NutraWomen Wednesday: Line Johnsen, PhD, SVP of R&D and Regulatory Affairs, Aker BioMarine
Despite facing early challenges as a woman in STEM, including being rejected from a master's project as a pregnant woman, Johnsen’s determination propelled her forward in her career. She is now senior vice president of R&D and regulatory affairs at Norwegian fishing and biotech company Aker BioMarine.
It was during her time as a regulatory associate at LINK Medical, a North European full-service contract research organization (CRO), that she began working on a project that sparked her interest in omega-3s. She transitioned from academia to business and has spent 12 years at Aker BioMarine, where she champions inclusive leadership and work-life balance. Her Norwegian background has influenced her perspective on workplace culture, which includes supporting progressive policies on parental leave.
“I love this role, which is about bridging science and research to business opportunities, and I love working with my team, they are a fantastic bunch of people," she said.
"And also I love this interdisciplinary work so that we're also working with other teams within the company. There are so many interesting people with interesting backgrounds, and I learn so much every day. It's also a global company, so we also get the experience with working closely with people from other countries—and then to have the possibility on top of all that to also have research collaboration across the world. So I would say it's very exciting. It's never a boring day. It's ever changing, so fast-paced and fits me very well.”
Dr. Johnsen has a team of seven scientists to help drive the company’s research agenda. Under her leadership, the research and development department has contributed to close to 200 publications to date.
