Maria Elisabeth Brandal Berstad is a researcher at Møreforsking and holds a PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Oslo. She investigates the health effects of marine ingredients in both preclinical and clinical studies, with the overarching goal of harnessing ocean resources to improve public health.
Maria has extensive research experience from leading cancer research environments at the Norwegian Radium Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she worked on the development of protein‑based therapeutics for the treatment of aggressive cancers. She is a co‑holder of a patent related to technology that enables personalised cancer therapy. In addition, she has clinical experience from the Hospital Pharmacy and the Cancer Department in Ålesund.
Her methodological expertise spans a broad range of molecular and cell biology techniques, including laboratory research using both cell models and animal models.