He turned health data into gold for patients

It all happened without fanfare or confetti cannons.

The news that Clinical Professor and Chair Henrik Toft Sørensen was to receive Aarhus University’s most prestigious research award simply arrived by email in the inbox.

“I was extremely surprised and genuinely pleased, because the prize comes from the university where I have spent my career, ever since I was a student myself. That means something very special,” says Henrik Toft Sørensen.

Although the prize is awarded to Henrik Toft Sørensen, he does not see it as a solo achievement.

“It is not a one-man effort. Here in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology, we are over 100 talented colleagues, and the research we undertake is very much a collaborative effort,” he emphasises.

From a chance idea to a pioneer

Henrik Toft Sørensen’s entry into research was, in fact, somewhat serendipitous. As a young doctor in the early 1990s, he received a travel grant of DKK 10,000 and used it to spend time in Boston.

It was there that he saw how research was conducted on the other side of the globe, and he realised the potential in the enormous volumes of health data that almost no one in Denmark was using for research purposes.

“I could see that there was a wealth of opportunity in the registries we already had back home. It was long before anyone spoke of big data, and back then, there was quite a bit of resistance to conducting research that diverged from the traditional randomised controlled trials,” he recalls.

Nevertheless, he threw himself into the field. A combination of curiosity, clinical experience, and good timing made him, over the ensuing years, a pioneer in clinical epidemiology.

A department emerges

In 2000, he was appointed head of the newly established Department of Clinical Epidemiology (KEA) in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Aarhus University and the then Aarhus Municipal Hospital - despite sceptics predicting the department would have no longevity.

“It’ll be closed down before two years are up,” forecast a gloomy colleague.

But 25 years later, KEA employs more than 100 staff from a dozen different countries, publishes around 230 articles annually, and has become an international flagship in clinical epidemiology.

Henrik Toft Sørensen credits much of the success to his collaboration with former surgeon and Chief Medical Officer Tove Nilsson, who became administrative head in 2010 and brought structure and financial resilience to the department.

“She has been absolutely vital to our development into what we are today,” he says.

You can read more about KEA’s first 25 years in this anniversary article on Health’s website.

Research that changes practice

Over the years, Henrik Toft Sørensen has published articles in leading journals such as The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, and British Medical Journal.

His research has, among other things, uncovered links between blood clots and cancer, and how medicine can both prevent and cause disease.

One study, for instance, showed that ibuprofen increases the risk of spontaneous abortion - a discovery that led to new international guidelines. Conversely, another study documented that certain types of arthritis medication can halve the risk of colorectal cancer.

“The most important thing has always been that the research can be used to improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. It’s not about the data in itself, but about the patients,” says Henrik Toft Sørensen.

Shaping a generation of researchers

Beyond the research outcomes and patients, there is one thing in particular that makes Henrik Toft Sørensen feel proud: his PhD students.

He has supervised nearly 80 over the years, and around 15 of them are now professors across the world.

“It gives me immense joy to see former students flourish, both here in Aarhus and internationally. Being a supervisor is not just about shaping researchers, but also individuals. Sometimes it means helping someone realise that they may be better suited to a clinical career, which is at least as important as the work we do,” he says.

An international outlook

Henrik Toft Sørensen has always insisted that Denmark should be an attractive research partner. Thus, KEA maintains close links with universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Boston University, and the Karolinska Institute.

In 2024, he was also inducted into the National Academy of Medicine in the USA - an exclusive network of researchers and advisers that admits only few non‑Americans each year.

“It was a lengthy process, and I am proud to be included. The Academy delivers independent input to policymakers in the USA on some of the greatest health challenges, and that is particularly important in a politically divided time such as now,” he says.

Holistic approach, ethics, and family as the foundation

A recurring theme in Henrik Toft Sørensen’s research is a holistic perspective. He was among the first to study multimorbidity, the fact that patients often suffer from multiple illnesses at once, and how that affects treatment.

Besides the holistic approach, ethics matters greatly to him.

“We have vast amounts of data on the Danish population, and we are obliged to steward it with respect. Critics of registry research often overlook that the data has already been collected. The question, from my perspective, is not whether we should collect data, but whether the data already collected is being used for the benefit of society,” he says.

Behind the many titles and achievements stands a family he calls the foundation of it all.

“I could never have achieved a fraction of what I’ve done without my wife and children. My wife worked part‑time at times, and we have travelled innumerable times to the USA together and even lived there for periods. The family has carried this as much as I have, so without them my research simply couldn’t have happened,” he says.

Future opportunities and challenges

Even after more than three decades in research, Henrik Toft Sørensen looks firmly to the future. He is engaged with how artificial intelligence and data science can transform clinical epidemiology and raise new ethical questions.

“There are huge opportunities with modern technology, but also significant pitfalls. One must remember that health data is about people, not just algorithms,” he says.

He is currently particularly focused on population medicine, where one looks at disease trajectories across entire populations rather than individuals.

Advice to young researchers

When asked what he would have liked to know as a young researcher, his answer is prompt:

“It’s important to have a clinical foundation. I worked as a doctor for more than ten years before transitioning to research, and it has been invaluable for my understanding of the healthcare system,” he says.

His advice to younger researchers is thus clear:

“Have patience and pay attention to soft values such as humanity and collegiality. Research is a team sport. And don’t forget that clinical experience can be a tremendous strength - even if it prolongs the path into research.”

Looking back on his career, it’s not the number of citations or awards that he mentions first.

“What I’m most proud of is that with the Department of Clinical Epidemiology we have built a research centre that stands strong internationally, and a research environment in which new generations of researchers can grow. That means more than anything else. The Holst‑Knudsen Prize is a tremendous recognition of that work, and I am very proud to be this year’s recipient.”

Contact

Clinical Professor and Chair Henrik Toft Sørensen
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine – Department of Clinical Epidemiology (KEA)
Phone: +45 87 16 82 15
Email: hts@clin.au.dk