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Mikael Kubista | |
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| Born | 13 August 1961 |
| Citizenship | Swedish |
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| Fields | Biochemistry |
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Mikael Kubista (born 13 August 1961) is a Czech-born [1] Swedish chemist and entrepreneur who works in the field of molecular diagnostics. Since 2007 he is serving as Head of the Laboratory of Gene Expression at the Biotechnology Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences. [2]
He completed his undergraduate studies at University of Gothenburg, earning a B.Sc. degree in chemistry in 1984. [3] He then pursued a Licentiate in Physical Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, which he completed in 1986. Kubista obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry from Chalmers University of Technology. [4] Following his doctoral studies, he conducted postdoctoral research at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and Yale University in New Haven, US. [1] [5] Additionally, he has held visiting professor positions at various universities, including the University of Maryland in College Park, US, in June 2000, and the University of A Coruña in Spain, during September–November 2003 and July 2006 to June 2007. [1]
Kubista began his academic career in 1991 as an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Chemistry at Chalmers University of Technology. [1] From 1993 to 1997, he was an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the same institution. Following this, he held the position of professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Chalmers University of Technology from 1997 to 2006. [1]
In 1998 Kubista founded LightUp Technologies AB after his research finding of LightUp probes, [6] a company that develops real-time PCR tests for human infectious diseases. [7]
Together with IT expert Amin Forootan and Professor Björn Sjögreen, Kubista founded MultiD Analyses AB in 2001. MultiD focuses on developing algorithms and software, initially for multidimensional spectroscopy - DATAN - based on so-called Procrustes rotation, a method the group developed for analyzing correlated 3-dimensional data. Later, GenEx software was developed for quantitative real-time PCR analysis, based in part on methods for determining sensitivity, the so-called "Limit of Detection" and "Limit of Quantification," which the group developed and which are now standard. [8] Early on, artificial intelligence (AI) was introduced to advance the analysis of sequencing data, single-cell profilin g, and RNA fragmentomics for applications in precision medicine. [9] The GenExGxP version also meets the regulatory requirements applied in pharmaceutical development and molecular diagnostics.
In 2001, Kubista cofounded TATAA Biocenter, and Care Equity invested in TATAA Biocenter. [10] [11] To facilitate the investment, a new holding company, Bioholdings LP, was established to acquire TATAA. During restructuring connected to TATAA’s COVID-19 testing business, Kubista and his co-founders, advised by a law firm, carried out an upstream merger between two holding entities. This violated a clause in the agreement that prohibited share transfers without written consent. Peter Batesko, General Partner of Care Equity, refused to register the founders' ownership. In June 2023 Batesko dismissed Kubista as CEO and forfeited the founders' shares without compensation. [12] Care Equity's CEO Peter Batesko and companies he controls then sued Kubista, the TATAA founders and their lawyer in what Kubista's lawyer claimed to be a SLAPP lawsuit. [13] As of October 2025, legal proceedings related to the merger dispute remain ongoing in the Swedish courts. [14] Kubista also sued the law firm for negligent advice. [15]
In 2014 Kubista introduced non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) [16] in Sweden and founded Life Genomics. [17] During the covid-19 pandemic Life Genomics was very active supporting swedens testing effort including setting up laboratories at Göteborg Landvetter airport and Stockholm Arlanda airport. [18]
Kubista was elected to the board of LevelBio in 2024. LevelBio is listed on the Nordic Growth Market in Stockholm and is the parent company of the distribution company Techtum Lab and the diagnostics company Cybergene. [19]
In 2020, Kubista founded SimSen Diagnostics together with Professors Tony Godfrey and Anders Ståhlberg, focusing on ultra-sensitive sequencing technology to monitor cancer patient treatment through the analysis of cell-free circulating tumor DNA in liquid biopsies. [20]
In 2025 Kubista together with Jens Björkman, Robert Sjöback and Fredrik Adlercreutz founded Precision BioAnalytics, [21] [22] around a new preanalytical procedure that increases sensitivity and improves precision of the preanalytical process in molecular analysis. [23] [24]
Kubista has close to 300 publications. [25]
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