DK-MCD Career Symposium 2021

Thomas Pfeifer, PhD is CEO and partner at apis labor GmbH since 2017. As its founder his responsibilities include a wide range of tasks such as establishing laboratory space, acquisition of customers, and building up the quality management system. Prior to this role, he worked as head of analytical quality control at Novartis Technical Operations (2016-2017) and Merck KgaA (2012-2016).
Thomas Pfeifer started his scientific career with an MSc degree in chemistry at the Karl Franzens University of Graz and continued with a PhD under the suptervision of Prof. Dr. Dagmar Kratky at the Medical University of Graz. He investigated the impact of DMHCA, an oxysterol derived LXR ligand on cholesterol metabolism in mice.
Already during his master studies he gained experience as a project management assistant and IT system administrator at Sandoz and after his PhD he became supervisor in analytical control at Baxter AG, leading a biosafety level 3 laboratory.

Dr. Karin Schaupp is an independent business consultant for strategic development and innovation transfer. Among other things, she also a member of various supervisory and scientific advisory boards, as well as national and regional councils and a chairwomen of the University Council of the Graz University of Technology.
Karin Schaupp started her scientific career with a masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a PhD at the University of Graz, followed by an Assistant Professorship at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. In the 1980s, she shifted her career towards industry at Leopold Pharma, Graz. After various functions in international R&D and product management, Dr. Schaupp was appointed as General Manager for Fresenius Kabi, Austria and took over the regional management for Austria - Eastern Europe already in 1999. Before becoming an independent consultant, she was member of the Board of Fresenius Kabi AG Bad Homburg with worldwide business responsibility.
Additionally, she was Professor for Innovation Management and Technology Transfer at the University of Graz.

Dr. Slaven Stekovic, MBA has completed a Doctorate in Molecular Biosciences working on cellular and physiological mechanisms of longevity induced by intermittent fasting and fasting mimetics as a member of the working group of Prof. Frank Madeo at the University of Graz, Austria. In addition, he completed an MBA program with honors at the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK, where he is currently teaching as a guest lecturer. Dr. Stekovic co-founded, managed, and exited the TLL The Longevity Labs GmbH, the first company to bring spermidine as a longevity supplement to the market. Currently, he is an advisor, investor and founder of multiple companies in the life science and green tech space, including DrainBot GmbH, a company specialized in robotics for tunnel drainage maintenance, where he is acting as company’s CFO and COO. Dr. Stekovic has been listed on a Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2017 and has been announced one of the 100 MBAs to watch worldwide by Poets&Quants in 2019. He teaches at multiple European universities and is a bestselling book author.

Dr. Myriam Visram is the founder of “The Social Media Scientist” – a consulting start-up for social media and digital strategies.
She is from Luxembourg and did her Bachelor in Forensic Sciences at the University of Lincoln in Great Britain. Thereafter, she joined University of Graz for her Master study in Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine and continued with a PhD at the same university where she worked on the regulation of lipid metabolism.
After her PhD Myriam Visram acquired additional certificates, such as the university certificate in Modern Management with a focus on Business Management, diplomas in Social Media & Digital Strategy and Public Relations from Business Academy in Vienna.
She started her independent career with the Food & Science Blog “Milly’s Melting Pot” which became popular on Instagram. She also works as a freelancer for several magazines in Luxembourg. In 2020 she founded her own Social Media Consulting platform.

	Thomas Pfeifer, PhD is CEO and partner at apis labor GmbH since 2017. As its founder his responsibilities include a wide range of tasks such as establishing laboratory space, acquisition of customers, and building up the quality management system. Prior to this role, he worked as head of analytical quality control at Novartis Technical Operations (2016-2017) and Merck KgaA (2012-2016). Thomas Pfeifer started his scientific career with an MSc degree in chemistry at the Karl Franzens University of Graz and continued with a PhD under the suptervision of Prof. Dr. Dagmar Kratky at the Medical University of Graz. He investigated the impact of DMHCA, an oxysterol derived LXR ligand on cholesterol metabolism in mice. Already during his master studies he gained experience as a project management assistant and IT system administrator at Sandoz and after his PhD he became supervisor in analytical control at Baxter AG, leading a biosafety level 3 laboratory.
Dr. Karin Schaupp is an independent business consultant for strategic development and innovation transfer. Among other things, she also a member of various supervisory and scientific advisory boards, as well as national and regional councils and a chairwomen of the University Council of the Graz University of Technology. Karin Schaupp started her scientific career with a masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a PhD at the University of Graz, followed by an Assistant Professorship at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. In the 1980s, she shifted her career towards industry at Leopold Pharma, Graz. After various functions in international R&D and product management, Dr. Schaupp was appointed as General Manager for Fresenius Kabi, Austria and took over the regional management for Austria - Eastern Europe already in 1999. Before becoming an independent consultant, she was member of the Board of Fresenius Kabi AG Bad Homburg with worldwide business responsibility. Additionally, she was Professor for Innovation Management and Technology Transfer at the University of Graz.