A shower of awards at PhD Day 2026: see the photos
On 16 January, Health brought together hundreds of PhD students, researchers and lecturers for the faculty’s long-standing PhD Day. The day featured a packed programme, inspiring keynote lectures and sharp presentations. See the photos and find out who took home this year’s awards.
At eight o’clock on an icy January morning, The Lakeside Lecture Theatres are already buzzing with life. In the foyer there is a rush for coffee and tea as PhD students from across the faculty make their way to the Per Kirkeby Auditorium. Conversations criss-cross disciplinary boundaries, and expectations for this year’s PhD Day are high.
At 8.30, Reimar W. Thomsen, Professor and Chair of the Organising Committee, welcomes participants alongside Dennis Vinther, PhD student and co-chair of the PhD Association at Health.
The two hosts emphasise that PhD Day is the most important shared annual event for the faculty’s PhD community – a forum where new ideas are presented, networks are built, and research cultures meet.
About PhD Day:
PhD Day is held annually on the third Friday in January as a collaboration between the PhD Association and the Graduate School at Health.
The aim is to bring together the faculty’s PhD students, share knowledge and create networks across a broad scientific field.
This year’s keynote speakers were Professor Michael Toft Overgaard and Professor Mette Nyegaard from Aalborg University, as well as Professor Bente Klarlund Pedersen from the University of Copenhagen and Rigshospitalet.
Read more about PhD Day
Read more about the three awards:
The Fogh-Nielsen Prize
The JCD Prize
The 3R Prize
Ground-breaking genetics on stage
Following the welcome, the day’s first keynote speakers take the stage: Professor Michael Toft Overgaard and Professor Mette Nyegaard from Aalborg University.
The two researchers give the audience a vivid, inspiring and humorous insight into their work in genetics and protein biology – research that attracted international attention when it contributed to the Australian courts overturning the conviction of Kathleen Folbigg, who had previously been found guilty of killing her four children.
The presentation demonstrates how basic research can have far-reaching legal and societal consequences. After a short coffee break, it is time for the day’s first competitive element.
Sharp presentations in the Fogh-Nielsen competition
Three finalists take the stage in the Per Kirkeby Auditorium to compete for the Fogh-Nielsen Prize – an award that recognises PhD students who deliver research of a high standard and master the challenging art of communicating it clearly and convincingly.
The research spans a wide range of fields – from cancer immunotherapy to diabetes and prenatal diagnostics. The audience follows the presentations intently, and it is clear that the judging panel will have a difficult task later in the day when they must select the best presentation.
Participants then disperse to buildings around The Lakeside Lecture Theatres for the first round of sessions featuring pitches, flash talks and oral presentations. Lively discussions can be heard everywhere – both among PhD students and with more experienced researchers.
See photos from the day below:
Health, movement and society
After lunch, everyone gathers again in the Per Kirkeby Auditorium, where Professor Bente Klarlund Pedersen from the University of Copenhagen takes the stage for the day’s second keynote.
She delivers an engaging lecture on the importance of physical activity for health, drawing on research from the Tryg Foundation Centre for Active Health. Combining scientific results with concrete examples, she makes it clear that movement is not only beneficial but a central factor in the prevention of a wide range of diseases.
This is followed by the day’s second round of sessions across the faculty, before coffee and cake bring the daytime programme to a close.
And the winners are…
In the evening, events move on to DGI-Huset, where PhD Day concludes with a gala dinner, a festive speech and music from Jungle Boogie Band. The atmosphere is celebratory as the day’s awards are finally presented.
The main prize in the Fogh-Nielsen Competition, worth DKK 75,000, is awarded to PhD student Asbjørn Kjær from the Department of Clinical Medicine.
He impressed both judges and audience with his presentation on the continued importance of the thymus in adult life – and its role in cancer patients’ responses to immunotherapy.
Second place is shared by PhD students Ibrahim AlZaim and Simon Horsholt Thomsen, who each receive DKK 25,000. The funds are provided by the Consul Johannes Fogh-Nielsen and Mrs Ella Fogh-Nielsen Foundation and support the recipients’ further research.
The JCD Prize for PhD Supervisor of the Year is awarded to Associate Professor Adam Hulman from the Department of Public Health and Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus.
He is honoured for his dedicated supervisory work, in which he combines high academic standards with a strong focus on wellbeing and a supportive learning environment for his students.
“It came as a complete surprise to me,” Adam Hulman says at the award ceremony, emphasising that he sees the prize as recognition of his entire research group – not just himself.
Hulman leads the Hulman Lab, which works with artificial intelligence in diabetes research and develops new predictive models for disease risk and complications.
You can read more about the award recipient in this article.
Replacement – Refinement – Reduction. These are the three Rs behind the 3R Prize. The award is given to a PhD student who works to reduce or refine the use of experimental animals in research projects.
This year, the prize and the accompanying DKK 10,000 are awarded to PhD student Diana Faibish from the Department of Biomedicine.
With award presentations, music and dancing, PhD Day 2026 comes to an end – but already now, attention turns to January 2027, when the tradition will continue.
Contact
PhD Administrator Helene Hallas
Aarhus University, PhD Administration, Health
Telephone: +45 93 52 26 09
Email: heha@au.dk