Aqsens’ first E-TRF certification program successfully completed
Aqsens Health’s Ghana training team successfully completed AQH’s first E-TRF and biosensor training and certification program in Turku at the end of March. This is a major milestone for the company that’s expanding its international operations and preparing for a scale-up.
The AQH E-TRF and biosensor training and certification program
The first trainees of the in-person AQ training and certification program successfully complete their six week training this spring. This was the first time the training program was arranged for researchers who will not be working in the laboratory in Turku.
The AQ E-TRF and biosensor technology training and certification program provides researchers with the competence to work as external research scientists and conduct biosensor research and non-invasive screening test development in collaboration with Aqsens Health.
The purpose of the first training program was to familiarize the training team with Aqsens Health’s E-TRF method, internal discovery technologies and processes to develop disease specific biosensors. The training program was led by Aqsens Health’s Head of Laboratory, Vilhelmiina Juusti.
“Planning and teaching the first AQH training program was a very exciting experience. Having a talented team with a high motivation to learn new things made training easier, and I am convinced that both the training team and also our whole Turku team learned a lot,” Vilhelmiina says.
The training program was a mix of theory and practice, with a strong focus on learning by doing and understanding Aqsens Health’s novel biosensor technology.
“The basics of our biosensor technology are rather easy to understand for a bioscientist, but the development work has to be learned in practice. And even though phages are quite easy to use as biosensors, there are many details you have to understand to achieve the optimal result,” Vilhelmiina clarifies.
“That is why we wanted to ensure the learning outcomes with a two-part exam at the end of the training. When the theoretical and practical aspects of the AQ E-TRF and biosensor method are satisfactorily understood, they can continue the research work independently but in close collaboration with us,” she continues.
Ready to scale-up
As Aqsens Health expands its operations and scales-up its business, the training program will become a regular part of the company’s operations. Aqsens Health’s CEO Timo Teimonen is excited about the training program’s future.
“The completion of the first certification program is a major milestone for us as a company, since it is a key building block in taking our E-TRF method and use of biosensors to the hands of the many research teams in the world,” Timo says.
Currently the training program is available only to Aqsens Health's research collaborators, as some of the methodology is still under development and strictly confidential.
In the future as Aqsens Health’s operations keep expanding, the training will be offered to other research partners as well, beginning in India where Aqsens Health is working together with the Public Health Foundation of India on a saliva-based oral cancer screening test.
For more information, contact:
CEO and Co-Founder
Timo Teimonen
+358 40 5853105
timo.teimonen@aqsens.com
Aqsens Health Oy is a Finnish health- and biotechnology startup developing non-invasive screening tests for different high-impact diseases. The company’s current research projects focus on developing a mobile screening platform fit for the needs of developing economies, and establishing a reliable and cost-efficient screening test for prostate cancer. The tests use Aqsens Health’s novel E-TRF technology in combination with bacteriophage-biosensors. The company’s laboratories and main office are located in Turku, Finland, with another office in the capital Helsinki.
