Christian Lindholst continues as Head of Department

Anyone who has sat next to Christian Lindholst over lunch knows that he is good company.

He takes a genuine interest in the people around him, never takes himself too seriously, and has an infectious enthusiasm for subjects that may otherwise sound rather dry on paper – such as wastewater analysis or the chemical difference between amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Apparently, he also finds Aarhus University good company, because he has just agreed to serve another three years as Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine.

How old is the bloodstain?

Since Christian Lindholst became Head of Department in 2013 – as the first forensic chemist to hold a position traditionally occupied by medically trained forensic pathologists – he has focused on strengthening research in forensic medicine.

Much like the fact that he wore socks with sensible sandals long before it became fashionable, from the very beginning he has had a keen eye for what is now celebrated in research policy as impact pathways.

His focus is on ensuring that research makes a difference – in very concrete ways, out in society.

Today, research accounts for one third of the department’s activities, while remaining closely linked to the department’s services to public authorities.

The Department of Forensic Medicine serves four police districts in Jutland, but its research benefits all of Denmark. One example is an agreement with the National Forensic Technology Centre to decode fingerprints using chemical trace analysis. Another is the development of a method for determining the age of bloodstains, or the department’s work with the police on a tool that, for the first time, makes it possible to test drivers at the roadside for the use of nitrous oxide.

“We are a small department, but we are constantly focused on how our work can be applied in practice. Many of our new services are developed in close collaboration with the police. At the same time, we have become good at attracting research funding. That is not down to me, but to a clear prioritisation,” says Christian Lindholst.

When the TV news calls

In fact, the emphasis on societal benefit is not all that new. There is a clear line back to former heads of department such as Jørgen B. Dalgaard, who as early as the 1970s recognised the importance of communicating forensic research on subjects including road safety, carbon monoxide poisoning and drug abuse to the public. He could become so enthusiastic that the results sometimes reached the daily press before they appeared in the academic journals.

Fifty years later, the department’s podcast Tæt på Retsmedicin (Up Close with Forensic Medicine) has released two seasons on all major streaming platforms and has passed a quarter of a million downloads. Nor is it unusual for a TV news van to park outside the sliding doors in Skejby when the media need an expert perspective on subjects such as opioid use among young people or the mapping of femicides in Denmark. This is the result of a deliberate strategy.

“We are the people the press turns to with questions about forensic medicine in Denmark. We have worked deliberately to establish that position, and it is a good one to be in because it opens the door to new invitations and collaborations,” Christian Lindholst explains.

The ambition to make an impact on society extends far beyond public communication. It also includes collaboration with NGOs, research-based reports, and contributions to the justice system through reports, commissions and working groups.

At the same time, forensic medicine itself is changing.

“At the moment, we are helping significantly more living people than deceased people,” says Christian Lindholst.

Examinations of living individuals are taking up an increasing share of the department’s work. Screening of children and clinical forensic examinations will be key tasks for the department in the coming years – partly as a result of an agreement with the police to increase the number of examinations of children at the regional Children’s Houses.

This means that, over the next four years, doctors and nurses from the department will examine all children who undergo video-recorded police interviews in the four Jutland police districts for which the department provides forensic medical services.

Time for work – and waves

Christian Lindholst would like to cycle the 17 kilometres between his home in Skødstrup and his office in Skejby, but something always gets in the way. Such as the wonderfully warm car sitting in the driveway.

What he does make a priority, however, is being accessible. You can reach him in his office or by phone – except late on Wednesdays during the summer months. That is when he is out on the water. He serves on the racing committee at Kaløvig Sailing Club and spends a disproportionately large amount of his free time trying to optimise the speed of his sailboat.

He is also a member of a winter swimming club, because it is supposed to be healthy. So far, however, he has not actually been in the water – and deep down, he hopes he never will.

Instead, he has his sights set on another kind of water. For the past two years, together with colleagues from the department, he has been behind the report National Mapping of Drugs in Wastewater from Danish Cities, published by the Danish Health Authority.

The study measures Danes’ consumption of substances ranging from alcohol to fentanyl, based on wastewater samples from 29 treatment plants across the country, and is used by both politicians and the healthcare sector.

Throughout his career, Christian Lindholst’s own academic focus has been on illicit drugs and mapping the illegal drug market in Denmark. But the Department of Forensic Medicine is known for everything from autopsies and examinations of scenes where bodies are found to forensic chemical analyses, post-mortem examinations and examinations of living individuals. Over the next three years, research will continue to be translated into new methods, new collaborations and new solutions.

Christian Lindholst

• Born in 1972
• PhD in biology and chemistry from the University of Southern Denmark in 2002
• Joined the Department of Forensic Medicine at Aarhus University in 2005
• Appointed Associate Professor in 2008
• Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine since 2013
• Lives in Skødstrup with physician Bettina Bak and their dog, Daisy. Together they have three children: Julie, Christoffer and Casper.

Contact

Head of Department Christian Lindholst
Aarhus University, Department of Forensic Medicine
Phone: +45 20 93 92 23
Email: cl@forens.au.dk

 

This article has been machine translated