“Tell us your story- how did your path lead you to Nanion Technologies?”

During my Ph.D.-studies at Göteborg University, Sweden, I saw a single ion channel in action for the first time, and since then I’ve been deeply fascinated by the patch clamp technique and its possibilities. At the time, I used patch-clamped cells as biosensors in chemical separation, and it became clear to me that I wanted to continue in this field professionally.

With the Ph.D. degree in my pocket, I started working at Celletricon, where my team developed the first Dynaflow® platform, a microfluidic perfusion system for manual patch clamp. I was involved all the way from the technical proof of concept to commercial roll-out and technical sales. During that time, I met Niels, Andrea and Michael at Biophysics in Baltimore 2004. They came across as nice, smart, and honest people and Andrea’s presentation at the Satellite meeting was really impressing. Therefore, I went up to them and presented myself. I got to know the Port-a-Patch and found it absolutely brilliant.

As time went by, I started looking for new challenges – I wanted to learn more about automated patch clamp. I knew the field well and Nanion was on the top of my list. I remember sending my CV to Nanion on a Friday, and when Niels called me the following Monday, I thought to myself “Oh yeah! My chances are good!”.

Two weeks later, I flew down to Munich, had a great chat with the team, got an offer which I accepted and three months later I moved from Gothenburg, Sweden, to Munich.

“Knowing what you know now, what 3 pieces of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?”

1. Start investing in ETF’s! NOW! 25€ a month is a great start.

2. If you believe in something – don’t give up! Living to regret something is much worse than failing once in a while.

3. Trust your gut feeling. Intuition is information which has not consciously been processed yet.

“One Last Question- what’s the coolest thing about your job?”

There are many different aspects, one important being the diversity of tasks and responsibilities, and that there has been room to evolve professionally. During my first years at Nanion, I travelled the world, demonstrating and selling the Port-a-Patch. Scientific conferences and trade shows, writing papers and reviews, scientific projects, giving talks, meeting scientist in their laboratories showing the Port-a-Patch in action was the everyday “routine”. I’ve always had an affinity for marketing and communications so after a couple of years I became responsible for these areas including the re-branding of the corporate identity. So, I’d say, I feel privileged to have had the chance to learn and develop in many different areas during my time at Nanion.
Currently, I’m the sales-responsible on the SURFE²R team, which is a great opportunity to dive into the field of membrane transporters and to promote a unique platform. I can also confirm what my “Diversity-Colleagues” before me have stated; there are so many nice people working at Nanion, and that makes the work life a lot more fun.