In the second in our Introducing series, we’re very pleased to introduce Editorial Board member Helene Andersson Svahn to readers of the blog!
Helene Andersson Svahn received her M. Sc. in Molecular Biotechnology from Uppsala University and her Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology in 2001. In 2002-2005 Dr Andersson Svahn was Marketing Director at Silex Microsystems. In 2003 she was selected as member of the ‘TR100: Innovators under 35 who will create the future’ at MIT in USA. In 2005-2008 she was professor in Applied BIOMEMS at MESA+ Research Institute in Holland. In 2006 Prof Andersson Svahn was awarded a prestigious research fellowship from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 2011-2012 she was the President of the Young Academy of Sweden and she is also a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Currently she is heading the Nanobiotechnology division at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and CEO of the startup company Picovitro AB (part time). Her main research focus is micro- and nano-fluidic devices for biotech and medical applications.
RESEARCH VISION: “The Nanobiotechnology group at The Royal Institute of Technology was initiated in 2005 and consists today of approximately 20 people with a wide variety of backgrounds such as electrical engineering, medicine, biotechnology, chemistry and physics creating a very dynamic and interdisciplinary environment. The Nanobiotechnology group is focusing on interdisciplinary research with a focus to combine nanotechnology and microfluidics with various biotechnology and medical applications. In 2013 the research group moved to the Science for Life Laboratory, which is a new national resource center in Sweden devoted to high-throughput bioscience with a focus on health and environment. The aim is that SciLifeLab will become the leading technology-driven national life science center in Europe. By moving into the SciLifeLab, my research group will have closer contacts with biological expertise which in combination with our cutting edge nanotechnology tools can help to maximize the output of these tools. For the future I believe that it is critical for the microfluidics field to develop a common language and understanding with biologists to enable us to shoulder biologically complex and technically demanding challenges.”
