InfraLife took the opportunity to ask Annika Jenmalm Jensen, Infrastructure Director at SciLifeLab and newly elected board member at MAX IV, three quick questions about the new position.
Tell us a little about yourself!
Since 2016 I am Infrastructure Director at SciLifeLab, and together with SciLifeLab infrastructure coordinators and the technology platforms I aim to keep SciLifeLab’s infrastructure cutting edge. I have a PhD in Preclinical Drug Discovery (Medicinal Chemistry) from Uppsala University. Prior to taking on the role as Infrastructure Director I was the director of the Chemical Biology Consortium (CBCS). Before that I spent more than 10 years in the pharma industry.
You are a newly elected board member at MAX IV. What will you bring to the table?
First of all, I am very honored and happy to be assigned to the board of MAX IV. I really look forward to getting started.
Since SciLifeLab is solely focused on life science, I will bring a strong focus on how to maximize the benefit of the infrastructures for the life science eco system. For continuous optimization and evolvement of the national life science infrastructures, national and international collaboration is key. The InfraLife initiative is one such example.
In your opinion, which are the most important areas to focus on in the future regarding research infrastructure?
The infrastructures need to be continuously developed and coordinated to match the future challenges within life science. The importance of this became evident during the pandemic when major efforts were made both at SciLifeLab and MAX IV. In addition, the infrastructures can provide the technological backbone for addressing society challenges like anti microbial resistance and research areas such as precision medicine and climate change.
I am also engaged in creating career pathways for infrastructure staff scientists that are the heart of our infrastructure but poorly recognised as such, within the classical academic setting. The infrastructures heavily rely on the experienced staff scientists but also a close connection to excellent research environments.
Read more about the MAX IV board
Robert Feidenhans’l is the new chair of the MAX IV board – Read article here (MAX IV webpage).
Read more about infrastructure initiatives related to Covid-19 and future pandemics
Tackling SARS CoV-2 viral genome replication machinery using X-rays – Read article here (MAX IV webpage).
Clues to block replication of SARS-CoV-2 found with FragMAX platform – Read article here (MAX IV webpage).
Strong basic research prepares Sweden for future pandemics – Read article here (SciLifeLab webpage).
Bacterial perseverance contributes to antibiotic resistance – Read article here (SciLifeLab webpage).