We are extremely proud of our new employees. Our Copenhagen team is growing—and fast. With recent recruitments, we have fortified both our Scientific Content & Digital Engagement and Medical Data Science teams in the Danish capital. Today, we’d like to introduce you to Ulrikke Voss, who’s just started in the former. We caught Ulrikke on her third day with us for a little chat. Let’s get to know her a bit, shall we?
Ulrikke has an irresistible energy. She’s very talented and has an impressive track record, which has become somewhat of a signature quality in MedEngine employees. “I would describe myself as curious and kind—but also a bit stubborn. To be challenged by new ideas that force me to wrap my mind around new concepts inspires me. Also, helping people is a strong driver for me”, she sums up her best qualities for us.
”My drive is knowledge and curiosity for the world around me.”
Ulrikke’s background is academic, with extensive research, teaching, and administration experience. She studied her master’s degree at Copenhagen University in Biochemistry with a focus on Neurobiology. “My drive is knowledge and curiosity for the world around me. Having done my masters in the neurobiology of learning and memory I couldn’t resist the opportunity to explore a doctorate focused on enteric nervous system. Here was a system with a high diversity in neurotransmitters that controls intestinal blood flow, secretion, and motility that enable absorption of nutrients, excretion of pathogens and much more that we still don’t fully understand… how could you say no?”
“The lecturer position allowed her to explore new ways of teaching and communicating physiology to medical students.”
After defending her thesis, she stayed 6 years at Lund University as a postdoctoral researcher working to set up her own research on the gut-brain axis, researching how environment and physiology interact. This allowed her to have extended research visits. “I worked in plant and food research in New Zealand and at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands where I learned to culture slices of intestines. Recently, I have been very interested in the interaction between air pollution and physiology, since pollution is one of the largest risk factors for several diseases and one that we can’t really avoid since it is in the air we breathe and can originate far away. I am still associated with Lund University to finish this work.”
Before joining MedEngine, Ulrikke was a lecturer in Physiology at the University of Oslo. While she had been involved in teaching and student supervision throughout her years in academia, she says the lecturer position allowed her to explore new ways of teaching and communicating physiology to medical students, both on site and digitally.
“People are incredibly genuine, and you feel embraced by the sense of community and team spirit.”
Ulrikke didn’t have to think too hard about joining MedEngine. “I think during our interview process it became clear that my curiosity for science and communication, with a drive to help people, was a great fit for MedEngine. So far, I’ve been overwhelmed by the warm welcome from everyone. People are incredibly genuine, and you feel embraced by the sense of community and team spirit.”
Ulrikke enjoys being outdoors and loves hiking. Two years ago, she did a 3,000 km hike, hiking the full length of Sweden from Ystad to Abisko. “There is a joy and freedom in knowing that everything you need, you carry on your back and today’s goal is to find the next campsite. Like most other people with a laboratory background, I also like to cook, with the kitchen working as my own mini lab where I can play. I have a quite large selection of cookbooks that I’ve organized by color!”. During her great hike she also interviewed scientists, starting a YouTube channel, and says she was amazed by the way that different subjects, from literature and medicine to waste management and astronomy, all tell the story of who we are.
Oh, and one more thing, “I met my husband Christopher on a greyhound bus in the United States many, many years ago—and we still argue over whether the bus was full or empty. I just want to put it on record that it was full. I absolutely did not scout out Christopher to sit next to him, it was simply the only available seat (ish).”
Good to have that settled once and for all then, and great to have a fellow science communicator on board, Ulrikke. A warm welcome!
