Research Aims

To integrate data from population-based surveys, cancer screening, national registries, and clinical studies with omics analyses of related biological samples to understand cancer development and develop cancer biomarkers.

We will take advantage of our expertise in molecular biology, next-generation sequencing protocols, and other omics technologies, bioinformatics, high-performance computing, and machine learning methods. These will be combined with the use of unique biobank materials and data sources to discover how early molecular changes in non-invasive fluids/materials can predict cancer. Our current focus is genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and microbiome analyses of faecal and blood samples. We are always looking for new, innovative partners and projects supporting our vision.

Projects

Research Topics

Identification of early biomarkers that can predict cancer

People

  • Trine Rounge - group leader
  • Einar Birkeland - Researcher
  • Cecilie Bucher-Johannesen - postdoc
  • Maja Jacobsen - Project coordinator
  • Ekaterina Avershina - Researcher
  • Elin Sandertun Røed - PhD student
  • Blanca Candelas Galavis - PhD student

Publications

Publications 2026

Avershina E, Birkeland EE, Bucher-Johannessen C, Rounge TB (2026)
CRISPR-Cas immune repertoires as an ecological record of bacterial interactions with mobile genetic elements in the human gut
Gut Microbes, 18 (1), 2734649
DOI 10.1080/19490976.2026.2734649, PubMed 42768305

Birkeland EE, Kværner AS, Avershina E, Bucher-Johannessen C, Bemanian V, Blix HS, Hjartåker A, de Vos WM, Ursin G, Hoff G, Randel KR, Botteri E, Berstad P, Rounge TB (2026)
Microbiome signatures for detection of colorectal lesions in population-based FIT screening
Nat Commun, 17 (1)
DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-75962-1, PubMed 42642381

Glenna S, Birkeland EE, Orr RJS, Gilfillan GD, Dalland M, Økstad OA, Voie ØA, Rounge TB (2026)
Longitudinal analysis of the hand microbiome in response to chlorine-based antiseptic use during a military field exercise
Microbiol Spectr, 14 (8), e0377125
DOI 10.1128/spectrum.03771-25, PubMed 42446227

Kværner AS, Birkeland E, Avershina E, Botteri E, Bucher-Johannessen C, Knudsen MD, Hjartåker A, Page CM, Hov JR, Song M, Randel KR, Hoff G, Rounge TB, Berstad P (2026)
Alcohol consumption and colorectal carcinogenesis: an exploration of the gut microbial pathway as a potential mediator
Eur J Nutr, 65 (4)
DOI 10.1007/s00394-026-03960-6, PubMed 42012708

Publications 2025

Wojewodzic MW, Volders ELD, Meijer C, Grotmol T, Touw DJ, Lubberts S, Haugen TB, Gietema JA, Rounge TB (2025)
Changes in methylation associated with development of metabolic syndrome in testicular cancer patients treated with cisplatin chemotherapy
Sci Rep, 15 (1), 39452
DOI 10.1038/s41598-025-22918-y, PubMed 41219245

Pestarino L, Fortner RT, Nøst TH, Fotopoulos I, Urbarova I, Røe OD, Langseth H, Rounge TB (2025)
Recommendations for Validating Omics Prediction Models: Insights from a Lung Cancer RNA Biomarker Study
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 34 (10), 1852-1860
DOI 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-25-0787, PubMed 40794097

Mueller M, Blandino A, Scherer D, Zulantay I, Apt W, Varela NM, Llancaqueo M, Garcia L, Ortiz L, Nicastri E, Giancola ML, Angheben A, Gabrielli S, Rounge TB, Langseth H, Waldenberger M, Salinas-Alvarez P, Lorenzo Bermejo J (2025)
Small-RNA sequencing identifies serum microRNAs associated with abnormal electrocardiography findings in patients with Chagas disease
J Infect, 91 (4), 106613
DOI 10.1016/j.jinf.2025.106613, PubMed 40946863

Stosic MS, Costanzi JM, Ambur OH, Rounge TB (2025)
GENOMICON-Seq enables realistic simulation of amplicon and exome sequencing for low-frequency mutation detection
Sci Rep, 15 (1), 23003
DOI 10.1038/s41598-025-05267-8, PubMed 40594441

Scherer D, Barahona Ponce C, Mengoa C, Montenegro P, Losada H, Garcia AL, Rojas A, Morales E, Kortmann AV, Spencer L, Ortega A, Vargas Valdebenito K, Roa JC, Inklemona C, Colombo Flores A, Kirsten R, Zollner L, Marcelain K, Rounge TB, Langseth H, Lewis SJ, Arroyo GF, Armisen R, Nervi Nattero B, Muller BG, Fernández Kaempffer PR, Kumar R, Salinas-Alvarez P, Kelly RS, Jenab M et al. (2025)
Data Resource Profile: EULAT Eradicate GBC: the European-Latin American Research Consortium towards Eradication of Preventable Gallbladder Cancer
Int J Epidemiol, 54 (4)
DOI 10.1093/ije/dyaf127, PubMed 40735836

Rounge TB, Paulsen J (2025)
Highly sensitive method captures rare RNAs in blood to search for disease
Nature, 641 (8063), 599-600
DOI 10.1038/d41586-025-01127-7, PubMed 40240820

Glenna S, Birkeland EE, Orr RJ, Gilfillan GD, Dalland M, Økstad OA, Voie ØA, Rounge TB (2025)
Skin bacterial community dynamics of hands and forearms before and after military field exercise
Microbiol Spectr, 13 (5), e0295324
DOI 10.1128/spectrum.02953-24, PubMed 40231684

Avershina E, Qureshi AI, Winther-Larsen HC, Rounge TB (2025)
Challenges in capturing the mycobiome from shotgun metagenome data: lack of software and databases
Microbiome, 13 (1), 66
DOI 10.1186/s40168-025-02048-3, PubMed 40055808

Burton J, Rounge TB, Haugen TB, Wojewodzic MW (2025)
Networks of pre-diagnostic circulating RNA in testicular germ cell tumour
Sci Rep, 15 (1), 1910
DOI 10.1038/s41598-024-84484-z, PubMed 39809819

Publications 2024

Blandino A, Scherer D, Boekstegers F, Rounge TB, Langseth H, Roessler S, Hveem K, Brenner H, Pechlivanis S, Waldenberger M, Lorenzo Bermejo J (2024)
Small-RNA sequencing reveals potential serum biomarkers for gallbladder cancer: Results from a three-stage collaborative study of large European prospective cohorts
Eur J Cancer, 214, 115138
DOI 10.1016/j.ejca.2024.115138, PubMed 39579640

Bucher-Johannessen C, Senthakumaran T, Avershina E, Birkeland E, Hoff G, Bemanian V, Tunsjø H, Rounge TB (2024)
Species-level verification of Phascolarctobacterium association with colorectal cancer
mSystems, 9 (10), e0073424
DOI 10.1128/msystems.00734-24, PubMed 39287376

Rao A, Stosic MS, Mohanty C, Suresh D, Wang AR, Lee DL, Nickel KP, Chandrashekar DS, Kimple RJ, Lambert PF, Kendziorski C, Rounge TB, Iyer G (2024)
Targeted inhibition of BET proteins in HPV16-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma reveals heterogeneous transcriptional responses
Front Oncol, 14, 1440836
DOI 10.3389/fonc.2024.1440836, PubMed 39301555

Senthakumaran T, Tannæs TM, Moen AEF, Brackmann SA, Jahanlu D, Rounge TB, Bemanian V, Tunsjø HS (2024)
Detection of colorectal-cancer-associated bacterial taxa in fecal samples using next-generation sequencing and 19 newly established qPCR assays
Mol Oncol, 19 (2), 412-429
DOI 10.1002/1878-0261.13700, PubMed 38970464

Stawiski K, Fortner RT, Pestarino L, Umu SU, Kaaks R, Rounge TB, Elias KM, Fendler W, Langseth H (2024)
Validation of miRNA signatures for ovarian cancer earlier detection in the pre-diagnosis setting using machine learning approaches
Front Oncol, 14, 1389066
DOI 10.3389/fonc.2024.1389066, PubMed 38983926

Rostami S, Rounge TB, Pestarino L, Lyle R, Fortner RT, Haaland ØA, Lie RT, Wiklund F, Bjørge T, Langseth H (2024)
Differential levels of circulating RNAs prior to endometrial cancer diagnosis
Int J Cancer, 155 (5), 946-956
DOI 10.1002/ijc.34951, PubMed 38733362

Costanzi JM, Stosic MS, Løvestad AH, Ambur OH, Rounge TB, Christiansen IK (2024)
Changes in intrahost genetic diversity according to lesion severity in longitudinal HPV16 samples
J Med Virol, 96 (5), e29641
DOI 10.1002/jmv.29641, PubMed 38708811

Istvan P, Birkeland E, Avershina E, Kværner AS, Bemanian V, Pardini B, Tarallo S, de Vos WM, Rognes T, Berstad P, Rounge TB (2024)
Exploring the gut DNA virome in fecal immunochemical test stool samples reveals associations with lifestyle in a large population-based study
Nat Commun, 15 (1), 1791
DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-46033-0, PubMed 38424056

Publications 2023

Birkeland E, Ferrero G, Pardini B, Umu SU, Tarallo S, Bulfamante S, Hoff G, Senore C, Rounge TB, Naccarati A (2023)
Profiling small RNAs in fecal immunochemical tests: is it possible?
Mol Cancer, 22 (1), 161
DOI 10.1186/s12943-023-01869-w, PubMed 37789383

Rumbavicius I, Rounge TB, Rognes T (2023)
HoCoRT: host contamination removal tool
BMC Bioinformatics, 24 (1), 371
DOI 10.1186/s12859-023-05492-w, PubMed 37784008

Dube Mandishora RS, Rounge TB, Fitzpatrick M, Christiansen IK, Ambur OH, Lagström S, Stray-Pedersen B, Tommasino M, Palefsky J, Chirenje ZM (2023)
Correction: Self-collected and clinician-collected anal swabs show modest agreement for HPV genotyping
PLoS One, 18 (7), e0288418
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0288418, PubMed 37418482

Umu SU, Paynter VM, Trondsen H, Buschmann T, Rounge TB, Peterson KJ, Fromm B (2023)
Accurate microRNA annotation of animal genomes using trained covariance models of curated microRNA complements in MirMachine
Cell Genom, 3 (8), 100348
DOI 10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100348, PubMed 37601971

Kvaerner AS, Andersen AR, Henriksen HB, Knudsen MD, Johansen AMW, Hjartåker A, Bøhn SK, Paur I, Wiedswang G, Smeland S, Rounge TB, Blomhoff R, Berstad P (2023)
Associations of the 2018 World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute of Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) cancer prevention recommendations with stages of colorectal carcinogenesis
Cancer Med, 12 (13), 14806-14819
DOI 10.1002/cam4.6119, PubMed 37212529

Bucher-Johannessen C, Birkeland EE, Vinberg E, Bemanian V, Hoff G, Berstad P, Rounge TB (2023)
Long-term follow-up of colorectal cancer screening attendees identifies differences in Phascolarctobacterium spp. using 16S rRNA and metagenome sequencing
Front Oncol, 13, 1183039
DOI 10.3389/fonc.2023.1183039, PubMed 37182146

Hesselberg Løvestad A, Stosic MS, Costanzi JM, Christiansen IK, Aamot HV, Ambur OH, Rounge TB (2023)
TaME-seq2: tagmentation-assisted multiplex PCR enrichment sequencing for viral genomic profiling
Virol J, 20 (1), 44
DOI 10.1186/s12985-023-02002-5, PubMed 36890572

Senthakumaran T, Moen AEF, Tannæs TM, Endres A, Brackmann SA, Rounge TB, Bemanian V, Tunsjø HS (2023)
Microbial dynamics with CRC progression: a study of the mucosal microbiota at multiple sites in cancers, adenomatous polyps, and healthy controls
Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 42 (3), 305-322
DOI 10.1007/s10096-023-04551-7, PubMed 36703031

Abu-Halima M, Keller A, Becker LS, Fischer U, Engel A, Ludwig N, Kern F, Rounge TB, Langseth H, Meese E, Keller V (2023)
Dynamic and static circulating cancer microRNA biomarkers - a validation study
RNA Biol, 20 (1), 1-9
DOI 10.1080/15476286.2022.2154470, PubMed 36511578

Publications 2022

Løvestad AH, Repesa A, Costanzi JM, Lagström S, Christiansen IK, Rounge TB, Ambur OH (2022)
Differences in integration frequencies and APOBEC3 profiles of five high-risk HPV types adheres to phylogeny
Tumour Virus Res, 14, 200247
DOI 10.1016/j.tvr.2022.200247, PubMed 36100161

Kværner AS, Birkeland E, Vinberg E, Hoff G, Hjartåker A, Rounge TB, Berstad P (2022)
Associations of red and processed meat intake with screen-detected colorectal lesions
Br J Nutr, 129 (12), 2122-2132
DOI 10.1017/S0007114522002860, PubMed 36069337

Burton J, Wojewodzic MW, Rounge TB, Haugen TB (2022)
A Role of the TEX101 Interactome in the Common Aetiology Behind Male Subfertility and Testicular Germ Cell Tumor
Front Oncol, 12, 892043
DOI 10.3389/fonc.2022.892043, PubMed 35774118

Umu SU, Langseth H, Zuber V, Helland Å, Lyle R, Rounge TB (2022)
Serum RNAs can predict lung cancer up to 10 years prior to diagnosis
Elife, 11
DOI 10.7554/eLife.71035, PubMed 35147498

Blandino A, Scherer D, Rounge TB, Umu SU, Boekstegers F, Barahona Ponce C, Marcelain K, Gárate-Calderón V, Waldenberger M, Morales E, Rojas A, Munoz C, Retamales J, de Toro G, Barajas O, Rivera MT, Cortés A, Loader D, Saavedra J, Gutiérrez L, Ortega A, Bertrán ME, Gabler F, Campos M, Alvarado J, Moisán F, Spencer L, Nervi B, Carvajal-Hausdorf DE, Losada H et al. (2022)
Identification of Circulating lncRNAs Associated with Gallbladder Cancer Risk by Tissue-Based Preselection, Cis-eQTL Validation, and Analysis of Association with Genotype-Based Expression
Cancers (Basel), 14 (3)
DOI 10.3390/cancers14030634, PubMed 35158906

Publications 2021

Kværner AS, Birkeland E, Bucher-Johannessen C, Vinberg E, Nordby JI, Kangas H, Bemanian V, Ellonen P, Botteri E, Natvig E, Rognes T, Hovig E, Lyle R, Ambur OH, de Vos WM, Bultman S, Hjartåker A, Landberg R, Song M, Blix HS, Ursin G, Randel KR, de Lange T, Hoff G, Holme Ø, Berstad P, Rounge TB (2021)
The CRCbiome study: a large prospective cohort study examining the role of lifestyle and the gut microbiome in colorectal cancer screening participants
BMC Cancer, 21 (1), 930
DOI 10.1186/s12885-021-08640-8, PubMed 34407780

Lagström S, Løvestad AH, Umu SU, Ambur OH, Nygård M, Rounge TB, Christiansen IK (2021)
HPV16 and HPV18 type-specific APOBEC3 and integration profiles in different diagnostic categories of cervical samples
Tumour Virus Res, 12, 200221
DOI 10.1016/j.tvr.2021.200221, PubMed 34175494

Brägelmann J, Barahona Ponce C, Marcelain K, Roessler S, Goeppert B, Gallegos I, Colombo A, Sanhueza V, Morales E, Rivera MT, de Toro G, Ortega A, Müller B, Gabler F, Scherer D, Waldenberger M, Reischl E, Boekstegers F, Garate-Calderon V, Umu SU, Rounge TB, Popanda O, Lorenzo Bermejo J (2021)
Epigenome-Wide Analysis of Methylation Changes in the Sequence of Gallstone Disease, Dysplasia, and Gallbladder Cancer
Hepatology, 73 (6), 2293-2310
DOI 10.1002/hep.31585, PubMed 33020926

Wojewodzic MW, Leithaug M, Lauritzen M, Lyle R, Haglund S, Rubin CJ, Ewels PA, Grotmol T, Rounge TB (2021)
Ultralow amounts of DNA from long-term archived serum samples produce high-quality methylomes
Clin Epigenetics, 13 (1), 107
DOI 10.1186/s13148-021-01097-3, PubMed 33980276

Dube Mandishora RS, Rounge TB, Fitzpatrick M, Christiansen IK, Ambur OH, Lagström S, Stray-Pedersen B, Tommasino M, Palefsky J, Chirenje ZM (2021)
Self-collected and clinician-collected anal swabs show modest agreement for HPV genotyping
PLoS One, 16 (4), e0250426
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0250426, PubMed 33901223

Publications 2020

Burton J, Umu SU, Langseth H, Grotmol T, Grimsrud TK, Haugen TB, Rounge TB (2020)
Serum RNA Profiling in the 10-Years Period Prior to Diagnosis of Testicular Germ Cell Tumor
Front Oncol, 10, 574977
DOI 10.3389/fonc.2020.574977, PubMed 33251139

Figueiredo RAO, Kajantie E, Neuvonen PJ, Rounge TB, Weiderpass E, Viljakainen H (2020)
Lifetime antimicrobial use is associated with weight status in early adolescence-A register-based cohort study
Pediatr Obes, 16 (3), e12727
DOI 10.1111/ijpo.12727, PubMed 32959492

Scherer D, Dávila López MD, Goeppert B, Abrahamsson S, González Silos RG, Nova I, Marcelain K, Roa JC, Ibberson D, Umu SU, Rounge TB, Roessler S, Bermejo JL (2020)
RNA Sequencing of Hepatobiliary Cancer Cell Lines: Data and Applications to Mutational and Transcriptomic Profiling
Cancers (Basel), 12 (9)
DOI 10.3390/cancers12092510, PubMed 32899426

Raju SC, Viljakainen H, Figueiredo RAO, Neuvonen PJ, Eriksson JG, Weiderpass E, Rounge TB (2020)
Antimicrobial drug use in the first decade of life influences saliva microbiota diversity and composition
Microbiome, 8 (1), 121
DOI 10.1186/s40168-020-00893-y, PubMed 32825849

Keller A, Fehlmann T, Backes C, Kern F, Gislefoss R, Langseth H, Rounge TB, Ludwig N, Meese E (2020)
Competitive learning suggests circulating miRNA profiles for cancers decades prior to diagnosis
RNA Biol, 17 (10), 1416-1426
DOI 10.1080/15476286.2020.1771945, PubMed 32456538

Viljakainen J, Raju SC, Viljakainen H, Figueiredo RAO, Roos E, Weiderpass E, Rounge TB (2020)
Meal Regularity Plays a Role in Shaping the Saliva Microbiota
Front Microbiol, 11, 757
DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00757, PubMed 32390990

Umu SU, Langseth H, Keller A, Meese E, Helland Å, Lyle R, Rounge TB (2020)
A 10-year prediagnostic follow-up study shows that serum RNA signals are highly dynamic in lung carcinogenesis
Mol Oncol, 14 (2), 235-247
DOI 10.1002/1878-0261.12620, PubMed 31851411

Publications 2019

Bucher-Johannessen C, Page CM, Haugen TB, Wojewodzic MW, Fosså SD, Grotmol T, Haugnes HS, Rounge TB (2019)
Cisplatin treatment of testicular cancer patients introduces long-term changes in the epigenome
Clin Epigenetics, 11 (1), 179
DOI 10.1186/s13148-019-0764-4, PubMed 31796056

Publications 2018

Jørgensen TE, Karlsen BO, Emblem Å, Breines R, Andreassen M, Rounge TB, Nederbragt AJ, Jakobsen KS, Nymark M, Ursvik A, Coucheron DH, Jakt LM, Nordeide JT, Moum T, Johansen SD (2018)
Mitochondrial genome variation of Atlantic cod
BMC Res Notes, 11 (1), 397
DOI 10.1186/s13104-018-3506-3, PubMed 29921324

Publications 2013

Tooming-Klunderud A, Sogge H, Rounge TB, Nederbragt AJ, Lagesen K, Glöckner G, Hayes PK, Rohrlack T, Jakobsen KS (2013)
From green to red: horizontal gene transfer of the phycoerythrin gene cluster between Planktothrix strains
Appl Environ Microbiol, 79 (21), 6803-12
DOI 10.1128/AEM.01455-13, PubMed 23995927

Publications 2012

Sogge H, Rohrlack T, Rounge TB, Sønstebø JH, Tooming-Klunderud A, Kristensen T, Jakobsen KS (2012)
Gene flow, recombination, and selection in cyanobacteria: population structure of geographically related Planktothrix freshwater strains
Appl Environ Microbiol, 79 (2), 508-15
DOI 10.1128/AEM.02417-12, PubMed 23124237

Publications 2011

Star B, Nederbragt AJ, Jentoft S, Grimholt U, Malmstrøm M, Gregers TF, Rounge TB, Paulsen J, Solbakken MH, Sharma A, Wetten OF, Lanzén A, Winer R, Knight J, Vogel JH, Aken B, Andersen O, Lagesen K, Tooming-Klunderud A, Edvardsen RB, Tina KG, Espelund M, Nepal C, Previti C, Karlsen BO, Moum T, Skage M, Berg PR, Gjøen T, Kuhl H et al. (2011)
The genome sequence of Atlantic cod reveals a unique immune system
Nature, 477 (7363), 207-10
DOI 10.1038/nature10342, PubMed 21832995

Publications 2010

Rounge TB, Rohrlack T, Decenciere B, Edvardsen B, Kristensen T, Jakobsen KS (2010)
SUBPOPULATION DIFFERENTIATION ASSOCIATED WITH NONRIBOSOMAL PEPTIDE SYNTHETASE GENE CLUSTER DYNAMICS IN THE CYANOBACTERIUM PLANKTOTHRIX SPP.1
J. Phycol., 46 (4), 645-652
DOI 10.1111/j.1529-8817.2010.00856.x

Publications 2009

Rounge TB, Rohrlack T, Nederbragt AJ, Kristensen T, Jakobsen KS (2009)
A genome-wide analysis of nonribosomal peptide synthetase gene clusters and their peptides in a Planktothrix rubescens strain
BMC Genomics, 10, 396
DOI 10.1186/1471-2164-10-396, PubMed 19706155

Publications 2008

Rounge TB, Rohrlack T, Kristensen T, Jakobsen KS (2008)
Recombination and selectional forces in cyanopeptolin NRPS operons from highly similar, but geographically remote Planktothrix strains
BMC Microbiol, 8, 141
DOI 10.1186/1471-2180-8-141, PubMed 18727817

Published June 1, 2022 10:05 PM - Last modified Aug. 20, 2025 7:49 PM
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