8 March 2024

Our PhD candidate, Birte Hell, started a secondment! 

For 3 months, DC7 Birte Hell from UMC Utrecht will work at MatTek Life Sciences in Bratislava, Slovakia to learn about the handling of their EpiDerm™ and EpiDermFT™ 3D in vitro skin models. Under the kind and skilled supervision of Silvia Letasiova , Jan Markus and their team she will also experiment with food allergen exposure on 3D skin models and work on a new allergenicity assay. Additionally, she will gain valuable insights into working in a company environment.

What else is exciting to mention is that the travel costs for Birte’s secondment are kindly funded by a COST action STSM grant from NETSKINMODELS COST Action.

We look forward to hearing about the results and wish Birte Hell and all of our DCs Nida Ansari, Sim Ray Yue, Ana Olivares, Vibhu Mishra, Elif Öztemiz Topcu, Faiza Zafar, Isabela Assugeni, Maysam Taheri and Behnaz Shafie the best of luck in their secondments!

1 March 2024

Our PhD candidates visited ALK in Copenhagen!

Recalling our Doctoral Candidates (DCs) Nida Ansari, Sim Ray Yue, Ana Olivares, Vibhu Mishra, Elif Öztemiz Topcu, Faiza Zafar, Birte Hell, Isabela Assugeni, Maysam Taheri, and Behnaz Shafie recent visit to ALK during our training event in Copenhagen, Denmark. As PhD students in allergenicity assessment and tool development, the experience was truly eye-opening.

At ALK, they gained insight into the roles of scientists shaping the future of allergy treatment. It reminded them of the diverse career paths available beyond their PhD journey. Starting with the collaborator of ALLPreT from ALK, Shashank Gupta explained to them the great work they do in ALK in science and research and guided them through the whole day. The role of Senior Director was introduced from multiple aspects by Rikke Mørkeberg. He explained about Industrial Product and Process Development. The clinical development of a drug was explained to DCs by the Medical Director Maja-Lisa Clausen, including clinical trials, especially from the aspect of allergy drugs. Simon Mayland Fredholm introduced them to intellectual property rights and explained why it is important for a company, but also in academic research. It was very eye-opening to see that scientists are needed in every step of drug development including legal issues. They were also able to see some real live house dust mites with Helene Henmar, which was really interesting.

Seeing how research, clinics, and company administration come together in a company also put our projects within the ALLPreT network and beyond into perspective. 

Stepping into the world of pharmaceutical innovation at ALK, our DCs were captivated by the diverse roles of scientists shaping the future of allergy treatment. It was a profound reminder of the vast possibilities awaiting them beyond their PhD journey. Moments like these clarify our DCs future goals. ALK's work in allergy immunotherapy, offers long-term benefits and disease modification, with the help of scientists in a variety of departments.

We are grateful to everyone involved in the activity for their insights. Special thanks to Shashank Gupta for organizing the event.

As our DCs continue their journey as Marie Curie PhD fellows, they carry with them a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to advancing the frontiers of allergy research. Together, let us strive to create a world where allergies no longer dictate lives, but rather, inspire hope and resilience.

 January 2024

Present like a pro!

As a part of the MSCADN training event of ALLPreT project , the doctoral candidates Nida Ansari,Sim Ray Yue, Ana Olivares, Vibhu Mishra, Elif Öztemiz Topcu, Faiza Zafar, Birte Hell, Isabela Assugeni, Maysam Taheri, and Behnaz Shafie had the exciting opportunity to get up skilled on their hashtag#communication and presentationskills from the very talented DTUcommunication team.

Host Ulla Johanne Johansson and her team Sole Bugge Møller and Katrine Lindholm Bøgh Katrine Krogh-Jeppesen promised the doctoral candidates that by the end of the workshop, they could summarise their PhD summary in just 3 minutes. What an incredible challenge it was, but they all did it!

Day 1 was focused on key ideas of journalism , the inverted news pyramid concept, engaging the audience, writing catchy headlines, thinking like a journalist, telling a good story, simplifying technical terms and knowing the audience. Katrine Krogh-Jeppesen gave the candidates tips and tricks for writing effective LinkedIn posts and Instagram posts, using social media in science communication, LinkedIn science –algorithm and science, using chatgpt and socialmedia for personal growth and professional growth. All candidates ended the day 1 preparing the first draft of their pitch.

Day2 was more on refining the pitches of the candidates. Ulla Johanne Johansson gave her wonderful learning on perfect pitch recipe, using the pitch glue, evaluating the pitch and engaging the audience. There were bonus tips on improving the body language, how to appear trust-worthy, overcoming stage fear and relaxing, and calming the mind and body during the presentation.

Finally, All the candidates presented their 3 minutes pitch in front of the judges Hanne Thorninger Ipsen, Ana Sancho, and Gitte Stærk Musana. Many candidates used PowerPoint presentation, graphics, the art of storytelling with data, and catchy tag lines to present their 3-minutes pitch. Worth mentioning was sketching on the paper board by Elif Öztemiz Topcu, - daring task it was!

What an Exciting journey! A power packed once in a hashtag#lifeworkshop that would work all life, no matter where are you in hashtag#Sciencefield. That’s why even two of the guides – Katrine Lindholm Bøgh and Gabriele Gadermaier, PhD, MSc didn’t miss the great opportunity.

Thanks to the host Katrine Lindholm Bøgh, Ulla Johanne Johansson and DTU - Technical University of Denmark for such meticulous planning and execution to condense their life long learning of communication skills in the limited time frame. 

In between, the doctoral candidates got some time off to roam around the big DTU campus and Copenhagen for the wonderful food and sights.

Cheers to the team! Keep up the good work Doctoral candidates! Many milestones to come!

December 2023

Completed a Course on Risk-Benefit Assessment at DTU, Copenhagen, Denmark! 

Thrilled to share that our ALLPreT Doctoral Candidates (DCs) Nida Ansari, Sim Ray Yue, Ana Olivares, Vibhu Mishra, Elif Öztemiz Topcu, Faiza Zafar, Birte Hell, Isabela Assugeni, Maysam Taheri and Behnaz Shafie completed a comprehensive course on Risk-Benefit Assessment of Food at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

This program delved deep into the intricacies of evaluating risks and benefits, providing valuable insights into making informed decisions in specifically four fields: Food Allergy, Toxicology, Microbiology, and Nutrition. All DCs are grateful for the knowledge gained and the opportunity to engage with top-notch faculty and fellow participants from diverse backgrounds.

A big shout out to the DTU team Sara Monteiro Pires and Sofie Theresa Thomsen for a stimulating learning experience! We are looking forward to applying these skills in navigating the dynamic landscape of risk assessment.