A guru never calls himself a guru

Published September 20, 2021

ShareLab adds Lab Lead and entrepreneur-in-residence to the team

As of this month, the ShareLab team has been expanded with a new member: Tor Espen Stav-Noraas has a PhD in immunology and comes with several years of biotech experience from Thermo Fisher Scientific. He will take a leading role in moving ShareLab’s lab facilities and services to the next level, as well as assume the role of entrepreneur-in-residence.

Says Tor Espen “I love early discovery with a clear perception of the end-product in mind”. Cell therapy was Tor Espen’s key field at Thermo, while academic years were spent studying IL-33 and Notch pathways.

“The combination of his academic and industrial experience will no doubt be of great value to ShareLab members”, comments Esben A. Nilssen, managing partner at ShareLab, before continuing, “he will also help develop ideas into new biotech start-ups as part of his role as an entrepreneur-in-residence”.

We believe Tor Espen is our new biotech guru. Mind you, a guru would never call himself a guru.

Feel the Pain, then Push Harder

Published February 26, 2020

It is a moment in every marathon race where you can either quit, fold, or say to yourself, ‘I can do this’. We know, it is a cheap trick to use sports lingo to describe entrepreneurship. However, in the case of Adam Robertson, Chief Scientific Officer and scientific founder of Hemispherian Oncology, it is more than tempting. It is necessary. Adam is a no-bullshit type with the stamina of a sleigh dog, his upbringing being far from winter and snow.

During boyhood years he was fed on Brunswick stew, peanut soup, and marble cake in Virginia, the birthplace of America. His father’s military assignment brought him to Guam for three years before he attended Virginia Tech and later University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for doctoral work. It was, however, as a postdoctoral researcher and group leader at Oslo University Hospital he understood that academic life was really not for him. Another day, another paper. Adam wanted to feel the pain, push harder, make an impact. He invented a novel CRISPR-like technology called RACeR, but what finally made him pull out of academia was the discovery that a group of small molecules would selectively kill glioblastoma cells. Glioblastoma patients have a median survival of 15-16 months. It was a no brainer: he wanted to make an impact, he exited academia.

Hemispherian Oncology has been hand built and bootstrapped by Adam, his Swiss partner Zeno Albisser (CEO), and a small dedicated team of scientists. This year they will do a seed round, imagine what they can do with money. Back to the sports lingo. The marathon is not really about the running (or the running entrepreneur), it's about the shared struggle. You will not be surprised that Adam is a marathon runner both intellectually and as a matter of fact.

Adam Robertson will give the lunch seminar at ShareLab 5 March 2020 at 11 am titled ‘Glioblastoma: not licenced to kill’. The seminar is open to all interested. Bring your lunch. Coffee, tea, and pastry will be served. Check more details here

Lunch seminars WS20

Published 13 December 2019

ShareLab's lunch seminar program is out. Biotech lovers are in for a real treat 

In 2020 we will take a full dive into the science underpinning our member companies. The first four seminars are dedicated to human drug og dx start-ups covering inflammation, Alzheimer, and cancer. Closer to summer we will be introduced to how stem cell research may render it possible to culture meat, while our last seminar in June is reserved for fish health and aquaculture. The title of the latter seminar is yet to be announced.

Bring your own lunch to ShareLab – we will serve coffee and drinks. All interested welcome. Seminars are held in our co-working space at Oslo Science Park unless otherwise announced. Please show interest by using our Facebook event page posted 3 weeks ahead of the seminar date.

IP Clinic

Published 27 September 2019

Do you struggle with your biotech IPR? Do not despair. European patent attorneys Dehns are running an IP clinic at ShareLab on 1st October 2019. 

Dehns are members of ShareLab and offer current and future members a helping hand. If you are in need, please send an email to sharelab@dehns.com

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About HPLC*

*But Were Afraid to Ask

Published 6 May 2019

Would you like to separate, identify, or quantify components in a mixture? At SharaLab we have both analytical and preparative HPLC systems at you disposal. No or little experience? No, worries! Join our workshop 29 May and we will make you fly. 

The workshop is a collaboration between Matriks and ShareLab. We start off with a little theory before we head off to the lab to run some real samples. If you would like to run your own samples, you are welcome to join our community. Also, if you would like help with the first samples (or the whole campaign for that matter), we have HPLC experts ready to help you off the ground. Check out the program and sign up HERE. Other questions? Reach out via FaceBook's Messenger.

Bioprocessing: Stirred, But Not Shaken

Published Descember 29th 2019

Do you want to give your shake flasks cultivation an extra boost? Then do not wait any longer and transfer to a bioreactor or fermenter. ShareLab will teach you how. Sign up for the workshop 6 February 2019.

The workshop is a collaboration between Eppendorf, SINTEF, and ShareLab. The workshop will kick off with a teach-in on the advantages and challenges of shaker cultures, before participants are introduced to bioreactors by Eppendorf experts. Bioreactors are not just about scaling up and scaling down, but also to gain control and enhance reproducibility. You probably know that bacteria, yeast, plant cells, insect cells and mammalian cells are cultured in bioreactors, but did you know that stems cells may also be cultured this way? Inga Marie Aasen from SINTEF will share great cases and work from her labs and after lunch there will be a hands-on demonstration of a bioreactor in ShareLabs. We will use the the Eppendorf BioFlo® 120 and the DASbox® as demonstration systems.

Challenges with you own culturing, fermentation or expression? No problem, bring your questions and consult the experts during the workshop.

Check out the program and sign up HERE.

"Conditions such as trauma, tumors, cancer, periodontitis and osteoporosis may lead to bone loss, reduced bone growth and lower bone volume. To help these patients, it is critical to find methods to improve bone growth and to regain bone anatomy. Our NuBone may be used as a framework for the cells participating in the bone regeneration process, but also as a substitute for lost bone structure."

S. Petter Lyngstadaas (CEO)

As entrepreneurs, it is important for Corticalis to be part of a community with other like-minded colleagues. ShareLab offers this possibility. In addition, the company also has access to the lab-space needed to continue experimenting and enhancing their products - ShareLab fits the bill perfectly!

The ShareLab team is excited to have Corticalis as a member and wish them the best of luck!

Published by: Iselin H. Wood

Published by: Iselin H. Wood