11 researchers receive fully funded PhD scholarships at Health

A fully funded PhD scholarship covers three years’ salary and study expenses. Six of Health’s new PhD students are affiliated with the Department of Clinical Medicine, three with the Department of Biomedicine, one with the Department of Odontology and Oral Health, and the last with the Department of Public Health.

Ten students receive full faculty scholarships, while one receives a fully integrated PhD scholarship, also known as 4+4, where the student begins the PhD programme one year into their master’s degree and completes the final part of the master’s as part of the PhD.

The new PhD students are:

Silje Hovden Christensen, Department of Clinical Medicine
Title: ‘Blood biomarkers in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease: Longitudinal trajectories, prognostic potential, and analytical validation.’
Supervisor: Associate Professor Niels Okkels
About the project: Silje Hovden Christensen will develop blood‑based biomarkers to detect Alzheimer’s disease long before symptoms appear. She is analysing stored blood samples from donors who later developed Alzheimer’s and comparing them with a healthy control group. If the disease can be detected in blood many years in advance, this could change diagnosis, risk assessment, and future preventive treatments.

Amina Chtourou, Department of Public Health
Title: ‘Water and air – investigating environmental risk factors for cancers in women’
Supervisor: Associate Professor Jörg Schullehner
About the project: Amina Chtourou, in her project, is investigating whether long‑term exposure to contaminated drinking water and air increases the risk of breast, ovarian, and cervical cancer among women in Denmark. She links nationwide data on water quality, air pollution, and cancer registries and uses advanced statistical methods to identify associations. Knowledge from the project is intended to contribute to better regulation and prevention in environmental and public health.

Mikkel Dahl‑Jessen, Department of Clinical Medicine
Title: ‘The Influence of Proximity on Structural Variations and its Engineering Potential’
Supervisor: Clinical Professor and Chair Uffe Birk Jensen
About the project: Mikkel Dahl‑Jessen is investigating how the physical distance between breaks in genetic material affects the formation of larger DNA changes. Using CRISPR technology, he will test new strategies to remove disease‑causing DNA segments, including in the muscle disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The project aims to make genome editing more precise and better suited to future treatments.

Jesper Fischer Ehmsen, Department of Clinical Medicine
Title: ‘Disentangling Expectation, Stimulus, and Pain Perception leveraging Autonomic Responses: From Mechanisms to Clinical Predictions’
Supervisor: Associate Professor Jan Rosner
About the project: Jesper Fischer Ehmsen aims to uncover how the body’s autonomic nervous system reflects both pain stimuli and our expectations of pain. By combining experimental pain studies with measurements of heart rate and skin conductance, among others, he investigates how expectations and placebo effects can predict pain experience and treatment effect. The insights could be used to develop more individualised pain assessment – even in patients unable to describe their pain.

Eleonora Genovese, Department of Clinical Medicine
Title: ‘A Macrobiotic Treatment Approach to Alleviate “Chemo‑brain” and other Chemotherapy‑induced Side‑effects’
Supervisor: Associate Professor Cecilie Bay‑Richter
About the project: In her project, Eleonora Genovese will test whether substances from parasitic worms can mitigate side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea and so‑called “chemo‑brain.” She investigates how helminth products affect the gut barrier, immune system, and microbiome, and whether this can protect against the harmful effects of chemotherapy without weakening cancer treatment.

Julie Aakjær Jensen, Department of Biomedicine
Title: ‘Uncovering the Genetic and Immunological Basis of Central Nervous System Infections Caused by Herpesviruses: From Inborn Errors of Immunity to their Phenocopies’
Supervisor: Professor Trine Mogensen
About the project: Julie Aakjær Jensen is exploring why herpes viruses, in rare cases, can cause severe central nervous system infections such as encephalitis and recurrent episodes of meningitis. Using whole‑genome sequencing and detailed immunological analyses, she will identify inborn genetic defects and autoantibodies that weaken the body’s antiviral defence. Knowledge from the project could improve both diagnosis and treatment for patients with life‑threatening infections.

Signe Østergaard Mortensen, Department of Clinical Medicine
Title: ‘Correction of Hyponatraemia – Evaluating the Balance between Benefits and Harms’
Supervisor: Professor Lars Wiuff Andersen
About the project: In her PhD project, Signe Østergaard Mortensen maps how frequently low blood sodium occurs in Denmark and how the condition is treated in the country’s hospitals. She uses national registers to investigate both the risk of the rare but serious complication osmotic demyelination syndrome and which rates of sodium correction are most safe. The results may impact future clinical guidelines and patient care.

Julie B. Pajaniaye, Department of Odontology and Oral Health
Title: ‘Dental Health Care in Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Patients: Antibiotic and Dental Service Use and Risk of Periprosthetic Joint Infection’
Supervisor: Professor Mario V. Vettore
About the project: Julie B. Pajaniaye maps antibiotic use among dental patients who simultaneously receive hip or knee prostheses. By combining national health registers, she will examine whether specific dental treatments or antibiotic strategies influence the risk of infection around the joint. The results may contribute to more targeted guidelines in both dental care and orthopaedic surgery.

Steffen Skovgaard Sørensen, Department of Clinical Medicine
Title: ‘Heart and kidney metabolism during sodium‑glucose co‑transporter 2 inhibition assessed by long axial field‑of‑view PET: Evidence from a randomised clinical trial in persons with diabetes and a translational porcine study’
Supervisor: Clinical Chair Professor Lars Christian Gormsen
About the project: Steffen Skovgaard Sørensen is investigating how a new type of diabetes medicine (SGLT2 inhibitors) affects the heart and kidneys in people with type 2 diabetes. Using advanced imaging, he will examine whether the medicine helps the heart and kidneys use energy more efficiently. This may help explain why the medicine appears to protect against heart and kidney disease.

Matilde Helbo Sørensen, Department of Biomedicine
Title: ‘Targeting subretinal fibrosis using miR‑agshRNA gene therapy as a novel strategy against age‑related macular degeneration’
Supervisor: Professor Thomas Corydon
About the project: Matilde Helbo Sørensen is developing a new gene therapy‑based treatment for the serious eye disease wet age‑related macular degeneration. The aim is to reduce the need for repeated treatments and prevent permanent vision loss in patients.

Recipient of fully integrated PhD scholarships (4+4):

Emilia Holm, Department of Biomedicine
Title: ‘The Effects of Anti‑Topoisomerase Autoantibodies on Immune Activation in Systemic Sclerosis’
Supervisor: Associate Professor Stinne Ravn Greisen
About the project: Emilia Holm investigates how specific autoantibodies contribute to the development of the serious connective tissue disease systemic sclerosis. She will map how antibodies against the enzyme topoisomerase I penetrate cells, activate the immune system, and trigger fibrosis. The aim is to identify new targets for treatments that can slow the progression of the disease.