Lisa Ekman

About Lisa Ekman

I am Associate Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science with a focus on sustainable food systems at Örebro University, and I also work part-time at Växa – Sweden’s largest cattle organization for farmers with dairy or beef production. Until April 2026 I am also working in a transdisciplinary project at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. My work aims to bridge research and practice, and I strive to contribute to sustainable solutions within food systems. With a background in veterinary medicine and epidemiology, I have a passion for understanding and improving animal health and welfare in agriculture. My research interests include systems perspective, qualitative and co-creative research methods, epidemiology, agroecology, sustainable food systems, food security, animal health and welfare.

Research

I earned my PhD in Veterinary Medicine in 2020. My doctoral thesis focused on udder cleft dermatitis in dairy cows. Since my dissertation, I have been  working with an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to sustainability challenges in modern food production. My goal is to deepen the understanding of the development towards sustainable food systems in Sweden, with a particular focus on dairy production. Among other things, I explore how and why farmers strive to improve their sustainability and how this affects animal health, welfare, and the environmental impact of farming. I am skilled in various research methods, both qualitative (such as semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and thematic analysis) and quantitative (such as epidemiology, statistical analyses of large datasets and regression models). My ongoing projects include research on the role of agroecology in Swedish dairy production, the development of small dairy farms in Sweden and their significance for environmental values such as biodiversity and cultural landscapes, as well as digital tools used in dairy production and how this affects the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of farms.

Teaching

I am primarily involved in teaching in the Bachelor's program "Environmental Science, Sustainable Food Systems," where my subjects are sustainable food systems, current food systems, agroecology, and animal health and welfare. I have supervised several theses at both bachelor's and master's level, within veterinary medicine, biology, and animal science. I am currently serving as an assistant supervisor for two PhD students at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, both projects being related to sustainable and resilient dairy production.