BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
3
OCTOBER
2014
that was very promising, but then was sold to
another company, which served a real blow to her
progress. She had now spend more than half of
her time as a PhD student working on projects
that she could not finish. Suurkuusk spoke with
her superiors at Pharmacia, and they agreed that
the company was responsible for providing her
with an opportunity to finish her PhD. She was
allowed to continue the project that had been
sold, and was even able to publish her findings.
Suurkuusk explains, “I was very relieved that I
was allowed to continue with this, as there was no
time to start over again.” Additionally, because she
was now the only scientist in the company work-
ing on the project, she was able to explore new
aspects of the project that the company had not
originally intended to pursue. Suurkuusk com-
pleted her PhD in 1999, and then worked as a
Product Manager at Thermometric AB, where she
stayed for several years, eventually moving into a
position as a Marketing Manager. In her current
dual position as Product Manager and Application
Scientist at TA Instruments Sweden, Suurkuusk
spends half of her time on each job. As an appli-
cation scientist, she helps with proof of concept
for new users of calorimetry and gives theoretical
and practical training. In addition, she travels
to universities to teach short graduate courses in
calorimetry. In her capacity as a product manager,
she is part of the team making decisions about the
company’s microcalorimeter product line. This
team explores what new features and instrumenta-
tion are needed, what new accessories could be
produced, and how new software features could
enhance the product. Suurkuusk also works on
pairing microcalorimetric techniques with other
biophysical characterization techniques to get
more information from a studied system.
Suurkuusk finds fulfillment in introducing people
to what calorimetry can do. She says, “As a calo-
rimetrist, studying interactions between biological
molecules, it is fascinating how much informa-
tion you can get from the measurement of heat
if you combine it with structural data from other
techniques…The most
rewarding part is when I
manage to show someone
what a fantastic tool calo-
rimetry is. I was once on a
courtesy visit in a lab with
one of our users. Before I
left I was invited for a glass
of champagne to make a
toast for the inventor of
the fantastic instrument,
our calorimeter.”
The only downside to her
dual position is that she is
unable to explore new ideas in the lab or delve
deeply into a project. When she struggles with
this, Suurkuusk finds inspiration in the lives of
pioneering women scientists, such as
Marie Curie
.
She elaborates, “I am really impressed by earlier
scientists when so much was still unknown and
they did not have the tools we have today. Also
being a woman in research [in] those days, when
all of society was very male-dominated. I admire
those who did this pioneering work.”
Though science, and especially calorimetry, have
been deeply ingrained in Suurkuusk since child-
hood, if she were not a scientist, she would have
pursued a career in fashion design. She loves to
sew and knit as a hobby now, and says, “I have
always had a dream to design and make clothes.
This was something I did when I was younger. I
took several courses related to textile work. Today
I have hardly any time for these kinds of activities,
but it is something I still like to do.” Suurkuusk
also enjoys hiking and swimming in her spare
time, and working in her garden outside. Most of
all, she loves spending time with her sons, who are
10 and 12 years old.
For those who are currently starting out in
biophysics, Suurkuusk advocates an openness to
unexpected twists and turns. She says, “Have fun,
stay curious, and be open minded. Maybe it is
from the sidetracks that you learn the most.”
Profilee at-a Glance
Malin Suurkuusk
Company
TA Instruments
Course of Study
Biochemistry
Suurkuusk with her two sons at Legoland.
