7 Questions with Meaghan Lee-Erandsen

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Team Member: Meaghan Lee-Erlandsen

Position at Nuritas™: Operations Executive

Tell us about what you do at Nuritas™:

I do a few different things ranging from Office Management to Communications and PR.

What inspires you?

People that chase their dreams and never give up. I know that sounds cheesy but it’s true! Following your dreams is really REALLY hard and you’re met with a lot of failure along the way. Those that keep moving forward after these failures though, even creating new dreams and goals along the way, are the people that truly inspire me.

What do you think is the best scientific innovation?

I agree with most of my colleagues on this one – the internet! It has been amazing to see the world condensed into a few mouse clicks. It’s interesting as well to see how much the internet has not only completely changed and increased our knowledge of the world but also transformed our social behaviors. Although there are good and bad aspects to how we are now interacting with the world and each other, it’s pretty amazing that an invention can have such an effect on the world and our interactions.

On a completely separate note, I think the Oreo is a pretty great invention too! Not so scientific, but delicious! 🙂

Who is your favourite scientist and why?

I have always found Nikola Tesla really interesting. When I first learned about him way back in High School, I found myself fascinated by him as a person and where he could have gone with his work. He had such amazing ideas and innovations around electricity, wireless communications, etc, but he just kept meeting road block after road block. Although many of his inventions and ideas were unfortunately only unearthed or recognized after his death, it was evident that he just kept pushing forward with his work. It’s really good to see that many of his revolutionary ideas have inspired and are continuing to inspire so many scientists today.

What interests you the most right now in the health and/or food arena?

There is so much innovation going on at the moment it’s hard to choose! As my colleague Niamh Mohan mentioned, I also think the gut microbiome is fascinating – the amount that we don’t know about the gut and the implications of the health of the microbiome on the rest of the body is simply astonishing. It will be interesting to see the discoveries over the next few years.

Definitely peptides as well. Yes, I am a little biased as we are looking for these awesome molecules every day, however, the capabilities they can have are incredible! Indeed, I had no idea what a peptide was until a few years ago and to learn that there are billions and billions of them within different foods, many of which have never been found before and all with varying and possibly life-changing effects – that’s pretty mind-blowing!

What do you like most about working at Nuritas™?

The team is pretty darn amazing. We are a really experienced international team which makes every day incredibly interesting. I’ve learned so much from each of my colleagues! It’s a very open environment as well and all ideas, big or small, are really encouraged. We also have some great bake-offs! (Check our Twitter soon for photos 🙂 )

If you could be a peptide which peptide would you be and what disease would you target?

Not to be promotional here but, honestly, I am really fascinated with our peptide that targets inflammation. I’ve had many family members suffer from disease and illness which has either stemmed from the effects of chronic inflammation or were made worse by chronic inflammation. Although inflammation is a key aspect of the healing process in the body, chronic inflammation stemming from certain issues can have incredibly harmful effects on the body which I have seen firsthand. A natural peptide that can help control inflammation would have such a positive impact on so many lives.

Any last comments?

Keep on keepin’ on, just like Tesla! 🙂