We are a UK-based startup founded in 2015 by scientists at the University of Oxford. The company was formed around the shared vision that targeted sampling of intestinal contents, in particular the gut microbiome, should be cost-effective and minimally invasive. We are supported by seed funding from the Oxford Seed Fund at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and grants from Innovate UK and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
We are a committed and diverse team with strong expertise in science and business.
Dr Soren Krogsgaard Thomsen
CEO, Co-Founder
Soren is a medical scientist, educated at the University of Oxford, with a focus on the natural sciences and genetics research. He previously worked as a consultant for pharma and OBR consulting, and has published on his experiences as an academic entrepreneur. Soren’s current research is focused on translating large-scale genetic data into mechanisms for disease to inform new therapeutic strategies. He dreams of one day enabling similar population-wide microbiome studies using the platform technology under development at BioMe Oxford Ltd.
Dr Agnieszka Chomka
Co-Founder, Head of R&D
Agnieszka is an intestinal immunologist at the Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology, University of Oxford. Her main research interests focus on the microbial-host interactions in the large intestine. She was awarded the prestigious Wellcome Trust scholarship at the University of Oxford to conduct her research into the role of a tissue-resident regulatory immune cell population in the gut. Agnieszka has published her results in top peer-review research journals.
Dr Christian Grøndahl
Non-executive Director
Christian has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and the biotech sector. Throughout his career, he served as co-founder and
director of numerous biotech startups and also has strong expertise in the microbiome field through his role as co-founder and CEO of the microbiome technology startup SNIPR BIOME Ltd. He previously raised more than $100M of investment for early- stage biotech companies and also worked as CSO for of Zealand Pharma A/S for which he successfully saw through an IPO of €50M. In addition, he previously held research and corporate roles over a long career in Novo Nordisk A/S and served as partner of the investment trust Syncona Partner LLP.
Dr Patrick Albers
Co-founder, Head of Technology
Patrick is a Statistical Geneticist and completed his PhD in Genomic Medicine and Statistics at the University of Oxford. He previously studied at Harvard University and LMU Munich for his MSc, with a focus on statistical method development, computational biology, and genetics. He previously focussed on Marine Biology while studying at James Cook University, Australia, and the University of Tübingen, Germany, for his BSc. Patrick has experience as an entrepreneur and founded a web-design company in Germany, with company exit through acquisition in 2009.
Dr Natasha Ng
Co-founder, Company Secretary
Natasha Ng is currently a research fellow at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research based in Singapore. Her research interests involve understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying type 2 diabetes and rare monogenic forms of diabetes. Her current as well as prior work at the University of Oxford has seen her successfully managing both small and large research collaborations. She hopes to contribute to efforts in both academic and biotech sectors that will soon translate into better disease diagnosis and management strategies.
Rasmus Poulsen
Co-founder, Head of Finance
Rasmus Poulsen is an economist from the University of Copenhagen, with a focus on finance and strategic management. He previously worked within management consulting and healthcare economics. Rasmus is currently working in Novo Nordisk within R&D finance, where he supports the R&D organisation in financial decision making.
Supported by Innovation Forum
(Winner of Imagine IF! 2017)
Supported by the Oxford Seed Fund