New division manager of Health Research Support aims to strengthen the path to external funding
On 1 April, Astrid Rosalie Klingen will take up the position as division manager of Health Research Support. With many years of experience from both foundations and universities, she will help ensure that researchers at Health have the best conditions in the competition for external funding.
About Astrid Rosalie Klingen
- Division Manager, Health Research Support
- Takes up the position on 1 April 2026
- Age: 46
- PhD in Biochemistry
- Previous experience from the German Research Foundation, Innovation Fund Denmark, and Aarhus University (Natural Sciences)
- Lives in Holme, is married to Anders, and has two children aged 6 and 8
- Spends her free time on outdoor activities, music and literature
For Astrid Rosalie Klingen, the field is well known.
The new division manager of Health Research Support has experience from the German Research Foundation and Innovation Fund Denmark, as well as Aarhus University, where she worked as a research adviser at Natural Sciences.
“I look forward to applying my knowledge and experience in a new context – in Health Research Support and in the role as division manager, where there is the right mix of operations, development and leadership,” she says.
A faculty with strong research environments
Astrid Rosalie Klingen has particularly noted the strong academic environments at Health.
“Health is characterised above all by many highly skilled and dedicated researchers and teachers. At the same time, I experience a very professional administrative community at the faculty,” she says.
She also highlights the faculty’s collaborative culture.
“Health clearly communicates a strong focus on collaboration and joint effort for the benefit of society – and I very much look forward to becoming part of that.”
She also has a strong impression of the relatively new unit she will soon be heading.
“Employees in Health Research Support are widely recognised and valued for their researcher services, their specialist expertise and their contributions to the research strategic development of departments and hospitals,” says Astrid Rosalie Klingen.
Five quick questions for Astrid:
What do you do when you are not working?
I most enjoy spending time with my family – preferably outdoors. We grow vegetables in the garden, go for an evening swim at Ballehage Bathing Jetty or take both short and longer trips.
Do you have a hobby unrelated to work?
If I had not studied biology, I might have tried to become a violinist. I have spent a great deal of time playing chamber music and in orchestras.
Where do you best unwind?
In our garden – and during my almost sacred Monday evenings at Lyseng Swimming Pool, where I swim one or two kilometres.
What makes you laugh?
The quirky and the absurd – especially musical humour such as Monty Python or Helge Schneider. And, of course, my husband.
What fills most of your screen or playlist at the moment?
Hacks for a more sustainable everyday life, yoga and strength training, politics, outdoor life and vegetarian food.
Research support in development
A key task in the coming period will be to ensure that researchers experience coherent and effective support in their work applying for funding.
“The most important task is to deliver a seamless service to researchers at Health, Aarhus University Hospital and the regional hospitals – in close collaboration with colleagues both at the faculty and in AU Research,” she says.
She emphasises that researchers should experience Health Research Support as a qualified and reliable partner – both in application work and in the development of research environments and individual research talent.
“Researchers today work under increasingly complex conditions. Research must be balanced with teaching, clinical work and other responsibilities – while the competition for external funding is extremely tough. Here we can make a concrete difference by relieving researchers of administrative tasks and contributing to the maturation of projects and strengthening of applications,” she says.
At the same time, she points out that research support today extends beyond traditional application support.
“Application support must increasingly be integrated with other research support functions – for example data management or innovation and societal impact. This is a task for the entire research support system at AU, and I am very keen to contribute to finding good solutions.”
New technology may also become part of this development:
“If we can use artificial intelligence to relieve both researchers and support functions of routine tasks, we can instead spend more time on the creative collaborative processes that form the foundation for excellent research,” she says.
Leadership with responsibility and community
As a leader, Astrid Rosalie Klingen aims to create a framework in which employees can take responsibility and apply their competencies.
“I want to create conditions where colleagues thrive in taking as much responsibility as possible. This includes, among other things, defining tasks together so they are experienced as meaningful and achievable,” she says.
At the same time, she emphasises a working environment that combines professionalism and a sense of community.
“I thrive best in a workplace where there is openness, room for laughter, and space to meet as the people we are – each with our own particularities and lives that extend far beyond work.”
As head of a relatively small team, Astrid Rosalie Klingen also expects to be closely involved in day-to-day work.
“I imagine it will be natural to take part in application work – for example during periods with major deadlines. At the same time, it is important for me to stay close to the practical processes so that I can develop into the leader and sparring partner that both the team and the research environments need,” she concludes.
Contact
Division Manager Astrid Rosalie Klingen
Aarhus University, Health Administration Centre – Health Research Support
Telephone: 30 33 51 87
Email: ark@au.dk