New centre director to advance machine learning and create space for ambitious research
From 1 May this year, Professor Bjarni Vilhjálmsson will take up the role of centre director of the renowned research centre specialising in register data and psychiatric epidemiology, the National Centre for Register-based Research (NCRR). He is looking forward to it.
Bjarni Vilhjálmsson
- Holds an MSc in Bioinformatics from University of Copenhagen (2006) and a PhD in Computational Biology from University of Southern California (2011).
- Has held research positions at institutions including the Gregor Mendel Institute in Vienna and the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
- Worked for two years in software development and bioinformatics at the biotech company QIAGEN.
- Affiliated with NCRR since 2018; first as senior researcher and subsequently as professor. From 1 May this year, centre director.
- Aged 47, born in Iceland, and currently lives in Aarhus with his wife Dorte Pedersen and their three children aged 15, 13 and 6.
National Centre for Register-based Research (NCRR)
- Established in 2000 with funding from Danish National Research Foundation.
- Specialises in epidemiological studies of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, mania, depression and suicide.
- Based on Danish registers and increasingly upon genetic and other biological data.
- Integrates register-based research across health sciences and social sciences.
- Leads several major research projects, including SMARTbiomed, HOPE, CIRRAU and iPSYCH.
- Organisationally part of the Department of Public Health, located in the University Park, with approximately 70 staff members affiliated with the centre.
- Three of the centre’s researchers are recognised as “Clarivate Highly Cited”, meaning among the most cited researchers globally. By comparison, there are 13 with this distinction across Aarhus University as a whole.
He is a familiar face. For the past eight years, Bjarni Vilhjálmsson has been affiliated with the National Centre for Register-based Research (NCRR) – first as senior researcher and subsequently as professor. From 1 May, he will assume leadership of the centre, a role he is pleased to take on.
“NCRR is a leading research centre within register-based research and psychiatric epidemiology. Its success is entirely due to the many outstanding researchers and colleagues who make up the centre. It is an honour to lead NCRR, and I look forward to contributing to its continued development,” says Bjarni Vilhjálmsson.
He succeeds Preben Bo Mortensen, who, after 25 years as centre director, will continue his work as professor at the centre.
More machine learning and AI in register-based research
The new centre director sees his primary task as maintaining and strengthening NCRR’s position as an internationally leading research centre. According to Bjarni Vilhjálmsson, this requires focus on two main tracks. The first concerns the research itself and its methodologies:
“I believe we should become even better at linking registers with genetics, omics data and new computational methods – such as machine learning and AI,” he says, adding:
“But only when it makes scientific sense. Method development should not be an end in itself; it should help us improve public health in Denmark and globally. My background in computer science and mathematics may be an advantage in this regard.”
Strong expertise and a bright future
Another key priority for Bjarni Vilhjálmsson – the second main track in the centre’s continued development – concerns staff and the overall research environment.
“I would like to strengthen the research environment at NCRR by promoting both national and international collaboration. More broadly, I want to help create conditions where researchers can carry out ambitious research and have the time and space to do so,” he explains.
“Our strength lies in our staff and in a research culture where high quality and collaboration are the norm. Our expertise in register data is highly valuable, and I believe we are exceptionally well positioned to use these data to better understand diseases and improve general health. The outlook is very positive. I am looking forward to it all.”
The National Centre for Register-based Research was organisationally transferred from Aarhus BSS to Health and is now based at the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University as of January 2025. Upon taking up the position as centre director, Bjarni Vilhjálmsson will also join the department management team.
Contact
Professor and incoming Centre Director Bjarni Vilhjálmsson
Aarhus University, Department of Public Health – National Centre for Register-based Research
Mobile: +45 24 20 12 79
Email: bjv.ncrr@au.dk