This week we are happy to welcome a brand new addition to the Symcel family, Kasper Kragh.
Actually - that’s not quite true. Kasper has been a part of the Symcel family for a while now, having been an early adopter of the calScreener working on biofilms and antimicrobial susceptibility testing at Copenhagen University. He then became one of the biggest champions of the calScreener and biocalorimetry, producing 5 papers since he started using the instrument back in 2019.
Kasper’s background in medical microbiology and antimicrobial susceptibility testing is a huge asset for Symcel as we start to gain more and more traction in clinical markets. He has over 10 years of experience in high-impact biomedical and clinical microbiology research where he published over 50 papers developing new methods and gaining new insight into chronic infections. This makes him perfect for the new role, Science Development Lead.
Having a former customer come and join our team is a huge milestone for Symcel. We may be biased but we have known for a long time that our customers represent truly visionary scientists at the top of their field. We also pride ourselves on the hands-on support we provide which inevitably leads to close ties with people who share our passion for innovation. From that perspective, it is very natural that customers will find a place at Symcel which is something that we value greatly.
The fact Kasper comes to Symcel now is a validation of the time that we have invested in developing strong applications and customer relationships. It is also nice to know that as people get closer to the company and begin to see “behind the curtain”, they see something that they want to be a part of.
Kasper will be based in Copenhagen which is a hotbed of high-quality microbiology research. With his help, we hope to grow our brand in Denmark and enable some of the world's leading companies and research groups to get more information from the biological samples. Being located in Copenhagen is another significant milestone for Symcel, representing the third country that we have expanded into after Sweden and the US. This adds to the excitement of bringing Kasper on board and bodes well for the year to come.
When asked about why he wanted to join Symcel, Kapser had this to say:
“Over the years, I’ve been so happy with the interaction with the Symcel team and wanted to be a part of the culture. As a customer, I’ve always felt like Symcel was a partner. Too often, you get an expensive piece of equipment dropped on your doorstep never to hear from the company again. Symcel was different and really stood out as a company that was ready to go the extra mile to help customers get the most out of their instrument.
It’s the perfect time to join as the team has gone so far already within microbiology but I believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Biocalorimetry is unknown to many researchers who could really take advantage of this powerful technique. I’m excited to see how much more we can do in the areas of antimicrobials and infection diagnostics, but also in cancer research, biotechnology, parasitology and microbial ecology. For every conversation that I have about the company and the technology, I get new ideas for how biocalorimetry can be used. At Symcel, I’m like a kid in a candy store which is quite fitting as in Denmark, Sweden is famous for the candy!”