Dave Tippett is the new Membership and Events Coordinator for Oslo Cancer Cluster. Photo: Oslo Cancer Cluster

A heart for administration

Meet Dave Tippett, our newest team member supporting researchers to work better together.

“It is almost like a dating service at times,” Tippett jokingly explains. “Members come to us and explain their needs. Then we go through our database and try to find partners for them.”

Tippett is the new Membership and Events Coordinator for Oslo Cancer Cluster. This means he performs all-round administrative support, including on-boarding new members, arranging activities for members or involving members in the cluster’s projects.

Catering for researchers

Tippett is familiar with providing services for others. When Tippett moved to Norway from England, he worked in home care and learnt Norwegian on the job. Together with his partner, he then ran the successful catering business Kaffehagen. They were involved with several high-profile events for Oslo Cancer Cluster, including Cancer Crosslinks, Northern Future Forum, and more – until the corona pandemic forced Kaffehagen to close.

Luckily, Tippett’s unique skill set was still needed and, by the end of 2021, he was splitting his time 60/40 between Oslo Cancer Cluster and the Incubator. Tippett assists the Incubator tenants and provides technical support. In some ways, it is not too different from his previous work.

“I figure out good ways for researchers to work together.”

“The point of being a good administrator is to look at the problem and find a good administrative structure for it. Arranging a good party with delicious food or helping people do research and collaborate with their team is similar,” Tippett explains. “I figure out good ways to work together and deliver what people need.”

Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator is a vibrant professional environment that, among other things, provides laboratories and office spaces to cancer researchers from private companies and Oslo University Hospital.

“The work is very eclectic – you never know what the Incubator will ask of you,” Tippett says.

Committed to the cause

The job has an added meaning for Tippett since he has experienced cancer personally. Tippett recently lost both his mother and his best friend to cancer in a matter of weeks. Shortly thereafter, he found out he had carcinoma, but has now made a full recovery.

“I am motivated by the researchers working so hard to help people they have never even met before.”

“The researchers in the Incubator that I chat with on a day-to-day basis are genuinely nice people,” Tippett says. “I am motivated everyday by all of them working so hard to help people that they have never even met before.”

  • If you are an Incubator tenant or Oslo Cancer Cluster member, you can reach Dave Tippett at dt@oslocancercluster.no