From KI to Harvard

Niklas Mejhert, researcher at the Lipid laboratory, has recently moved to Boston with offers of two scholarships in his luggage.

Within a few weeks, Niklas Mejhert was offered scholarships for post-doctoral positions, both from the Swedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF) and the Wenner-Gren Foundations (WGS).

– Of course it feels great and it confirms that the research I have conducted with my supervisors at the Lipid laboratory is interesting, and that my new project at Harvard has great potential, says a happy Niklas Mejhert.

He adds that the scholarships unfortunately can´t be combined, so therefore he will choose the WGS scholarship that extends over three years, a year longer than the SSMF scholarship.

Tell us a bit about your research!

– During my PhD period I studied factors that influence adipose tissue function in various metabolic disorders, such as obesity. My project at Harvard focus on cell biology and aims to identify the mechanisms that determine how much fat cells can store, without affecting their function negatively.

Why did you choose to do research on that?

– I think that a lot of research is interesting and thus it was not an easy choice. The thing that made ​​me choose this field is the clear clinical link. The ability to combine clinical research with molecular/cell biology research appeals to me.

What are your motivations as a researcher?

– There are many parts of the research profession that motivates me, but one of the biggest is the ability to discover things that only a few others in the world know.

Since October Niklas Mejhert´s new workplace is the Farese & Walther Laboratory, belonging to the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA. If everything goes according to plan, he will stay here until his own research project is completed, probably two/ three years.

What expectations do you have on your stay in the US?

– Work-wise, it will be interesting to learn techniques that I have not tried before, and to meet new colleagues. Since I´m here with my wife and son, it will also be fun to get into the American society.

How is everything so far?

– It feels really great! However, it is a lot to fix in the beginning and each step takes more effort and time to implement than it would have done at home, says Niklas Mejhert.