In the third of our series of employee profiles, we introduce you to Anna Grönholm, MedEngine’s Senior Scientific Project Manager, Medical Affairs & Marketing.
Anna Grönholm is a team player who thrives on using her academic and communications expertise.
“One of the most important drivers for me is working closely with our clients,” says Anna.
“I’m very passionate about building customer relationships and working together with highly skilled and motivated people,” she says, with a smile.
As MedEngine’s Senior Scientific Project Manager, Medical Affairs & Marketing, Anna holds a PhD in Immunology from the University of Tampere, which is located in Finland’s third largest city where she grew up.
Groundbreaking research
Before joining MedEngine in 2015, Anna worked as a scientist at the National Institute of Health (NIH) near Washington, DC. In the US, she was part of a research team that carried out cutting-edge research on CRISPR-Cas9 technology.
“It’s genome-editing technology that works like the find-and-replace function in a text editor,” explains Anna. “In theory, this tool makes it possible to target any letter in the genetic code from bacteria to human cells. This makes the application possibilities of CRISPR technology almost unlimited both in research and in therapeutic applications, including gene therapy,” she says.
Anna says she feels fortunate to be able use her immunology and inflammatory diseases expertise at MedEngine.
“There are currently so many new medicines that target our immune systems. An in-depth understanding of those immunological mechanisms is a great asset,” she explains.
Being able to interpret new research and scientific source material and convey its relevance is a key skill. Anna writes a lot of medical texts for an audience of doctors as well as the general public. As MedEngine creates a lot of visual content such as infographics and videos to deliver information, Anna designs the content and then a graphic designer crafts it into the final product.
“With such an abundance of medical information available, clinicians with their limited time resources really appreciate new information that is easy to access.”
“Our ultimate goal is clearly formulated content in a user-friendly form to help clinicians make informed, evidence-based clinical decisions for their patients,” she says.
In her role at MedEngine, Anna says one of her great joys is to realize her passion for lifelong learning.
“I’m very involved with organizing training, seminars and workshops for our clients and their customers, who are mainly clinicians. The projects can take up a year and a half. This offers the opportunity to work closely with our clients and focus on preparing educational materials for them and then see them in use – that’s incredibly rewarding,” she says.
The best of all worlds
Anna, who also studied communication at the University of Tampere, spent a year in Salzburg, Austria, while she was working on her master’s degree. An avid reader who enjoys travelling with her family, Anna says, “the Alps are one of my favorite destinations, it’s the scenery of my soul, so to speak.”
Balancing her personal life with her fulfilling working life brings Anna joy.
“One of the many assets of working at MedEngine is the opportunity to combine medical science, communication and customer interaction – and flourish,” she sums up, with a smile.
