New ambassadors at UiT and UiS

Welcome Maria Wilhelmsen Hoff (UiT) and Monika Moreń (UiS) as new BioCat ambassadors! They replace Heidi T Hillier and Marianne Bore Haarr, who were important members of our ambassador team these past few years. Marianne is off to Dublin in a new postdoc position, while Heidi is preparing to defend her thesis. A big thanks to both for all of their hard work, and we wish them well in their new adventures!

Here is a little info about our new ambassadors. Take contact with any questions or concerns!

Meet Maria

I am a PhD candidate at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. I am part of the Molecular Biosystems and Bioinformatics group at the department of chemistry, and my supervisor is Professor Peik Haugen. My PhD project is part of a collaborative effort towards bringing side-stream biomasses (industrial byproducts and waste) from the marine sector back into circulation through bioconversion.

I have a BSc in Cellular- and Molecular biology and a MSc in Biotechnology from NTNU Trondheim. I was a part of PhotoSynLab at NTNU for my master thesis with Rahmi Lale as my main supervisor and I focused on synthetic promoter design. I worked as a department engineer at Akershus university hospital with diagnostic PCR-analysis of COVID-19 for 1 year after completing my master’s degree in 2020.

Meet Monika

I have a BSc in Biotechnology and MSc in Medicinal Chemistry from Warsaw University of Technology (Poland). All my work there was focused mainly on the organic synthesis of new potentially biologically active compounds or their building blocks. Now, at the University of Stavanger where I am getting my PhD in organic chemistry, I can broadly use the experience I gained at WUT. My project includes the synthesis of novel molecules called helicenes that demonstrate interesting properties and have already found many applications both biological and other.

I am so happy to be a member of BioCat and looking forward to meeting you all in person!