Olaf Kelm, Chief Operations Officer, International Human Frontier Science Program
A senior research manager with an academic background in molecular biology, complemented by degrees in business administration, project management and accountancy, and over 18 years of professional experience in international organisations including the UN, the European Commission and the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSP), Olaf Kelm has developed a very strong skill set in operations management and a vision for efficiency in supporting the pursuit of science.
Currently, in the position of Chief Operations Officer at the HFSP, he is in charge of all operational aspects of an annual €55 Million scientific program, including finances, infrastructure, human resources, information technology and contacts with the Board of Directors on operational matters. As part of his work, Olaf Kelm built a large portfolio of training workshops ranging from grant writing, project pitching and grantmanship to project, task, and financial management.
He participated in numerous summer schools, career days, roundtable discussions and formal training at the International Agency for Research on Cancer as well as Universities and Research Centres in France, Germany, Spain, Norway, Russia, China and South Africa. In the past, he worked with the National Institutes of Health, Young Leaders for Health, ASTP-Proton, the Cancéropôle Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Ecole normale supérieure (ENS) Lyon and others on the provision of training. Across the above range of subject areas, he has taught in more than 70 training events reaching almost 1700 participants and held grant- and management related presentations on over 50 occasions, in English, French and German.