Health has a new professor of medical bioinformatics and statistical genetics

With a background in mathematics and physics, the newly appointed professor has specialised in developing and applying advanced statistical and bioinformatics methods to investigate complex diseases and conditions – including psychiatric disorders – using large biological data sets.

In particular, Jakob Grove has conducted research into autism and worked to deal with heterogeneity in diagnoses, i.e. the variation in symptoms, course and severity that can occur within the same diagnosis, and which can be a challenge both in clinical practice and in a research context. He also studies diseases that autistic people have a higher risk of contracting than people without an autism diagnosis. The hope is to understand and prevent this risk.

"My research must be described as basic research. The issues we are trying to understand are extremely complex, and the benefits are generally first reaped in the long run. However, I believe that our work in the autism area within the foreseeable future can contribute to earlier and more accurate diagnoses for the benefit of both autistic people and their relatives," says Jakob Grove.

As professor, Jakob Grove continues to contribute to the teaching of students. He hopes that the professorship can be a helping hand in two important areas:

"In practical terms, I think my professorship will be a boost in connection with funding applications and some help in recruitment. These are two things that are of great importance to which research we can do. And of course, the appointment is also a recognition of the work we have done in my group, and I greatly appreciate that," says Jakob Grove, who took up the position at Department of Biomedicine 1 August 2024.

Contact

Professor Jakob Grove
Aarhus University, Department of Biomedicine
Phone: 29 80 17 68
Email: grove@biomed.au.dk