Current Positions
12/2014 – present: Group Leader, Chemical Neuroscience Group, Biotechnology Centre of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
01/2015 - present: Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo
Academic Interests
- Novel molecular mechanisms underlying neurological disorders (e.g. Epilepsy, Schizophrenia, Alzheimer´s)
- Pharmacoresistance
- Seizure initiation (ictogenesis)
- Seizure progression (epileptogenesis)
- Comorbidities (e.g. cognitive and locomotor impairment, SUDEP (Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy Patients))
- Disease modeling in Zebrafish
- Influence of drug exposure on neural development
- Early-stage, preclinical drug discovery
- Chemical Biology
- In vivo, medium- to high-throughput chemical modifier screens
- Natural product discovery
- Pharmacological analysis of bioactive compounds
- Toxicological assessment of drugs and potential therapeutic small-molecules
- Mode of action/target identification of therapeutic lead compounds
Background
Research
University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium:
10/2008 – 11/2014:
- Senior Scientist and Industrial Research Fellow, Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacology
- Founder and Manager, Chemical Genetics Initiative @ KU Leuven
- Project Coordinator, PharmaSea (EU FP7 Project, 2012-2014)
08/2006 – 01/2008:
- Postdoctoral fellow, Laboratory of Catherine Verfaillie, Interdepartmental Stem Cell Institute
08/2006 – 01/2008:
- Postdoctoral fellow, Laboratory of Frank Luyten, Laboratory for Skeletal Development and Joints, Department of Musculoskeletal Sciences
02/2003 – 04/2006:
- Senior Scientist and Doctoral Candidate, Laboratory of Desiré Collen, Molecular Cardiovascular Medicine Group, Faculty of Medical Sciences
Teaching
2015 – present:
Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Norway; Organic Chemically-Based Drug Design
01/2004 – 11/2014:
Lecturer, Biomedical Sciences Group, University of Leuven, Belgium; Principles of Genetics, Model Systems in Research, Laboratory Animal Science
Education
02/2003-07/2007: Doctor of Medical Sciences (PhD), University of Leuven, Belgium
09/1992-08/1994: Master of Philosophy (MPhil) (Developmental Genetics)
- Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
- MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London, United Kingdom
- Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
09/1986-06/1990: Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences (BA), Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA
Current collaborations
Press clippings
Zebrafish; a see-though favourite with researchers (Uniforum, in Norwegian)
Selected publications (pdf)