"impressive, inspiring, enviable" - Merton alumni make Forbes 30 Under 30 list

For the second time in three years, Merton alumni have been named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list which "continues to spotlight the impressive, the inspiring and the (genuinely) enviable" entrepreneurs and game changers in Europe.

Jan Domański (2013) and Sven Kirkerup (2014) teamed up with Jake Schofield, a biomedical scientist from the University of Sussex to found Labstep, a software company that helps researchers at universities and commercial biotech firms to record and share experimental procedures and results to make it easier to replicate their work. Since launching more than 600 universities globally plus a number of commercial biotech companies have been licensing their platform.

The Labstep founders join the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Taylor Swift and Jennifer Lawrence who have all appeared on the list in previous years. The final list is drawn from a pool of over 15,000 nominations in 20 different categories, with expert judges evaluating key quantifiable metrics as well as qualities such as inventiveness and social benefits.

Jan commented:

"I’m incredibly honoured to be part of this prestigious list right after finishing my PhD at Merton. It has been an incredible journey, so far. We are proud of the tremendous insight that we can provide through our experimental timelines in order to improve processes and increase lab collaboration and communication."

Sven commented:

"Getting a diverse team together and keeping a close link with Merton has been our strongest asset. Scientists should not shy away from tying in with someone from Economics & Management, to ensure that the idea turns into a viable investment proposition. Our college environment is a fantastic source of talent that provides the trust required to build a successful business."

Joining Jan on the list is Zuzanna Brzosko (2009), a co-founder of Sixfold Bioscience, a London-based company which is developing customizable nanoparticles in order to safely and effectively deliver a variety of therapeutic and diagnostic molecules to diseased cells, such as cancer cells, even those in the most inaccessible regions of the body, such as the brain.

Zuzanna, who read Biological Sciences at Merton before going on to take a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, was nominated for a 2017 Women of the Future Award last year.