Industrious researcher with a flair for writing applications
Research costs money. And for researchers, the hunt for the next research funding is a regular part of their working lives. Applications have to be written to obtain funding for the next set of scientific results and the next step on the career path – this is something which Amelia-Elena Rotaru from the Department of Biology is good at.
By Henrik Gautier, henga@sdu.dk
Some researchers are better at writing applications than others, or at least they have more luck in securing funding for their projects. Amelia-Elena Rotaru at the Department of Biology is perhaps both talented and lucky - and not least persistent when it comes to securing funding. At any rate, the 36-year-old biochemist has procured something in the region of DKK 14 million since she came to SDU in 2013.
"Yes, I've been very successful with regard to financing my projects, but I've also been very active and have applied like mad for grants," she says with a big smile. We are sitting in her office, and she offers me a cup of coffee.
"It's not very good," she warns before we get back to the subject of research grants.
"I was told to expect only one out of ten applications to be successful, so I thought OK, then I just have to apply for lots. That resulted in success with five out of eight applications, so I've been very lucky," she says modestly.
Likes to write
Amelia-Elena came to SDU in November 2013 with a grant from the Danish Council for Independent Research. She has no regrets, and the same is true for SDU. Because the microbiologist from Romania not only gets results and carries out research that impresses the world, but since she came to Odense, she has been able to secure some solid funding for her research. In 2015 alone, Amelia-Elena Rotaru was awarded grants from Innovation Fund Denmark and the Novo Nordisk Foundation as well as a Sapere Aude DFF-Research Leader grant. The very smiley researcher cannot disguise how pleased she is.
"It's not something that I really think about much. But I'm very happy when things work out. Maybe it's also because I enjoy writing - especially applications. I actually think it's much more fun than writing scientific articles. Don't get me wrong, but when you write articles, the work is complete. You know the results of the projects and so on. There isn't really anything new in it," says Amelia-Elena and continues:
"When I write applications, I'm thinking ahead - working with new ideas and theories, and actually working intensively with research that lies in the future. So writing applications is both very motivating and inspirational for my research. There is a very motivational power involved in writing applications. But on the whole, I write a lot and work continuously on my articles. It also really helps me to manage the projects and constantly improve the work we are doing. I try to be as productive as I can," she says.
Bacteria to produce energy
Although Amelia-Elena Rotaru thrives on writing articles, it is nevertheless the research results and the quest for knowledge that is her driving force. Answers must be found, and the answers must be used for something.
"Laboratory work is the best of all - I love it, but I want to do research that can be used. Of course, most of what we identify happens on a very fundamental level, but our results can be used by other people, such as engineers. So it's important to me that there is a practical application perspective - otherwise I would have a guilty conscience about wasting the money I received," says Amelia-Elena, who is particularly interested in how some microorganisms can devour or absorb electricity from fixed matter.
"Our research falls under the title "How microorganisms feed on electrons". You could maybe compare it to the human metabolism. When we eat something like bread, our bodies get energy. Bread is therefore our energy donor, and our bodies convert bread into energy when we eat it. In the same way, bacteria or microorganisms convert a food source, for example iron or electricity, into energy," she explains and goes on:
"In this way, we want to extract and store energy by controlling a process which, by using electricity from wind, wave power or solar panels, converts CO2 into methane or biobuthanol - that is fuel energy. It would be a significant step on the way towards fossile fuel free energy provision in the future," she says.
Denmark is nice
When Amelia-Elena Rotaru came to SDU in 2013 and settled in Odense, it was also a reunion with Denmark, where she was a postdoc at Aarhus University between 2009 and 2010. As well as this, Amelia-Elena has conducted research at the Max Planck Institute in Bremen, Germany and spent three years at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, USA. Life in Denmark and Odense suits Amelia-Elena. However, there is one thing she finds difficult - the language.
"I speak a little Danish, but it's difficult, and I don't think I'm very good at it. For instance, I think there are a lot of vowel sounds in Danish (up to 40, ed.), whereas there are only seven in Romanian," she says.
Aside from the linguistic challenge, she likes the way things work here.
"Denmark is a wonderful country and there are a lot of good things about Danish society. I really like the Danish work-life balance, which is totally different from other countries like the USA. Over there, you don't get as many holidays as you do here. I already work too much, but the Danish system reminds me to take time off once in a while - then I feel like can do it without feeling guilty," says the microbiologist, who has a concrete example to show that she has become better at taking time off.
"I actually took some time off after I attended a major conference in Australia. It was fantastic - especially the kangaroos," says Amelia-Elena, her eyes sparkling. She continues:
"They are so cute. I went to a nature reserve that had lots of kangaroos, but I was told not to get close to them because they can be dangerous. That was too bad. I wanted to get close and touch them, and by a coincidence I ended up after that at an "orphanage" for orphaned kangaroos, where they take care of the young kangaroos until they can look after themselves. It was an amazing experience. I got really close to them, and they were just the loveliest animals you can imagine," she explains enthusiastically, and adds with a laugh:
"So now I'll never taste kangaroo meat... I should have done it before I met the baby kangaroos."
An occasional vacation may also be needed when, like Amelia-Elena, you come from Romania; it's a long way "home".
"I miss my family in Romania - especially my parents and my sister, but I visit them once a year. I would like to be able to go twice a year, " she says - because there's more to life than research, science and writing applications.
"Work takes up a lot of my time, but I like to relax by watching a film, reading or listening to music - quite ordinary, I think. Oh yes, and I also really like to go to the coast and be by the sea. That's something very special. I can spend a lot of time there," says Amelia-Elena with a dreamy look in her eyes, before answering the question that concludes the interview:
When did you know that science should be your future?
"That's easy. When I was 16 years old, I read the classic Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif, and when I finished it I knew what I wanted to do - science," concludes Amelia-Elena Rotaru.
Photos: Henrik Gautier/SDU