Goodbye to DynaMo postdoc Morten Emil Møldrup

AarhusKarlshamn (AAK) is the world’s leading producers of high value-added specialty vegetable fats and has initiated an ambitious development strategy including a strong focus on development of new technologies for future product and solutions for the food industry. To execute the strategy, AAK has established a number of new positions, including the position as biotechnology research scientist to which Morten has been headhunted.  

At AAK Morten will participate in defining the company’s potential new business area in biotechnology, the objective being to conceptualize how to use bioengineering and fermentation technologies in developing new oils for food science. Morten is expected to collaborate closely with external partners from e.g. the academic institutions and relevant external partners in the industry.

Morten did his MSc and PhD theses at the University of Copenhagen under the supervision of Head of DynaMo Professor Barbara Ann Halkier. Morten holds an MSc degree in Biology-Biotechnology from 2009, his MSc thesis being on metabolic engineering of glucosinolates. In August 2012 he successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled “Pathway elucidation and metabolic engineering of plant defense compounds for crop protection; case studies using camalexin and glucosinolates”.  The thesis is comprised of six journal articles and focuses on two important plant defense compounds and their biosynthetic pathways and elucidates how biotechnological use of these compounds can pave the way for future crop protection.

Morten has been a key player in creating the foundation and proof of concept for bioengineering the complex biosynthetic pathway of the cancer preventive component glucoraphanine into microorganisms, which has resulted in a patent application and several articles in high ranking scientific journals (Nature Biotechnology and Plant Cell).

Morten is a social team-player with a keen interest in project management and is well-liked by colleagues and students alike.

We wish you all the best with your future career, Morten!