Niels Vander Elst

Over the past six years, I have established myself as an expert in bacteriophage-derived endolysins, a technology that first captivated me during an internship at Stockholm University and has since driven my professional - and personal - development. My expertise in endolysins is demonstrated through several notable publications (all in Q1 journals), as well as being invited or selected to speak at international conferences, including an honourable role as the opening speaker in a session on emerging technologies.

Since 2019, I have secured prestigious grants and fellowships across Europe and the United States, enabling me to advance endolysins as a solution to antimicrobial resistance. My academic journey began with a one-year fellowship from the Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF), which supported my research at the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research at the University of Maryland. This was followed by funding from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) to complete my interdisciplinary PhD research with KU Leuven and UGent, resulting in a dual doctoral degree in Biotechnology and Veterinary Medicine in September 2023.

A significant part of my work includes filing both provisional and full patent applications for my engineered endolysins, with one of these patented compounds now progressing into clinical trials. Furthermore, my provisional patent was a finalist for the ‘Invention of the Year’ award at the University of Maryland.

In my current role as a postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institutet, I continue to advance the endolysin technology to address the global threat of antimicrobial resistance. Additionally, I am an active steering member of the Junior Faculty at Karolinska Institutet, where I contribute to maintaining an outstanding research environment at the institute that I so much adore.