1 Cont ent

Synapse Release Event s & Short New s The Synapse - Life Science 03 Short and Sw eet Connect magazine

This edition of Synapse Re- Life science news served short and sweet lease is centered around the Nordic Life Science Cluster and 04 Event Announcem ent s highlights some of the exciting life science initiatives currently A list of events to attend under way in this area.

Issue 14 - Fall 2020 Synapse Wit hin The magazine is published four times a year. 05 Synapse Rew ind A look back at our past events Edit or in Chief: 07 Synapse Insider Emilie Dalbram An interview with Anthony Roumeliotis , a

The Synapse Release Team : current Synapse Team member

Adrian Ramon Santonja 09 Synapse Case Com pet it ion Emilie Dalbram Hear the participants thoughts Frederik Neergaard 12 Synapse is m oving t o t he St at ion Jonas Arnold Jürgensen

Leonora Sperling Explore the Station - A Student Innovation House together with Synapse Søren Juhl 14 Synapse Career Aid Kit Phot os: Five tips to improve your online self Jonas Krøner / [email protected] 16 You can change t he w orld Expert opinion by Søren Bregenholt, Chairman of the Board at MVA 19 Aim ing at novel ant ibiot ics An intereview with Christian Grøndahl, CEO and co-founder of SNIPR Biome 23 Why is science alw ays so serious? An interview with the team behind the podcast Spækbrættet

Part ner Insight 26 The Novo Nordisk Graduat e Program Your springboard into industry and a life-changing career Synapse - Life Science Connect 29 Insight s from IDA - Ingeniørforeningen Nørre Allé 41,

2200 København N From Uni to Job [email protected] 30 Part ners & Collaborat ors 2 Short and Sw eet The latest life science news served short and sweet

The Nobel prize in Chem ist ry 2020 goes t o t he Life science ? at t he heart of t he Danish econom y genet ic scissors - CRISPR/ Cas9 The life science industry becomes more and more On the 7th of October 2020, it was announced by the important for the Danish society. Danks Erhverv has Royal Swedish Academy of Science that this year?s analyzed the impact of the life science industry on Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to Emmanuelle Danish economy, which has shown its strength Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for the during the corona crisis. In 2020 Q1, the medical development of a method for genome editing. It have export was increased with 32% compared to the shown to be a technology that has revolutionized same period last year, and contributes with jobs gene editing. They identified the ancient immune which over a 10 year period (2007-2016) have grown system in Streptococcus pyogenes CRISPR/Cas. Showing with 20%. It has attracted international companies that it can be isolated and used in other settings such as Roche that establish and invest in . gives enormous power to the genetic tool box. It can The latest step is Bioinnovation Institute, an revolutionise the basic science, and lead the way for incubator supported by the Novo Nordisk ground-breaking, new medical treatments. (Source: Foundation, which can show off the Danish life nobelprize.org) science field on the startup level and attract more international investors to increase the growth of the Novo Nodisk leading t he green t ransform at ion life science industry in . (Source: Dansk Erhverv & Indblikplus) Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, has recently presented the ambitious goal of Synklino - an ant iviral KU spin-out transitioning to 100% green energy in 2030. This sets an ultimatum for Novo Nordisk?s 60.000 suppliers, The small spinout, Synklino, from KU and DTU raised who will have to switch to green energy - otherwise it 13 Mio DKK in September from Vækstfonden and the will have consequences. By doing so, the overarching new fund Eir Ventures. The company was started by goal is to reduce 300.000 tons CO2 from the the three researchers Thomas Kledal, Mette suppliers and kickstart the green transformation to Rosenkilde, and Mads G. Jeppesen back in the green energy. It is a 10-year plan that requires summer of 2017. With the first small investment here innovative ideas since some of the solutions do not in September, they have attracted Tolga Hassan to currently exist. Hopefully the clear goal of 100% help raise between 186-223 Mio DKK in the spring green energy can inspire other sectors and and the experienced doctor Josefin-Beate Holz to companies to follow and go eco-friendly. (Source: Finans) initiate the phase 1 trial. Synklino develops a drug against cytomegalovirus (CMV), which is a virus most people carry passively, and symptoms mostly show Danish Life Science w it h pot ent ial upside in China in cases where the immune system is already suppressed such as in people who have had organ In 2016, Xi Jinping was elected President of People?s transplantation. The drug does not only stops the Republic of China (PRC) and initiated the public infection but also kills the virus, giving the drug huge health plan Healthy China 2030. The Danish potential for transplantation patients. (Source: Medwatch) Ambassador in China, Thomas Østrup Møller, sees a great potential for Danish life science companies to join and be part of this development. Last year in 2019, the Danish life science exported for 10.7 billion DKK to China, and the Dansih companies are highly Written by Frederik Nergaard respected for their professional competency and Core Team Member integrity. With a growing middle class and elder population China is a super interesting market, which has previously been relatively closed to their own pharma/medico companies. However, the new public health plan, Healthy China 2030, opens up for more import from the West - an opportunity that the Danish life science companies should seize. (Source: Medwatch) 23

3 Event Announcem ent s

New events from Synapse and our partners

Novem ber 12t h Synapse w ebinar: Corona vs. Life Science (Arranged by Synapse Aalborg)

Novem ber 18t h Novo Nordisk x Synapse: Bringing Life-changing Medicine t o Pat ient s

Novem ber 25t h Life Science Sum m it 2020: Vaccine Developm ent

Novem ber 26t h BCG x Synapse: From Science t o Consult ing

Decem ber 2nd Synapse w ebinar: Sust ainabilit y in Life Science (Arranged by Synapse Aalborg)

Decem ber 3rd Synapse w ebinar: Consult ing in Life Science (Arranged by Synapse Lund)

Decem ber 10t h Synapse w ebinar: Your first job in Life Science - and w here it can t ake your career

4

4 Synapse Rew ind We reflect on our most recent activities, events, and programs

Synapse has like everyone else had t o facilitated by Boston Consulting Group and ret hink and change t he form at of our BioInnovation Institute. The participants learned how act ivit ies because of t he current COVID-19 to apply critical thinking and collaborative skills to solve a real-life case and obtain results. Furthermore, rest rict ions. Nonet heless, t he Synapse t eam the Biobusiness Summer School offered participants has w orked hard and dedicat ed t o st ill live the chance to actively engage in discussions, and up t o our m ission t o connect as m any network with the speakers as well as other students. st udent s, young graduat es, and indust ry Thanks to all the participating students and professionals as possible, even during t hese companies. The Synapse team is already looking difficult t im es. We are proud t hat w e have forward to the biobusiness summer school of 2021. adapt ed fast and successfully t ransit ioned t he m ajorit y of our planned event s t o being Leading t om orrow 's R&D (18t h of Sept em ber): held online and in sm all set t ings. Let ?s rew ind and t ake a look back on our recent On September 18, we hosted the Synapse Case event s, w orkshops and ot her act ivit ies in Competition Finals. The goal of the Synapse Case Synapse. Competition was to expose life science students to the unique challenges faced by today?s Chief Scientific Officers (CSOs) and equip students with the Synapse Biobusiness Sum m er School 2020, skill set needed to overcome these challenges. A BBSS'20 (10-14t h of August ): winning team for each case was found, and they can now look forward to spending an entire day at the The Biobusiness Summer School was a 5-day respective company, meeting company seminar, where participants were introduced to a representatives and sharing their thoughts on wide range of topics within the field of leading tomorrow's R&D. Thanks to all participating bio-entrepreneurship. Through inspirational lectures companies and event partners: Novo Nordisk, Chr. and interactive workshops, the participants gained Hansen, LEO Pharma, McKinsey & Company, Heidrick insight into the general terms of biobusiness and & Struggles. acquired knowledge of the business aspects of life science. This included insights into the areas of research and development, clinical development, Synapse Life Science Career Fair 2020 (24t h of regulatory affairs, marketing, pricing, and project Sept em ber): management as well as getting an understanding of terms such as Initial Public Offering (IPO), Mergers HOW DO YOU PLAN A CAREER FAIR IN THE MIDST OF and Acquisitions (M&A), Intellectual Property Rights A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC? The Synapse team (IPR), and shares. worked hard and tirelessly to solve this challenge. Our mission has always been to support the Alongside the lectures and workshops, participants 45 transition from student to professional for Life engaged in a case competition developed and Science students, and we acknowledge that this is

5 more important now than ever! We are therefore development topics. The mentoring program is run in very proud that we succeeded in hosting our first collaboration with KMP+ House of Mentoring with ever online Synapse Life Science Career Fair event +20 years of experience in designing and delivering with +500 participating students and 17 companies state-of-the-art mentoring programmes based on presenting different career opportunities. Thanks to in-depth research and good practice. all the participating companies: Albright Partners, As part of the Synapse mentorship program, Synapse Amgen, Clinical Microbiomics, Copenhagen Science hosts a series of events designed for the mentees. City, Cysbio, DTU Skylab, emendo consulting group, The first mentee-only event was a workshop hosted HERAX, HØIBERG - European Patent Attorneys, IDA, by the professional mentor, Julie M. Larsen, CEO and The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & founder of Advanced Mentoring. The workshop was Johnson, McKinsey & Company, Novo Nordisk, NNIT, centered around providing tools to obtain the best Simon-Kucher & Partners, SUND Hub. possible guidance from a mentor-mentee period.

Webinar: " To PhD Or Not To PhD? (6t h of Oct ober): Synapse Connect Medicon Valley (post -poned): The Synapse Lund team gathered four key speakers Unfortunately, we have had to postpone our event to present their academic experiences and how this "Synapse Connect Medicon Valley 2020" due to the lead them down their current career paths. The aim current situation regarding COVID-19. We hope to of this webinar was to shape the participants own have the event in 2021 instead - we look forward to thoughts on where they would like to be in their receiving your applications! careers and whether a PhD (or not!) will help achieving those goals! Thanks to the speakers: Rasmus Enggaard, Trial Project Manager Novo Welcom e t o t he new people in Synapse: Nordisk with a MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Àlex Moreno Giró Industrial PhD student Karolinska Synapse is growing and new people have joined the institutet & researcher Redoxis AB, Ahu Karademir Synapse team! A warm welcome to the new synapse Andersson, Production Specialist PolyPeptide Group members who have joined Synapse across our with a PhD, Julie Mou Larsen, Professional Mentor Aalborg, Copenhagen and Lund, Sweden hubs. This and founder of Advanced Mentoring, and seasoned added manpower will result in new and exciting researcher with a Master?s Degree events coming up in the near future.

The Synapse Ment orship Program (Oct ober- May):

The program runs from October 2020 - May 2021 where life science students and assigned mentors Written by Søren Juhl will meet 4-6 times during the period and work on 6 Core Team Member professional growth, goal setting and personal

6 Synapse Insider Learn more about the Synapse organization and the people in it

Written by Emilie Dalbram, Chairman

We had a chance t o chat w it h Ant hony Roum eliot is, a current Synapse Team m em ber, about his journey w it h Synapse and fut ure dream s. Ant hony is st udying a Mast ers in Public Healt h at t he Lund Universit y, but he has recent ly m oved t o Copenhagen, w here he joined t he Synapse CPH t eam .

What m ot ivat ed you t o join Synapse? many internationally acclaimed companies. With Synapse acting as the bridge, it provides students an The core factor that sparked my interest in Synapse opportunity to experience both sides by was after attending the ?To PhD or not to PhD? event understanding how each side thinks and works. at Copenhagen. Having been involved in a student Moreover, I think it can increase future collaborations organisation previously, during my undergraduate between the two countries. As such, it is a valuable studies, I knew what it was like to organise events as experience that ambitious students can benefit from. a student. However, the quality and professionalism of the entire team blew me away, and I was so impressed by the event that I knew this was What have you learned from being in Synapse? something I wanted to be a part of. The value of networking and maintaining

relationships, this is something that you are never You have been engaged and cont ribut ed t o taught at school. It plays such an important role in Synapse act ivit ies on bot h sides of Øresund, first not only increasing your chances of getting a job, but as a t eam m em ber in t he Lund Hub and now in also when you are trying to build a company and to Copenhagen. How has t he t ransit ion been? simply get advice. Your network of professionals is a gold mine that no amount of money can ever buy, so Actually, I think it has been pretty seamless, both spending time to build it and maintain it is hubs work very closely together, so moving from one invaluable. team to another felt natural. The CPH team has also been extremely welcoming and making sure that I hit the ground running! What has been your best experience in Synapse?

I would definitely say attending the BioBusiness Summer School 2020 as well as hosting the recent Why do you t hink it is im port ant for a st udent webinar ?To PhD or not to PhD?. They were both such organizat ion like Synapse t o bridge t he gap great learning experiences that you could never have bet w een Øresund? gained anywhere else. Denmark and Sweden are both life science and innovation power houses, which has seen the rise of 67

7 What has surprised you t he m ost about being a secured an internship with ExSeed Health and am part of Synapse? now a Student Assistant there working on re- imbursement strategy and business development in I would definitely say the patience and support from the EU region. the Synapse team! When myself or the Lund team have needed help or advice on something, we always had a Synapsee who was willing to drop what they What are your plans for t he nearest fut ure ? were doing and help us. I really think this speaks to the team spirit that Synapse upholds which I think is Career wise, I think I would like to further develop my really key in a successful organization! skills in my current position and eventually become a Market Access professional for AI-enabled medical devices. I think we are at the cusp of a medical device Would you encourage ot her st udent s t o join surge in the healthcare and life science industry, with Synapse act ivit ies? And w hy? AI playing a more integral role in diagnosis, treatment and prevention as the technology develops and I think the correct question here is why wouldn?t you becomes more accepted into different countries attend Synapse events? Students have everything to worldwide. Adventure wise, I am going to go clique gain from the events that can only benefit them in here and say travel the world. I really think being able the long run. If you want to expand your career to experience every part of the world is so valuable, mindset, build networks among industry seeing other cultures and languages expands your professionals and like minded students, and develop own mindset, you gain an understanding of the local your own professional skills, then you have found the people?s viewpoints. This mindset expansion really right organisation. helps in solving unique problems that might otherwise be obvious to someone else in another part of the world. Has Synapse m ade an im pact on your choice of career? Definitely! I think before attending Synapse events, I had a very narrow scope of what I wanted to do with my qualifications, but Synapse has really helped broaden my career perspectives in terms of where and to what I can apply my skills and experience, simply by listening to other professionals. Synapse has also provided a platform to network with companies and industry professionals such as the BioBusiness Summer School, where I actually 8

8 Synapse Case Com pet it ion Hear the participants thoughts

At t he core of Synapse is our t hree-part m ission know of the many opportunities available for STEM st at em ent : To inspire, develop, and connect . students in McKinsey.? Alt hough t he m ission rem ains t he sam e, t he w ay w e go about t hese t hree object ives changes w it h At the case competition, 26 participants divided into t he ever-evolving landscape of t he life science teams of three, decided to spend their weekend indust ry. In t he last issue of Synapse Release, diving into R&D portfolio management to help Mart in Holm from Heidrick & St ruggles shared his discover new and exciting markets for Chr. Hansen, t hought s on t he Key Drivers of the Evolving Skill Set LEO Pharma and Novo Nordisk to venture into. The in Life Science, describing how a ?clear dem and for participants were challenged, as this case format did qualified t alent is becom ing increasingly m ore not only require a strong scientific understanding, geared t ow ards candidat es w it h applied but also pushed them to explore the business side of educat ion and experience from t he life science life science ? just like a CSO. Malene Overby, one of environm ent ?. These t hought s represent t he key the winners of the LEO pharma case, liked the idea of driver behind our new est init iat ive: Synapse Case challenging herself and solving real life problems Com pet it ion ? Leading Tom orrow ?s R&D. faced by the industry. She explains that she has always seen herself working in the medicinal industry, and that this case gave her a unique The purpose of the Synapse Case Competition was to opportunity to get a feeling for the industry and how introduce participants to the world of Chief Scientific it differs from working in academia. The Officers (CSO), and allow them to gain experience business-oriented case was novel to many of the working on real-life problems faced by life science participants, who had not previously experienced companies today. The case was oriented around R&D the industry. Malene thought that working on the with McKinsey & Co. creating three cases unique to case required a very different way of thinking, each of the case companies: Novo Nordisk, LEO compared to what she was used to. Pharma, and Chr. Hansen. According to Josef Christensen, engagement manager at McKinsey, their motivation to co-organize this event was clear. ?I remember the first online meeting with my group, and we were just all looking into the screen and rambling our thoughts out and having no ?Our clients are increasingly expecting deep ideas on where to start or end. In the end, we were scientific knowledge across the domains. This flows very impressed by the well-thought out and well with our own philosophy that STEM profiles creative solutions the participants were able to adds tremendous value to our teams. As such, it is come up with, in such a short time span?. important for us to be part of the STEM student community in Denmark and ensure that students 89

9 Malene felt she broadened her perspective by In addition to this prize, feedback was given in all approaching the problem from a business leader?s cases, both for the finalists and non-finalists, so that point of view; trying to understand their goals and everyone had a chance to get feedback on their how they approach or view a problem; how the solutions. Thus, all participants have gained leaders need to align the solution with R&D something from participating in the case statements. competition. The question is what and to answer this question, we have asked some of the participants.

"Gaining this business perspective as well as using the experience to explore new skills and develop Malene Overby: them further, has given me the opportunity to Why did you choose t o part icipat e? become a better and more well-rounded scientist.? I liked the idea of challenging myself and solving real life problems facing industry. I have always seen As the participants were challenged, so were we. myself working in the medicinal industry and this With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we had to gave me the opportunity to get a feeling for the figure out how to take our competition online. This industry and how it differs from working in presented quite a few challenges, but as Gerard, a academia. I have heard a lot about differences core member of Synapse and the moderator of the between academia and industry, so having a chance event, said, the most difficult challenge, besides any to experience how the industry sets its goals and menial tech and IT issues, was figuring out how to incorporates business plans into scientific research, create an online event that could achieve the same caught my attention. level of engagement and gratification for the participants as a physical experience. He points out how tiresome the virtual routine can be, with the How did you find solving an R&D orient ed case, endless Zoom meetings and screen time - something com ing from a life science background? we can all recognize in our current day-to-day life. It was really fun and challenging, and I love a challenge. It was a really different way of thinking, compared to what I was used to. I remember the first ?We overcame this challenge by organizing a very online meeting with my group, and we were just all dynamic session with tailored rewards for the looking into the screen and rambling our thoughts winners. The winners of each of the three out and having no ideas on where to start or end. sub-competitions will get to visit their respective This forced us to use McKinsey's ?7-step problem companies (e.i. Chr. Hansen, Novo Nordisk and solving process?, and we started little by little to Leo Pharma) in the coming months, and pitch their break the problem down in a structured way, finding winning idea directly to the CSO?s." 10 a place to start for the ideas and working through

10 McKinsey & Company is a global management Heidrick & Struggles is a worldwide executive consulting firm. They help organizations across search firm, specializing in chief executive and the private, public, and social sectors create senior level assignments. For more than 60 Change that Matters. From the C-suite to the years, they have focused on quality service and front line, they partner with clients to transform built strong leadership teams through their organizations in the ways that matter most. This relationships with clients and individuals requires embedding digital, analytics, and worldwide. Today, Heidrick & Struggles' design into core processes and mind-sets, and leadership experts operate from principal building capabilities that help organizations and business centers in North America, Latin people to thrive in an ever-changing context. America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

every idea we had by considering limitations and How did you find solving an R&D orient ed case, feasibility. This allowed us to converge on what we com ing from a life science background? thought was the best project. As a group, we tried to study the company's annual report, and then we analyzed the market size in the areas that Leo Pharma focuses on. As such, the What did you gain from t he experience? solution to the problem was very different from what First of all, I really enjoyed the competition. I learned you are used to when coming from a life science to breakdown complex problems in a structured way, background. which I will definitely use in my own work. Growing

my network through the competition, workshops and group work is a great benefit from this experience. What did you gain from t he experience? You get to know some new and really interesting I learned a lot about how to participate in a team to people. I broadened my perspective by approaching solve a case in a short time - I would say it is all about the problem from a business leader?s point of view; time managing. We found a solution to a problem trying to understand their goals and how they approach or view a problem; how the leaders need to align the solution with R&D statements. Gaining this business perspective and the opportunity to explore skills I didn?t know I had and to develop these skills further, has given me the opportunity to become a Written by Leonora Sperling better and more well-rounded scientist. Core Team Member

Bardia Varast ehm oradi:

Why did you choose t o part icipat e?

I wanted to challenge myself in this areas, which is a marketing plan in the pharmaceutical industry. I am a pharmacist by education and I have experience in the field of pharmacy; however, marketing issues are also crucial in reality and I wanted to gain experience with this topic.

101 Synapse is m oving t o t he St at ion A unique space for engagem ent and innovat ion

It is 1920. Christ ian X of Denm ark and Krist ján X of Iceland sit s on t he t hrone at Am alienborg w hile Christ iansborg is being rebuilt aft er a devast at ing fire. Carl Theodor Zahle is st ill t he prim e m inist er, but soon aft er he is dism issed by Christ ian X, result ing in w hat lat er w as called t he Est er Crisis and t he origins of a Germ an m inorit y at t he Sout h Jut land-Nort h Germ an border. All in all, it is a very unst able and convulsive t im e - it is only t w o years aft er WWI and t he aft erm at h of t he w ar is very pat ent . 1920 is also t he year w here The Spanish Flu pandem ic ends, w it h an est im at e bet w een sevent een m illion t o fift y m illion deat hs. At t hat convulsive t im e, t he police st at ion at Frederiksberg w as inaugurat ed.

During that year, the Old Police Station at Frederiks- Written by Adrian Ramon Santonja berg was to be sold, so students quickly thought that Board member their idea about a student innovation house could be located there. Thereafter, they had a conversation with Frederiksberg kommune to ask for a delay in the It is now 2020. Exactly 100 years later with another selling date so that they could raise the money to buy pandemic threatening our way of living. The old the building. Frederiksberg kommune accepted their police station at Frederiksberg has now drastically request as they were very keen on the idea of changed and been transformed into Station - A students owning the building for such a noble Student Innovation House. Although the frames of initiative. the former police station have been preserved, the old brick building will host a completely different clientele in the future. The space will be the world?s Soon after and during the period 2014-2016, they first student-driven innovation house. It will provide raised funds themselves, for a total of 52.5 million an inclusive platform and enabling playground to DKK, with support from the Nordea Foundation, the create sustainable changes in society through VILLUM Foundation (the first one to support the engagement and innovation in collaboration with idea), the Knud Højgaard Foundation, the Augustinus various actors in today's society. Foundation, the Frederiksberg Foundation, and the Weimann Foundation. CBS topped the budget with an additional 30 million DKK, something the The idea behind Station was brought forward back in educational institution has promised if the group of 2013 by a group of 5 CBS students, now graduates: students were able to raise the rest of the money. Christian K. Refshauge, Andreas A. Gjede, Anne Marie CBS then acquired the police station in collaboration E. Larsen, Anne Katrine B. Vedstesen, and Maria Flora with the students, for a price of 30 million DKK. M. Andersen, who is the current Director at Station. 12 The idea behind Station kept evolving and the year

12 after, Tuborgfondet, Otto Mønsteds Fond and DSEB decided to support the organisational development of the association as well as its activities. Later that year, the contract to transform the Old Police Station at Frederiksberg into a student innovation house was signed.

"Station is the new cross-disciplinary play- ground fostering student innovation, where all students and student organizations are welcome"

During the period 2017-2019, the transformation was being planned. During that time, more support was added to the initiative. In 2018, Tuborgfondet committed to a 4 year strategic partnership of 4 million DKK. The construction process took place during the period 2019-2020 and Station was finally inaugurated on October 9th, 2020, 100 years and 9 days after the inauguration of the Old Police Station.

Since the association was founded back in 2013, more than 300 students have been a part of the project and helped shape the future of Station. Today, 17 student organizations sit at Station, one of them being Synapse - Life Science Connect.

WOW! Is the first reaction from me and the rest of the Synapse team, when we entered Station the first time. Station is cracking! When Synapse was first contacted early in 2020 by Markus Fritz Hansen, Head of Community Building at Station, and invited to join Station, we did not anticipate this result. Although we have only used the facilities a few times, we can already feel that this is the beginning of a great community.

Station is not only an amazing and inspiring location to hold our team meetings, but also the framework around a great community of students. Synapse is not alone in being an ambitious student organization. Together with the other student organizations in the building, we will help each other empower more and more students? ideas.

By moving to the station, we hope to learn from other student organizations and get inspired by their innovative ideas. We hope to see new ways of doing things, come up with new event formats, and boost each other?s creativity. Last but not least, we hope to motivate the community to be driven and determined to reach increasingly, ambitious goals. It is impressive what the students at Station have 123 done already, but together we can do even more!

13 Synapse Career Aid Kit Five t ips t o im prove your presence in online m eet ings

Wit h COVID-19 pt . 2 on t he rise, t he w orld is Don?t be shy, t urn on t he eye cont act ! beginning t o accept t he fact t hat physical Did you succeed in getting your camera to eye m eet ings w ill soon be considered a t hing of t he height? ? Great! Now, remember to also look at it. past . Gat hering 10+ people in a room is t urning This is extremely powerful when practised, but also m ore and m ore difficult due t o regulat ions, and extremely difficult, as your instinct tells you to t he new realit y has also forced us t o ret hink t he establish eye contact with other participants in the necessit y of said physical m eet ings, as w e st and online meeting by looking at them on your screen. t o save bot h t im e and cost s by t urning our focus Unfortunately, online eye contact can only be t o t he online t ools. How ever, w it h t he increased achieved through the camera lens. use of Zoom , Microsoft Team s, Skype, and ot her m eet ing t ools, our presence in m eet ings and at Try to keep track of what is happening at your screen, event s is lim it ed t o w hat can be seen and heard while also remembering to look into the camera t hrough our com put er ? so very lim it ed. As you when talking. This will boost your online appeal and buckle up for anot her round of online m eet ings, you will appear more confident to people listening in. Synapse has gat hered five key t ips t o m ake sure t hat you are seen and heard as t he best version of your online self. Good sound m akes video look bet t er ?Can you hear me?? will most likely be the quote of the year 2020. Now we have ensured that you have both From nose t o eye level eye level and eye contact, proper sound is the next Do you already have a camera on your computer, feat to conquer. phone or tablet? ? perfect! And you know what? This Within the audiovisual business, there is a saying that camera is actually perfectly placed ? to look up the good sound makes video look better. Do not rely on depths of your nose that is. To prevent people from the lousy internal mic in your device - it will make exploring the content of your nostrils, find a way to sure to pick up all background noises, which then place your camera at the same height as your eyes. forces you to stay muted for the entire meeting, This can easily be done by using either a table that destroying every opportunity for interaction on your can be risen, or placing something ? a book stand, behalf. large books, board game boxes, etc. ? underneath your laptop, phone, or tablet. The goal is to transmit your voice clearly with a warmth that calls for attention on the receiving end. Be creative! This is in fact how humans are meant to A simple headset will do the trick, whether it is look at each other, and ensuring eye level presence 14 earbuds with a microphone in the cable or the more online will instantly make you the star of every advanced wireless version with noise-cancelling tech. meeting/event. 14 While ensuring your voice is as crispy and clear as Don?t show t he follow ing: ever, a headset will also grant you the ability not to disturb everyone around you, making your choice of - Sensitive information (either from location much more flexible. whiteboards or monitors) If acquiring a headset seems like an impossible task, - Unknowing co-workers please familiarise yourself with your mute button. Turn it on whenever you have anything to say/add - N aked family members, who might be and leave it off when just listening in. trekking to or from the shower.

Proper light ing P.S. It should go without saying but avoid having the actual sun in your background as well, as it will Now that we have implemented the three most render all your efforts for proper visuals useless. important tricks, it is time for some fine-tuning. You have probably already faced the struggle of proper If you don?t have time to tidy up your home office, lighting when engaging in online meetings/ some webcam applications allow you to manipulate presentations and often the frustrations build up the your background. Microsoft teams let you blur out temptation to just turn off the camera and listen in - your background using image and edge detection. once again missing all opportunities for proper Platforms like Zoom give you the option of changing interaction. your background with a virtual backdrop (using green screen), not unlike they do for many TV broadcasts, However, no one is judging you. The lighting though with less convincing results than your typical originating from your device is a shade of blue that newscast. makes you look like a cadaver or a zombie, and no one wants to look like they just appeared in The Alternatively, you could just add in a minuscule effort Walking Dead TV series. One way to solve this is to to have something pleasant and innocent behind you tweak your display controls for a warmer shade of in real life. lighting. Often your device has a ?blue light filter? or a ?night mode? that will allow you to turn on a more yellowish colour filter, which will give your face a warmer appearance. If you also make sure to have enough light on to illuminate your room, you can Written by Jonas A. Jürgensen play around with the display settings to achieve the Consultant of the Board best results.

?Check yo self before you w reck yo self ?

Finally, now that you?ve been talked into having your lights on, you need to do a background check - and no, we are not talking about that questionable part of a recruitment process, where you scrounge a person's dark secrets. This type of background check is centered around the background that appears on your camera.

What?s behind you can range from distracting to embarrassing to revealing. None of which are especially good. As a rule of thumb, make sure not to have S.U.N. in your background - yes, of course, we?ve invented an acronym even though no one asked for it.

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15 Expert opinion by Søren Bregenholt , Chairman of the Board at Medicon Valley Alliance

You can change t he w orld!

The COVID-19 outbreak has negatively affected many challenge. One or more of these could very well be aspects of our lifes, and hopefully we will see part of the solution we are all waiting for. Several normalization soon. In the long run, the booming global life science companies such as Merck, MSD, interest in life science that the pandemic has AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Pfizer also present in this spurred, might present itself as an opportunity for region also have either advanced vaccine candidates life science clusters, life science professionals and life or advances anti-viral candidates in the pipeline. science students ready to invest time and energy in science, research and drug development that can Secondly, the pandemic has made everybody look help create a better and healthier world. No less! towards the biotech and pharma industries for a The reason is that the COVID-19 outbreak has solution to the challenge - and at warp speed. This catapulted healthcare to the very top of the political has resulted in an increased focus on biotech in agenda, and along with it the somewhat broader general and an upshoot in biotech investment and topic of life science. There are at least three good IPOs, especially in the US. Moreover, this renewed reasons for that. focus might help improve the otherwise bleak reputation of the industry despite its undeniable role Healt hcare is at t he t op of t he polit ical agenda: in eradicating disease and helping patients live better Three good reasons w hy lifes. The first reason is obvious. Everyone looks to life science, not only for COVID-19 vaccines and a The third reason is the economic and financial possible treatment, but also for faster and more consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reliable diagnostics, medical equipment etc. The shaken and threatened several vital industries and global race against COVID-19 has directed very their supply chains. This includes tourism, aviation, substantial public and private interest and resources hotels & restaurants, and many others. to life science globally. Several Danish and Swedish Consequently, circular, and less vulnerable companies and institutions are actively involved in industries, such as pharma and life science in this race! Local Medicon Valley based companies general, becomes increasingly interesting from a such as Roche Diagnostics, Xintela, Immunitrack, long-term growth and financial, and, consequently, Cyxone, Red Glead Discovery, Polypetide and also political perspective. ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies are all pursuing 16 breakthrough approaches addressing the COVID-19

16 About t he aut hor: Søren Bregenholt is a seasoned life science executive with over 20 years of experience in operational and strategic leadership positions in biotech and global pharma, including Symphogen, where he served as COO and Head of Preclinical R&D, and Novo Nordisk, where he held a number of executive positions including Head of Global R&D Strategy & External Innovation organization. Today, Søren is CEO at Macrophage Pharma and Chairman of the Board at the Danish-Swedish life science organization Medicon Valley Alliance.

The goose t hat lays t he golden eggs In addition to these structural and financial improvements, one of the most obvious, easy, and Fortunately, life science is a well-established less costly ways to make the national Danish life stronghold in the Nordics, and particularly in science strategy more ambitious is to embrace the Denmark and Sweden both hatching innovative life regional perspective. This could be easily done by science students and companies each year that can adding a strategic top-down dimension to the current and do make a difference to life science and more bottom-up activities aimed at developing, healthcare. Both countries have recently adopted strengthening, and promoting the Danish-Swedish national life science strategies, and following the life science cluster, Medicon Valley. By investing in COVID-19 pandemic, several of the key industry, and promoting Medicon Valley as an extension of policy and academia stakeholders in Danish life Danish life science, much could be gained at low cost. science now agree that we should revisit the national Both countries are innovation leaders in Europe, and Danish life science strategy in order to make it even both countries have high-ranking universities with a more ambitious. Life science is moving up the latter long history of academic excellence and public- from being an important industry among others to private partnership within life science. Furthermore, become a critically important industry to reinitiate the Danish-Swedish life science cluster is also home the growth of our economy. According to Damvad to world-class research facilities, valuable health data Analytics, there are currently more than 47.000 and several science parks with a vibrant eco-system employees in the Danish life science industry, of life science start-ups. covering the entire value chain from research to manufacturing and clinical development. The income and corporate tax contribution from the life science "By investing in and promoting Medicon Valley industry alone exceeds 21 billion (21.000.000.000) as an extension of Danish life science, much DKK. Moreover, 16 % of the total Danish export is from life science (up from 9 % in 2006). Like no other could be gained at low cost" Danish industry, the life science industry is the goose that lays the golden eggs, and, consequently, it Denm ark and Sw eden should pick t he low - should be a key priority to secure that the goose is hanging fruit s t oget her ?happy and well fed?. We should, in other words, invest time and effort in optimizing the framework Today, we are however not picking all the conditions for Danish life science, and fortunately low-hanging fruits. The national Danish life science there are many ways in which this can be done. One strategy does not embrace life science in Southern suggestion is to make it a lot easier to conduct Sweden systematically and strategically, and clinical trials in Denmark, another suggestion is to although the regional authorities, universities and invest more in academic life science research and industry in Southern Sweden are very eager to another is to boost private R&D by making it possible integrate more with Danish life science, their political to deduct 130 % of the R&D related expenses, as is masters in Stockholm seems somewhat more the case in several of the countries and clusters we reluctant. The recently published Swedish national compete with. life science strategy does actually have an explicit Nordic ambition, something which is absent in the Danish equivalent. I believe it is important that these "Life science is moving up the latter from strategies include activities to leverage the potential being an important industry among others to of Medicon Valley and the unique potential for become a critically important industry to building a bi-national Nordic, internationally 167 competitive life science powerhouse in this region. reinitiate the growth of our economy"

17 Maybe the distance of 600 km between Malmö and axis that would be a Nordic positive-sum game in the the capital of Stockholm is part of the explanation, global competition for talent and innovation that we but it is a shame that our two countries and capitals in the innovative but small Nordic countries must have so far failed to reach out to each other in order win. With just a little extra effort and a little more to draft a common Danish-Swedish vision for willingness in Copenhagen and Stockholm, we could Medicon Valley and life science in the Nordics. do so much more. Together we could convincingly Hopefully, the new initiative to revisit the national position the Medicon Valley and the axis with Danish life science strategy can be a first step in this Stockholm as the leading life science clusters of direction. There are so many low-hanging fruits to be Northern Europe to the benefit of patients, citizens, picked! Joint initiatives when it comes to our common and scientists alike. Let´ s make sure the future stronghold, when it comes to healthcare data. Joint Danish life science strategy reflects that! It is very initiatives when it comes to attracting clinical trials. much about you, because, if you are a life science Joint forums for open innovation. Joint university student in this region, you can change the world and partnerships and the possibility to do double- the future is yours! degrees. Joint efforts to attract talent to the region, where needed, and of course joint efforts to secure attractive, stabile and transparent framework conditions for the many commuters from life science and other industries, which is a precondition for the growth of the region.

"The Danish-Swedish Medicon Valley region is objectively, uniquely positioned as a key stepping- stone in and out of Northern Europe when it comes to life science. Medicon Valley could be the axis around which life science in the Nordic rotates"

As demonstrated in the State of Medicon Valley Analysis, the Danish-Swedish Medicon Valley region is objectively, uniquely positioned as a key stepping- stone in and out of Northern Europe when it comes to life science. Together with the Stockholm-Uppsala region in Sweden, Medicon Valley could be the axis 18 around which life science in the Nordic rotates. An

18 Aim ing at novel ant ibiot ics An int erview w it h Christ ian Grøndahl, CEO & Co-founder of SNIPR Biome

Am idst a global pandem ic st ealing m ost of t he headlines, t he next healt h crisis could very w ell be knocking on our doorst ep. Bot h Scient ist s, public-healt h bodies, and governm ent s have w arned us about w hat is com ing, how ever, w it h significant ot her problem s at hand, COVID-19, clim at e change, broken dem ocracies, and inequalit y, it is seem ingly difficult for t he w orld t o respond t o a problem , w hich m ay seem like a problem for t he fut ure generat ions. Unfort unat ely, t his has been underw ay since t he 1960s w it h a deat h t oll t hat is increasing for every year t hat goes by. The next healt h crisis could very w ell be ant im icrobial resist ance (AMR). Luckily, several effort s are now being m obilized t o t ackle AMR, including SNIPR Biom e. We had a chat w it h Christ ian Grøndahl about SNIPR, t he broken m odel, and w hat ?s t o expect from a com pany t hat has set out t o achieve t he im possible.

Armed with their proprietary CRISPR-Guided Vectors, Written by Jonas A. Jürgensen SNIPR is able to make the enemy turn on themselves, and thus shape the microbiome for the better. Consultant of the Board CRISPR, the revolutionary genetic ?scissors? was honored by Chemistry Nobel in October this year, when Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna The w ar w it h t he superbugs jointly received the prestigious award. The two leading scientists managed to turn the bacterial Annually, more than 700,000 people die due to immune mechanism into a tool allowing for simple drug-resistant diseases. This, however, is only the ?cut-and-replace? type of genome editing. Whilst most beginning, as estimates argue that this could of the early excitement surrounding the gene-editing increase to 10 million a year by 2050, if we fail to do technology was spent discussing the possibilities and something. SNIPR Biom e is one of the companies ethics of editing human beings, Dr. Christian that have taken upon themselves to be at the Grøndahl and his team spent their time patenting the frontline waging war against the superbugs. use of the technology in bacteria instead.

?This is essentially what gets us up in the morning - ?We were three co-founders: me, this brilliant professor, solving the problem. The superbugs are winning the race Morten Sommer, from DTU, and equally brilliant patent right now and we aim to change that. There hasn't been lawyer, Jasper Cube, from Cambridge. We founded a new discovery in gram negative bacteria in the last 30 SNIPR Biome with the very simple idea that we wanted years, however, we can see that CRISPR can actively to use CRISPR to selectively disrupt bacteria?s DNA, selectively kill these superbugs, while leaving the rest of 189 enabling us to do a precision kill. We believed that we the microbiome intact.?

19 were the first to adapt CRISPR that way, and we could ?We are starting on the most dangerous superbugs - see that no one else had done experiments to see if you going after single pathogens - where there is a huge selectively could kill bacteria in the microbiome and unmet medical need. There are 9-10 bacteria where our leaving the rest of the microbiome intact. This feat current antibiotics and our current penicillin is failing. actually gave us a first mover advantage, as we had We are trying to find the replacement of penicillin - foundational IP covering exactly that use of CRISPR in which is of course a daunting task. Some would even say prokaryotes. It was the strategy from day 1, as the battle "why would you try to find the replacement for penicillin in the eukaryotic space has been so time-consuming.? - we already have penicillin", but the fact is that we have had penicillin for almost 100 years and now it is really starting to fail. These critical priority bacteria; It was curiosity that drove the early idea. Grøndahl Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was interested in using CRISPR in bacteria, as that Enterobacteriaceae - beautiful names, but really awful would be a fantastic weapon in the battle against bugs. If we get such an infection, and it's third antimicrobial resistance, and combined with a strong generation cephalosporins resistant, there is nothing IP-strategy, SNIPR Biome was no longer just an idea, you can do. You can throw whatever antibiotic against it, but now a reality. it will keep growing, and then suddenly you will find yourself in the era of before 1928, before Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. The bugs will essentially be Since its inception in August 2017, SNIPR has winning.? successfully raised $50M in one of the largest series A in Europe, expanded the team to more than 30 scientists, and are on track to build a bulletproof However, in order to overcome the increasingly array of patent families. resistant superbugs, and not just develop another antibiotic that might provoke even more resistance, SNIPR Biome is utilizing a unique approach. ?All in all, we are trying to both mature our understanding of the technology, but also trying to protect our technology. It is no secret that it was our very ?We are making a drug consisting of CRISPR-Guided strong patent position which made it possible for us to Vectors, which can be taken as an oral pill. When the land the largest Series A in Scandinavia ever, and one of drug enters into the gut, the DNA gets delivered into the the largest in Europe that year, with $50M - which is a bacteria, and then it makes exactly the same CRISPR lot of money - from a group of very strong investors: RNA as the bacteria would normally do in its defense. Lundbeck Foundation Emerge, who is our cornerstone But now we have made the "GPS"-DNA, so it doesn't investor, Life Science Partners, and also North East recognize viral DNA, but instead it recognizes the Family Office, and Wellington Partners, a bacterial DNA - which is the whole trick! We basically well-established venture group in Germany. This is trick bacteria to cut its own DNA, essentially committing where we are today - we want to be one of the pioneers suicide. We think that is pretty smart, and it proves to be in using the CRISPR technology in bacteria, and we are very effective. It can basically be used on all bacteria - if very focused in combating infectious diseases, we know the DNA, then we can cut it. And of course, it is essentially superbugs, but also trying to make drugs that also very important to know all the DNA that we DON'T are relevant in immune-therapy and in cancer.? want to cut.?

"...suddenly you will find yourself in the Grøndahl elaborates that one dose of the SNIPR drug 10 11 era of before 1928, before Alexander would include 10 to 10 of small CRISPR-Guided Vectors (phage-like particles), which are generally Fleming discovered penicillin. The bugs will regarded as super safe for humans, as they only prey essentially be winning.? on bacteria. Once they land on bacteria, they will inject their DNA. If they inject their DNA and there is not a match, then the bacteria will survive, but if Sw apping t he sledgeham m er w it h a sniper there is a match, the internal CRISPR system will be able to cut the bacteria?s own DNA and thus commit The World Health Organization has declared that suicide. AMR is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. The problem is heavily substantiated due to the observed drug resistance in ?Here it is interesting that we discover a new technology bacteria. For common bacterial infections, such as in the same years and decades where there is so much urinary tract infections, sepsis and some forms of focus on all the good bacteria. When people started diarrhea, high rates of resistance against antibiotics making antibiotics, the bacteria were just the bad guys - commonly used to treat these infections have been the more you killed the better. The way that antibiotics observed globally, indicating that we are running out have been made is like a sledgehammer - you don't of time ? and effective antibiotics. Fortunately, discriminate, you just kill all the bacteria - some will be Grøndahl and his team is stepping up to the good, that you would like to keep, and others would be seemingly impossible challenge. the ones you would want to harm.? 20

20 SNIPRs method will allow the healthcare industry to New initiatives like the AMR action fund is trying to exchange the clumsy sledgehammer with a sniper, bridge this exact gap, by ensuring that early stage ensuring that only the harmful bacteria fall victim to antibiotics make it through the infamous ?valley of their precision kill. However, despite the need for death? in order to reach patients. The focus of the innovative treatments, fewer new antibiotics are new Fund is to bring 2-4 new antibiotics to market reaching the market, with one reason being that during this decade, by investing more than $1B in discovering and bringing antibiotics to market is new antibiotic treatments. By removing some of the often not profitable for pharmaceutical companies. risks of early stage pharmaceutical development, the AMR action fund is thus a welcoming aid to those pledging their efforts in solving one of the greatest ?It is actually a big enigma. We have this huge public health threats known to mankind. unmet medical need, and not thousands of pharma companies that are doing what we ?We believe we are on to an interesting path, however, are doing ? however, that has to do with the many people have stood where we are standing, with fact that the model is broken." great tech, and investors, however still 1/10 biotechs make it. What keeps me awake at night, is choosing the right indications, and doing drug-development. Doing A broken m odel tests in critically ill patients is difficult. We want to turn a wonderful technology into a very robust drug format. It A 2017 estimate puts the total cost of developing an is not enough to kill 1 or 10 bacteria, no, we have to kill antibiotic at around $1.5B. Meanwhile, industry all of the 2000 clinically relevant strains in E. coli and analysts estimate that the average revenue another 1000 in klepsiella. Also, this drug has to be generated from an antibiotic?s sale Is roughly $46M extremely safe ? so far, we haven't killed a single mouse, per year. rat, or mini-pig and phages are generally regarded as super safe. Hopefully we are in the clinic in a couple of years? time.? ?It is actually a big enigma. We have this huge unmet medical need, and not thousands of pharma companies that are doing what we are doing ? however, that has to According to Grøndahl, the application of this do with the fact that the model is broken. There are so technology is almost limitless. Ranging from a variety many antibiotics that are very cheap, and they work of other clinical indications to ecology and reasonably well for 90-95% of patients. But the 5-10% of microbiome modulation, SNIPR Biome could very the patients that are unlucky to get the resistant well be the next big thing. If this is the case, SNIPR bacteria, they have a problem. In the UK they are Biome will be yet another success story for Grøndahl around 55-60 mil. 33 mil in the UK gets 1 or more to add to his resume - and for people looking to take antibiotic treatment a year - more than half a the same journey, he adds; population gets such a treatment every year, so of course it matters a lot that they are affordable. But if you are going to get your money back making a ?Sometimes you are just curious - you follow an idea, completely new drug, then the price for that drug has to and then you see that no one else have done this, and be higher - or the societies will have to pay for it - or then you just see where it takes you.? looking into subscription models, where biotech and pharma are rewarded for making the lifesaving drug, and then all can use it for the greater good.? 201

21 Christ ian Grøndahl CEO and Co-Founder of SNIPR Biome

Bio Christian Grøndahl received his Doctor of Medical Science, PhD and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees from and his MBA from IMD, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Christian worked as a veterinary physician/surgeon and assistant professor before moving to pharma and biotech where he has spent the last 20+ years in R&D, Corporate and Executive roles.

Before co-founding SNIPR Biome, he served as the CEO of Kymab Ltd. in Cambridge, UK, and was partner in the investment arm of The Wellcome Trust, London, Syncona LLP. Christian has been part of starting several companies. In addition to SNIPR Biome, this includes Freeline Therapeutics, Gyroscope Therapeutics, Quadrucept Bio Ltd., and Folium Food Science. Christian served as Executive Vice President, CSO and Head of R&D in Zealand Pharma and was part of taking the company through an IPO in 2010. Christian served in VP and Corporate VP roles with Novo Nordisk, heading up Cancer and Inflammation, Women?s Health, eClinical Development and Corporate Development and Strategy. Christian is the co-inventor on 20+ patents and patent applications licensed to public and private companies.

Presently, Christian serves as the Co-founder, CEO and Director, SNIPR Biome APS (Copenhagen, Denmark), Co-founder and Director, QUADRUCEPT BIO Ltd. (Cambridge, UK), Co-founder and Chairman of the Board, FOLIUM SCIENCES Ltd. (Cambridge, UK), Non-exec Director BioMe Oxford Ltd., (Oxford, UK).

We are looking for a Bioinform at ics St udent Research Assist ant ! Apply by November 13th on www.sniprbiome.com

SNIPR Biome is pioneering a novel use of CRISPR/Cas technology to address human diseases. We use our technology to selectively and precisely decimate target bacteria, while leaving the rest of the microbial community intact and unharmed. SNIPR Biome utilizes the natural bacterial CRISPR-based adaptive immune system in a programmable fashion to kill target bacteria based on their specific genomes. Our drugs are next-generation antibiotics harboring DNA-based CRISPR-Guided Vectors? (CGV? Technology) that cause double-stranded breaks in bacterial genomes and ultra-rapid killing in a matter of minutes, allowing rapid response in acute settings. 22

22 Why is science alw ays so serious?

An int erview w it h t he t eam behind Spækbræt t et

Science should be for everyone ? comedy and humor ? making science fun and showing that research is colorful, exciting, and most t hat is t he basic philosophy behind importantly ? crazy! Spækbrættet; A com edy podcast pres- ent ing crazy and fun science t hrough What kind of quest ions are answ ered w it h discussions of scient ific art icles. science? Each episode of Spækbrættet adheres to a different theme. Thus, the show has covered numerous different subjects, some serious, some less so. The Written by Frederik Nergaard themes are chosen either by the crew themselves or Core Team Member by the audience who, over the years, has provided exceptional suggestions, and the world is now aware that you can actually die from Christmas dinners. At least to some extent, science has always been an And that many visually impaired suffer from a interest for most people. However, the knowledge of syndrome that makes them hallucinate while fully scientists is not always readily accessible and even awake. less so, when it comes in the form of scientific articles. This is why Spækbrættet was started. To allow everyone the joy of learning how weird and Top episodes according t o fantastical science can be. The show has been running for more than two years and is broadcasted Spækbræt t et 's list eners: both as a podcast and on the Danish national radio station, Radio4. Spækbrættet has produced more 1. #3.47 ? Noot ropics (sm art drugs ? than 100 episodes discussing all kinds of scientific Kaffe og cigaret t er) material, enlightening their audience to experiments 2. #3.60 ? Du er 93% forudsigelig they would have never found themselves. 3. #3.44 ? De-ext inct ion biologi: En Access to the objective facts and information fornuft ig Jurrasic Park requires, first of all, finding and reading scientific papers but also the ability to understand the content, 4. #3.56 ? Kan vi opgradere which can be quite tiresome, therefore creating a gap m ennesket ? between researchers and their audience. Spæk- 5. #3.59 ? Ægt e superkræft er brættet bridges that gap in their delivery of scientific 223 articles through storytelling and discussion with

23 ?Making science for everyone?

While listening to the show, you will receive answers The t eam behind Spækbræt t et to questions you did not even know you had. Spækbrættet is run by three people: Mark, Flemming, Questions like: Why does the Tasmanian devil suffer and Nikolaj. Each have their own role in creating from contagious cancer? What is the worst place to every episode. They have all three studied molecular be stung by a bee? And what happens when you biology together, which gives them the critical submerge an octopus into ecstasy? mindset needed for discussion of scientific content. When listening to Spækbrættet, the goal is not exactly to learn anything new, though, if you do that Mark - The storyteller; currently doing his PhD at is great! Rather, the goal is to be aware about what DTU with the title ?Division of labor in mixed-species drives scientists. Money? Fame? No, it is rather an biofilm?. An odd guy who have tattooed a poop insatiable hunger for knowledge, no matter the cost. bacteria on his arm. It does not matter if they are stuck in rain forest, poking through chimpanzees poop to find parasites, researchers will acquire the knowledge. And that is exactly what is fascinating about science and Flem m ing - The impulsive; currently doing his Spækbrættet. master and investigating streptococcus' ?sensory systems? through bioinformatics analysis. He has a weird love for chickens. ?Spækbrættet is presenting science so everybody can understand it? Nikolaj - The detailed running man, working behind the scenes; works at the PCR-screening based biotech company PentaBase in Odense. Where t o list en t o Spækbræt t et The podcast can be found anywhere podcasts are usually listened to. This includes, but is not limited to, Search for Spækbræt t et , press play, and keep up Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Podimo. Most likely, you t he good m ood! I am sure you w ill be ent ert ained will find it wherever else you listen to podcasts. The and enjoy how fun, excit ing and crazy science can comedy-podcast is unfortunately in Danish, but be from t im e t o t im e. international people still listen in and it is a great way to learn Danish. All literature references are placed on each episode?s specific page as show notes, providing you, the audience, with the possibility to dig deeper into any specific topic, should you suddenly have become interested. 24

24 Part ner Insight s

Feat uring Novo Nordisk & IDA

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25 The Novo Nordisk Graduat e Program m e Your springboard int o indust ry and a life changing career

Written by Elisabeth Buhl Thubron

Fist s clenched around t he st raps, zero Pharma, RA, and the alien corporate world ? and a pract ice sessions under m y belt , feet edging new country no less. But the drive was strong - to be closer t o t he plane?s open door, and eyes closer to patients and to help bring innovative fixat ed on t he blurry 4 kilom et re drop below. medicines to them and the markets - as was my aspiration to continue my journey down a Som e doors are easier t o w alk ? or jum p ? meaningful, impactful and purpose-driven career. t hrough t han ot hers, and m y first skydive With little knowledge of these new surroundings, I w as no except ion. Big career t ransit ions needed a springboard and that?s exactly what the oft en com e hand in hand w it h ?door fear ?, graduate programme provided. During my three especially w hen no one led you t here in t he 8-month rotations within different RA departments, I first place. had a support network of graduates (and post-graduates), social and professional mentors, Joining the Novo Nordisk graduate programme in and development training. Through my immersion in Regulatory Affairs (RA) was one of my metaphorical clinical and chemistry/manufacturing aspects of our jumps through the plane door. Whichever metaphor haemophilia, diabetes, and obesity pipelines, I you use to convey your ?door fear?, be it stepping learned how RA stands at the centre of project through the stage door to showcase your singing planning and execution from the earliest stages of voice or exiting an unfamiliar airport as a newly solo drug development all the way through to traveller, it should fulfil a set of criteria. These include post-marketing life cycle management. Not only is a instilling fear, excitement, and feeding your curiosity strong understanding of the science and regulatory and determination because this is how you expand requirements required, but also an awareness of the through the limits you put on yourself so you can strategic and commercial aspects to ensure patient grow past them. You will likely discover something and market access. new about yourself ? and it?ll either take you further down a straightforward trajectory, off on tangents, or The latter realisation was primarily gleaned from my make you swerve off the beaten path to somewhere rotation abroad, in the regional office in Dubai unplanned. A career, and life for that matter, is (United, Arab Emirates). This move was outside my anything but linear, and that?s how it should be. personal and professional comfort zones: not only Without the risks there?s simply no chance for magic had I never travelled to the Middle East, but I would ? and what?s life without magic? no longer be working with clinical data, animal data, and trial designs. Yet, those 8 months left a Jumping from the plane was like stepping from my 26 long-lasting impression on me and played a big part specialist academic field of Neuroscience to Big

26 in the position I am holding today. I learned of the speciality). Later, there was a job opening for a different social, geopolitical and regulatory Regulatory Affairs and Strategy manager in the challenges across these 110 countries, and how the sub-regional office in Istanbul, which oversees 12 industry can help shape or update regulatory affiliates across 75 countries. The opportunity to guidelines to improve access and affordability of further expand my regional regulatory perspective, medicines. My projects were diverse and numerous, market knowledge, and build upon my strategic, spanning topics such as evaluation of RA processes operational and cross-functional thinking, as well as and systems to determine how they can be bring together my HQ and international perspectives, simplified, facilitated, or even replaced or eliminated was the next sky-dive I was ready for. Nearly 3 when faced with new technologies and/or new months in, this skydive still has me energised despite company priorities, development of strategies to the steep learning curve and workload. With the improve communication streams between HQ and additional layers of responsibilities, you need to the region, development and empowerment of RA juggle numerous (and very diverse) projects and colleagues, and putting together strategic submission tasks at any one time, to quickly grasp and plans for our innovative drugs according to the understand concepts, to deep-dive into issues to different local regulatory processes and market come up with action plans, and to understand the priorities. It was a steep learning curve, but the tasks business and organisation so you know from whom were exciting, and the fast pace of work and quick to gather insights or collaborate with for all of the decision-making energised me. above. And, importantly, don?t be afraid to ask questions ? the simple and hard ones. The overall experience of the graduate programme is, again, like skydiving: you jump with a somewhat My biggest learning since finishing my PhD is this: preconceived notion of what lies below and where Being a scientist does not mean you are confined to you should end up. But, as 4 kilometres turns into 2 roles where you are literally close to the research, kilometres, 500 metres, 100 metres... you gain a data, and details. Being a scientist is a way of life ? it better picture of the surroundings and perhaps pivot means you are innately curious, a problem-solver, a to change your preferred landing spot. Exhilarated self-starter. The scientific, curious and agile mindset from the experience, with a better idea of your next you gain, and the myriad of transferable skills, will step, and invigorated for what lies ahead, you know help set you up for tasks you had previously not there will eventually be a next jump. But this time contemplated or believed you?d enjoy or excel at. But you?ll have better gear, skills, and knowledge, to opt it?s only by escaping your comfort zone, challenging for another challenging one. yourself, persevering, and being patient, that you?ll discover what these tasks or jobs are. After I finished the programme, I joined the team at HQ that helps drive innovative anti-obesity I am eternally grateful to Novo Nordisk, the graduate compounds through pre-clinical and clinical programme, my work colleagues & managers, and development phases. I was close to the science I the life-long friends I have gained during and after know and love, working on a condition that has the programme. I took the risk, and there really was overlapping mechanisms with other metabolic magic. 267 diseases including diabetic cognopathy (my

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