Copenhagen Shooting

As many people heard, there was a terrorist attack in Copenhagen this past week. While I was not in any danger at any time, it was very odd to see how a different country reacts to such an attack. After the first attack, we were alerted to the details but not given any advice on what to do; at home I feel like my campus would want us to stay in  until the situation was resolved. After the second shooting we were told to go home immediately. All throughout the week there was more of a police presence which was comforting to see. My metro pass was checked more often as well. Further, I actually live a block away from the Prime Minister and there is an entire group of police officers are there at all times now (including an officer in disguise... which I have noticed since I walk by them 6 times a day). Overall it has been an eye opening experience but luckily I still feel very safe here and very happy to be here!

lectures after core course week

After we returned from Western Denmark, we had several lectures at DIS. We had an ethics lecture when we discussed the concept of "human guinea pigs," or healthy patients who get paid to take drugs. This practice is not well regulated and many patients take several drugs at one time which could potentially lead to discrepancies in the results. This is very worrisome but the government has begun to regulate this "profession." Another lecture we had was a man from works for NNE (Novo Nordisk engineering) and he discussed future trends in bio pharmaceuticals. A lot of it had to do with new technology that allowed patients to take injections at home and even wear technology that would monitor their vitals daily. The main concept is that phones will be the future of medicine and control an individuals medical care and drug schedule. I am looking forward to writing my study tour paper on this very topic- how technology has shaped the future of biopharma companies.

Short Study Tour to Western Denmark

I just returned from my short study tour to Western Denmark! We started in Odense, the third largest city in Denmark where Hans Christian Andersen lived. He wrote several fair tales such as the Little Mermaid, the Ugly Duckling, and the Snow Queen. There we went bowling as a class which was lots of fun! The following day we went to Kolding and saw Kolding Castle which was built in 1268. While it burned ini the 1800s, it is now a museum. On the last day, we went to the ARoS modern art museum un Århus (second largest city) which was my favorite trip!

In terms of company visits, We started the tour at BioPeople, a company that connects small biotech companies for free. We also visited PUMPkin, a center for peptide design and ARoS- a genomics facility. All of these places offered excellent examples of biotech companies. Some were based in universities focusing on basic research, while others were heavily involved in drug development. They each also took the time to discuss financial investments in their companies to help us understand the business side of biotech (there are many business focused students in my class as well). Today was probably my favorite trip- to Novo Nordisk. It produces 50% of the worlds insulin to treat Diabetes. While it is their main focus, they have also developed new drug delivery systems; as an engineer I was extremely interested in this aspect of their research since I love hearing about new technology. Another reason why I liked this company so much is that they seemed to genuinely care about helping the world. For example, their entire facilities run on 100% wind power and they have developed preventative care and education for Diabetes across the globe. In 35 of the poorest countries they even sell their products at 20% of the retail price in order to help those in need. They have companies all over the world and I have to admit, I am tempted to apply for an internship with them if there are any available (I am planning a gap year). Overall I would say it was a wonderful trip and we are continuing with various workshops over the next couple of days.

street art in Odense

view from Kolding Castle

art at ARoS

Rainbow Room on top of ARoS

sculpture at ARoS

"the Carnie" at ARoS

Weekend in Amsterdam

I had a wonderful time this past weekend in Amsterdam. I stayed at a hostel near the Red Light District which made the trip very interesting to say the least. I was lucky enough to visit the Zoo, the Van Gogh Museum, Vondelpark, the Anne Frank House, the Tulip Market, and many other sites along the way. While the museums had strict guidelines against photos, I loved taking pictures of the many canals throughout the city.

at a syrup waffle museum they had Mickey Mouse pictures to color so of course we had to do it ourselves

Anne Frank monument outside of the museum

Hazelnut-Coffe Macaron! 

Wind Turbine Photos

A selection of Wind Turbine photos...

one of the 8 ladders we climbed...

we were able to see the entire engine when we stood on top of the turbine

here the bridge to Sweden is visible in the background behind the offshore wind turbine farm

you can make out some students on top of the wind turbine next to us

Climbing a 50 meter Wind Turbine...

Yesterday my Renewable Energy Systems class had a field study where we climbed a windturbine... and it was terrifying. I have never been afraid of heights--we were on the inside anyways--but this was more of feeling unstable the entire time kind of terrifying. This particular wind turbine was 50 meters, or about 150 feet high. We climbed up 8 free-standing ladders until we reached the top at which point we were able to stand on top of the engine part--completely exposed to the wind. There was a platform between each ladder which would move when you walked, adding to my uneasiness. While all but one student in my class made it to the top, we all admitted it was pretty scary but we were happy to have done it-needless to say I dont think I will ever climb one again (plus I got oil all over my cloths and hands...). Pictures are to come! although they don't do justice to just how high we were...


This outing was followed by a lecture by a civil engineer who designed the offshore wind turbine farm along side the bridge to Sweden; while some fought him during development due to them "ruining the view," I find them to now be an iconic and beautiful image of Denmark and are one of the first things you see when flying to Copenahgen.


I am going to amsterdam for the weekend without internet followed by my core courseweek trip to Western Denmark without any internet. I will have plenty of new pictures and biotech visits to share when I am back next week!

Biomedicine Social

On Thursday, my entire biomedicine class (my core class) had a social with snacks and drinks at a local bar. Our professors were trying to give us an opportunity to bond and socialize since we would be sort of a "family" for the semester considering we would be traveling a lot together. As I previously mentioned, our first trip is in Western Denmark (and will actually occur next week!) and our second is to London. Both are an opportunity to meet biotech professionals and ask about their careers. The social was definitely a success! I ended up meeting 4 people who I really got along with and we already plan to hang out together on our study tours.
Of course the food was great too- we were given a spread of all kind of cheeses from the area. While I had no idea what I was eating I loved all of them! On my next trip to the grocery store I won't be letting the fact that I can't read any labels keep me from buying new food (and cheese) to try!
During the social, I was also able to talk to my professors on a more personal level. Strangely, neither of my professors are from Denmark, one is from Sweden (and commutes from Malmo every day- very common apparently) and the other is form Portugal. My table had a great time asking our Portuguese professor about all the languages she's knows- she can speak Portuguese, English, Danish, Spanish, and Italian! We all found it very fascinating- my entire table was jealous that her kids were growing up trilingual (Danish, Portuguese, and English).