
Sofie Castella
Managing Director
Sofie started as CEO on November 1, 2021, and since then she has quickly build the DDSA secretariat. Sofie comes from Novo Nordisk, where she has held several management positions in data science for 12 years. Sofie holds a master’s degree in Mathematics and Bioinformatics from Roskilde University and the University of Copenhagen and has taken courses at the universities of Lund and Helsinki.
Contact: sofie@ddsa.dk | +45 9351 1120

Marie Louise Thorstensen
Communications Manager
Marie Louise is cand.scient.pol from Aarhus University and has a Diploma in Communications from DMJX with 15+ years experience within communication, politics and analysis from The Danish Parliament, Danish Chamber of Commerce and Agency for Digital Government.
Contact: marielouise@ddsa.dk | +45 9351 1848

Sniff Andersen Nexø
Education & Grant Manager
Sniff has a PhD in History and a cross-disciplinary MA. Now engaged in the education and networking activities of the DDSA, she draws on 10+ years of experience with research and pre-/postgrad education as an associate professor and the chair of the PhD school at HUM at the University of Copenhagen.
Contact: sniff@ddsa.dk | +45 3190 3539

Mette Specht Andersen
Fellowship & Grant Manager
Mette is MA in Philosophy, Theory of Science and History. She has previously worked with PhD administration and coordination at DTU and UCPH.
Contact: mette@ddsa.dk | +45 2489 2508

Sandra Franco Iborra
Scientific Events Manager
Sandra is originally from Barcelona, Spain. She has a PhD in Neuroscience and has worked as Education and Outreach Coordinator at the New York Genome Center, leading the organization and logistics for annual research symposia and workshops that help to disseminate research advances in the field of single cell genomics. She has also been volunteering with STEM education & outreach organizations to promote scientific vocations among young students.
Contact: sandra@ddsa.dk | +45 9351 3546

Marius Laurberg Cortsen
Service Designer – Service development and stakeholder management
Marius has a BSc. in Business, Language and Culture, and a MSc. Cand.merc in Innovation Management and Business Development from CBS. He has previously worked in innovation consulting and learning management.
Contact: marius@ddsa.dk | +45 9351 1125

Britta Isager Nielsen
Executive Assistant
Britta has served as Administrative Coordinator focused on HR at DTU Biosustain. At DDSA, she is responsible for finance management, development, and maintenance of administrative processes, as well as providing administrative support to the Managing Director and assisting with reporting to partners such as Novo Nordisk Foundation and Villum Fonden.
Contact: britta@ddsa.dk | +45 2516 1410

Benedikte Maria Harders Lentz
Student Assistant – Communications
Benedikte is working towards her bachelor’s degree in Danish at the University of Copenhagen. She plans to pursue a master’s in IT and Communication after completing her bachelor’s.
Contact: benedikte@ddsa.dk

Pictures ©Mikal Schlosser and @DDSA
Adrián Sousa-Poza
Student Assistant – Data Science
Adrián holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Radboud University in Nijmegen, Holland, and is currently doing his master’s in physics at University of Copenhagen.
Contact: adrian@ddsa.dk