Mikael Kubista
Professor Mikael Kubista was among the pioneers who developed real-time PCR. Starting in 1991 his laboratory developed dyes and probes for qPCR and founded LightUp Technologies (www.lightup.se) as the first company focusing on qPCR based human infectious disease diagnostics. His team developed methods and approaches to analyze qPCR data and founded MultiD Analyses (www.multid.se) which develops state of the art GenEx software for qPCR experimental planning and data analysis. In 2001 he founded TATAA Biocenter and his team also pioneered single cell expression profiling, multidimensional expression profiling and intracellular expression profiling by qPCR. Working as advisor for Unesco Kubista introduced qPCR in Africa and in the Middle East. Kubista is presently setting up the first high throughput qPCR expression profiling center in Europe (www.ibt.cas.cz) and recently he co-authored the MIQE guidelines on the publication of qPCR data (http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/abstract/55/4/611). At TATAA Biocenter Sweden he is responsible for the Experimental design and statistical data analysis courses.

Robert Sjöback
Robert Sjöback has a PhD degree in Physical Chemistry from Chalmers University of Technology where he studied the fluorescent properties of DNA binding dyes and contributed to the development of the LightUp probes, one of the probe technologies used in real-time PCR today. Sjöback worked several years with research and product development of both real-time PCR and ELISA based assays for food diagnostics. Since January 2005 Sjöback has been employed at TATAA Biocenter where he has been responsible for several of the international research collaborations mainly focusing on assay development for clinical diagnostics. He is a lead instructor in the Hands-on qPCR module, HRM, Multiplex PCR and Sample preparation and quality control courses. 

Kristina Lind
Kristina Lind received her PhD in Molecular Biotechnology from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, 2007. Her PhD project included development of the protein quantification technique immuno-qPCR. At TATAA Biocenter she is now working as a project manager in the research and development group. She has held courses in TATAAs regime since 2001 and is now responsible for the course program and symposia at TATAA Biocenter. She is lead instructor in the Hands-on qPCR module, Multiplex PCR, microRNA and immuno-qPCR courses.

Maria Lennerås
Maria Lennerås has an MSc in Pharmacy from Gothenburg University. She has been working with in vivo and ex vivo studies at Astra Zeneca and Biovitrum and thereby has a good experience of sampling, stabilization and extraction of all kinds of tissue, blood and cell samples. At TATAA Biocenter she is involved in the Sample preparation and quality control course and the practical parts of the Hands-on qPCR module. She is also part of a regional research project studying biomaterials for better dental implants.

Greta Johannesson
Greta Johannesson has an MSc in Molecular Biology from Umeå University. She has worked at Umeå University with Molecular biology research projects and at Roche as a sales representative and application specialist before starting to work at TATAA Biocenter. At TATAA she is working with different Commissioned Research projects but also with the practical parts of the Hands-on qPCR module and Immuno-qPCR courses.

Jens Björkman
Jens Björkman has an MSc in Molecular Biotechnology from Lund Institute of Technology and a B.Sc. in Chemical engineering from University of Borås. He has previously been responsible for the Molecular Diagnostics section at Laboratory Medicine and Infection Control, Södra Älvsborg Hospital, involving analysis of bacteria and viruses by real-time PCR but also new assay setup and research projects. At TATAA Biocenter he has an active role in the EU funded FP7 program SPIDIA, which focuses on standardisation and improvement of pre-analytical procedures for in-vitro diagnostics. He is responsible for the Sample preparation and quality control course and the microRNA course and is also involved in the practical parts of the Hands-on qPCR module.

David Švec
David Švec has an MSc in Pharmacy from Charles University, Prague and is now finishing his PhD in the Institute of Biotechnology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. After finishing his diploma thesis in Paris, Inserm - working on developing a tool to monitor progress of acute myeloid leucemia in mice using blood, he stayed focused on gene expression analysis of "small scale" samples. He has worked on making gene-expression maps made using qPCR tomography and laser-microdissection, single-cell analysis and high-throughput qPCR. He is also involved in the EC-funded research project SPIDIA. He is a tutor in the Hands-on qPCR module, Sample preparation and quality control and Expression profiling courses.

Eleonor Brandin has a PhD in Infectious Disease Control from Karolinska Institutet, her doctoral studies included evolution studies of HIV-2.  She has experience from viral diagnostics from her undergraduate studies at the Karolinska Institute and from her work at the virology departments at the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control as well as at the Karolinska Hospital. Eleonor is responsible for TATAAs ISO certification and is as well working as a project manager in the research and development group. She is involved in the practical parts of the Hands-on qPCR and Multiplex PCR courses.

TATAA Biocenter Czech

Mikael Kubista

Aleš Tichopád
Ales Tichopad studied biology at Charles University in Prague. Later he continued his post-graduate study at the Technical University Munich in the team of Michael Pfaffl, where he specialised in real-time PCR technology and its applications. He developed several methods of data analysis and then worked in pharmaceutical research as a statistician for 3 years. Since January 2006, Ales has been an entrepreneur and freelance consultant to the biotechnology industry, and has founded two companies with a focus on data analysis for pharma and biotechnology. His scientific achievements have been reflected by more than 300 citations. He is a tutor in the Experimental design and statistical data analysis courses.

David Švec
David Švec has an MSc in Pharmacy from Charles University, Prague and is now finishing his PhD in the Institute of Biotechnology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. After finishing his diploma thesis in Paris, Inserm - working on developing a tool to monitor progress of acute myeloid leucemia in mice using blood, he stayed focused on gene expression analysis of "small scale" samples. He has worked on making gene-expression maps made using qPCR tomography and laser-microdissection, single-cell analysis and high-throughput qPCR. He is also involved in the EC-funded research project SPIDIA. He is a tutor in the Hands-on qPCR module, Sample preparation and quality control and Expression profiling courses.

Vendula Rusňáková
Vendula Rusňáková has an MSc in Biochemistry from Institute of Chemical Technology and is now conducting PhD studies in the Institute of Biotechnology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Her diploma thesis was focused on transporting particles in cells. Now she works on single cell gene expression profiling of astrocytes. She is a tutor in the Hands-on qPCR module, Sample preparation and quality control and Expression profiling courses.

Vlasta Korenkova studied biology at the Charles Univesity in Prague in the Czech Republic. After receiving her master degree, she was working as a research assistent at Albany Medical College, USA  focusing on fatty acid transport in yeasts mainly using confocal microscopy.  In 2008 she received her PhD. at the Parasitology Department, at the Charles University in Prague for her work on parasite Cryptosporidium parvum. During her PhD. studies she participated in Fogarty International Program sponsored by National Institutes of Health, USA and in frame of this program she worked at the Department of Parasitology, Wadsworth Center, USA and Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, USA where she helped to introduce a quantitative real time PCR for measuring efficacies of different inhibitors during growth of intracellular parasites in vitro. Currently, she is a qPCR core facility manager in the Institute of Biotechnology, AS CR in Prague. She is a tutor in the Hands-on qPCR module.