SPEAKERS
Meet Our Speakers
Lone Gram
PROFESSOR
Bioengineering, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark
Professor Lone Gram studies bacterial eco-physiology and biotechnology. The science is focused on aquatic bacteria (freshwater and marine) and covers both pathogeneic bacteria as well as beneficial bacteria. Professor Lone Gram and her research group are in particular interested in microbial secondary metabolites; their natural functions and biotechnological application. They want to control bacteria that cause disease in man or fish and we study novel principles and compounds that can control pathogenic bacteria. She is also course responsible with her group for courses at DTU and several project students are affiliated with the group. Also, the group has an extensive international network.
Credits: Bax Lindhardt
Kelli Palmer
Associate Professor
Biological Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, The University of Texas at Dallas, United States
Dr. Kelli Palmer’s research focuses on gaining a better understanding of how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. One of her approaches involves sequencing entire genomes of different bacterial species to identify and characterize genetic mutations that lead to antibiotic resistance. She also is investigating the role genetic material called plasmids and transposons play in conferring resistance. These tiny bits of DNA can be transferred from bacteria that are drug-resistant to bacteria that are not. Understanding this process might lead to more effective ways to curtail the spread of antibiotic resistance. Palmer also studies a complex gene-editing system abbreviated CRISPR (pronounced “crisper”), which is the mechanism underlying bacterial immune systems – something researchers didn’t know existed until about 10 years ago.
Credits: University of Texas at Dallas
Kasper Gubba Ørtenblad
Chief Executive Director at Roxiant
Co-founder & CEO PrOxi Biotech
Kasper founded the vaccine developing company PrOxi Biotech that became one of the leading life science start-ups in the Nordic region and is currently focused on establishing a new venture treating neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, he is advising a number of life science companies.
Credits: PrOxi Biotech
Shiraz Ali Shah
Senior ResearcheR at Gentofte Hospital
Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC)
Shiraz Shah graduated with a Master’s in bioinformatics and microbiology from the Danish Technical University in 2006. Since 2007 upon starting his Ph.D. at the University of Copenhagen, he has been working with CRISPR bioinformatics and has published extensively on the topic. After finishing a post doc he headed the university’s biocomputing core facility and then joined COPSAC in mid 2017 where he works with virome analysis, and likes to think he has a solution for the viral dark matter problem. On the side, he still enjoys making contributions to the CRISPR field when characterising new subtypes or finding new cas gene families.
Credits: Gentofte Hospital
