Health Innovators – Melissa Little

Earlier this month, pharmaphorum editor-in-chief Jonah Comstock had the opportunity to visit the headquarters of the Novo Nordisk Foundation in Copenhagen, Denmark to talk to several innovators involved with the Foundation and its investment vehicle Novo Holdings.

Melissa Little is CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Stem Cell Medicine, or reNEW. She sat down with pharmaphorum to discuss the current state of stem cell research and why the Novo Nordisk Foundation has identified it as an area of research focus.

Little discusses the possibilities of stem cell research for creating complex, three-dimensional human models of disease, her own work exploring stem cells in kidney care and transplantation, and some of the other possibilities offered by modern pluripotent stem cell science.

They also discuss the interplay between academic research and science commercialisation and how a group like reNEW can help prepare researchers in early stages to be thinking about the ultimate fate of their research. 

And they touch on the complexities – good and bad – of running a global research consortium simultaneously out of the Netherlands, Denmark, and Australia.

Check out the video below to learn more about Little’s work and stay tuned for more interviews with major movers and shakers at the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Editor’s Note: The Novo Nordisk Foundation provided lodging in and transportation to Copenhagen for our correspondent. The Foundation was not given any assurance of editorial coverage of the event, positive or negative, nor were they granted prior review of the any editorial materials.