Iben Egebæk Nikolajsen Email & Phone Number

I hold a MSc. from UCPH in Molecular Biomedicine. During my studies, I did research revolving around engineering human olfactory receptors into yeast, in effect creating an 'artificial nose' which can simulate the sense of human smell. You can read more about my research in the published article from Nature Communications (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31357-6). During my time at UCPH I led the 2019 iGEM team in the international synthetic biology competition, where we created a proof-of-concept of a hormone-sensing and color-changing yeast biosensor. Our idea was to integrate the sensor into a chewing gum, enabling women to know exactly where they are in their fertility cycle. For this project, we received extensive attention from public media as well as several awards.After my thesis, I decided to pursue challenges outside of scientific research, and accepted a position in EY's Innovation Incentives team as a Grant Specialist. In this role, I assisted clients in scoping and applying for public funding to realize their large-scale innovation projects. During my time at EY I worked with clients in many different sectors such as Hydrogen, Nuclear Energy, Steel, Biogas, Large-scale Manufacturing, and in total I helped raise more that €370 million for sustainability and innovation projects.Wishing to get back closer to my core area of knowledge, I started my current position in BII's Science & Technology team on April 1st 2023. Here, I am responsible for managing the Bio Studio Program processes, as well as coordinating BII's impact reporting.In my spare time I enjoy experimenting with fermentation projects in my kitchen. Currently I'm brewing cider and making a huge batch of fermented hot sauce.