In this series “Meet the people behind Biotech Booster” we introduce you to the passionate people who are involved in our mission.
A big part of our team consists of Biotech Booster business- and impact developers. They operate on a national level within five distinct Thematic Clusters (TC’s) that each represent specific biotech focus areas. Our business- and impact developers collaborate nationally on a daily base to identify early stage high-potential biotechnology findings. They guide scientists and aspiring entrepreneurs in their journey to transform their ideas into successful biotech businesses so that biotechnology findings have more and a faster positive impact on society.
Name
Lisanne Hameleers
What is your role within Biotech Booster?
I am working as a Business Developer in the Thematic Cluster 2 (TC2) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and within the VU IXA-GO team. TC2 focusses on Agriculture & Food, which is considered green biotechnology that uses biological systems and organisms to develop environmentally sustainable solutions for the agriculture, food and feed sectors.
Can you describe your role in a nutshell?
A key aspect of my role involves scouting and evaluating innovative biotech projects that align with the European Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), current industrial trends, and address societal challenges. Areas of focus include, but are not limited to, sustainable and circular agriculture, cellular agriculture, precision fermentation, food safety, and nutrition. Alongside around 40 fellow Business and Impact Developers, I actively support selected project teams by helping them navigate key challenges and connecting them to the extensive resources within the Biotech Booster network. This network brings together researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. As a Business Developer, I also work on building and strengthening a national network that bridges knowledge institutes, encouraging mutual learning and accelerating innovation within the Dutch biotech sector. Additionally, we are creating a comprehensive knowledge hub that will contain valuable information on shared (scale-up) facilities, regulatory and ethical guidelines, and targeted funding opportunities.
What motivated you to join Biotech Booster’s mission?
Biotech Booster allows me to stay in touch with innovative Science and work closely with People – two things that I love. I enjoy supporting ambitious researchers and entrepreneurs in translating their ideas into investable or commercial propositions and it is great to be part of applying Science and using it to create societal impact.
What do you love most about your role? Pick one thing!
Sorry I need to state 2 😊
PEOPLE – I love working collaboratively with my team members, engaging with diverse stakeholders, and working proactively with different project teams.
SCIENCE – Coming from academia myself, I enjoy being involved in the process of applying science and creating something bigger than a scientific paper.
What are your ambitions and what do you hope to achieve in the coming years?
I am passionate about assisting our current cohort of project teams in gathering valuable insights, developing sustainable business cases, and reaching their goals of creating impact. Further, I am looking forward to scouting and accelerating new, promising ideas, helping them reach their full potential. Besides, I am eager to strengthen relationships between knowledge institutes, fostering an environment of mutual learning and collaboration.
Ultimately, I aim to ensure that Biotech Booster becomes a stable source of funding, mentorship, and networking, contributing to the long-term growth and success of the (Dutch) biotech ecosystem.
If you could have dinner with any scientist, living or dead, who would it be, what would you ask them and why?
I would like to have dinner with all my friends and fellow Scientists that I enjoyed spending time with during my BSc. and MSc. in Münster, Germany and during my PhD at the University of Groningen. It would be vibrant reunion as we are all spread around the world now, working in different roles. I would ask them how they are doing and whether they are happy 😊
Anything else you’d like to mention?
Let’s make Biotechnology work!
