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Lars Björk studied biotechnology and chemistry at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where he received a M.Sc. in 1965 for research on the production of secondary metabolites and a Licenciate degree in 1970 for research on secondary metabolite accumulation in plant tissue cultures. From 1984 to 1986, he was director of a Nordic project for introduction of this art in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. During this time, he became an advisor to pharmaceutical and food companies, advising them on the usage of raw materials and the development of new products. He became Associate Professor of Pharmacognosy at Uppsala University in 1986. He received a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1990 with a thesis on techniques to improve secondary metabolism in plant tissues. He was responsible for the creation of a new unit within the Swedish University of Agriculture, the Phytochemical Centre, Balsgård. From 1991 to 2001, he was the research director of the Centre and investigated the selection of plant species and the domestication of wild species. From 1995 to 2005, he was a member of the board of the European Federation of Medicinal Plant Producers and contributed to the creation of new rules for Good Agricultural Practices for the production of raw materials to be used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals; these rules were later adopted by the European Drug Administration (EMEA). In 2001, he became Senior Research Officer at Lund University, directing projects that determine the biological activity of natural products, a post he still holds. His institute is involved in bioprospecting in Bolivia, Morocco, Egypt, India, and other countries. He instituted Ethnobotany as an academic subject at Uppsala University in the spring of 2005. His current research concentrates on Laos but also includes other countries in Southeast Asia, as well as Morocco. He works on bioprospecting projects with Ph.D. students at both Lund and Uppsala. As a member of the Swedish Scientific Council for Biological Diversity (an advisory committee to the Swedish government on questions concerning the Convention on Biological Diversity), he has been especially involved in questions concerning access and benefit sharing.
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