Nineteen researchers from Health are among the recipients of a new grant round from Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF) for improved diagnostics and treatment of childhood asthma, atrial fibrillation and menstrual migraine, among other things.

Associate Professor Lars Wiuff Andersen from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care as well as the Pre-Hospital Services at Aarhus University Hospital will test three different ways of stimulating the heart with a defibrillator following a cardiac arrest. Two of the methods are new and have previously shown promising results, but larger and better trials are needed before these methods can be used routinely and potentially improve treatment of cardiac arrest patients.

Clinical Professor Per Borghammer from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Department of Nuclear Medicine & PET-Centre at Aarhus University Hospital has received a grant for a project that will use a completely new method called MiniPSG to record patients' brain and muscle activity during sleep using only few electrodes. The goal is to understand the earliest changes in the development of rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD), which is the most specific early symptom of Parkinson's disease.

External Member of Academic Staff Nis Brix from the Department of Public Health, the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Department of Clinical Genetics at Aarhus University Hospital will study Danish patients with the rare, serious and hereditary disease, tuberous sclerosis (TS), covering the period 1977-2023. The project aims to improve our understanding of the disease using Danish registers, genetic analysis results and patient records, combined with the latest quantitative epidemiological and statistical methods.

Clinical Professor Per Fink from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Research Clinic for Functional Disorders at Aarhus University Hospital will identify biomarkers in functional disorders and relate these biomarkers to clinical measurements of the severity of the disorder. The hope is that, in the long term, these neurobiological insights can be used to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients with functional disorders.

Professor Ole Frøbert from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus will investigate whether the protein HSP47 can serve as a risk marker for developing blood clots. He and his research group will study this in patients with blood clots in the calf or heart, in astronauts, and in healthy people. Ole Frøbert has previously found that HSP47 is a key reason that bears do not develop blood clots while hibernating.

Clinical Professor Henrik Hasle from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Aarhus University Hospital will study the frequency of late complications such as sleep disturbance, changed production of the sleep hormone melatonin and neurovascular damage, and how these factors affect the cognitive ability and quality of life of long-term survivors of paediatric brain tumours.

Professor Martin Roelsgaard Jakobsen from the Department of Biomedicine has received a grant for research into how deterioration of the immune system affects cancer patients' response to immunotherapy.

Associate Professor Páll Karlsson from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Danish Pain Research Center will conduct research into neuropathic pain, which is often described as a burning, needle-like or electric shock-like sensation. The pain stems from diabetes or vitamin deficiency, among other things, and the project aims to find genetic changes in the development of chronic pain to lead to better pain relief.

Clinical Associate Professor Camilla Jensenius Skovhus Kronborg from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Danish Centre for Particle Radiotherapy (DCPT) has received a grant for a randomised clinical trial to study the possibilities and results of using proton radiotherapy in treatments of colorectal cancer.

Associate Professor Stephan Lange from the Department of Biomedicine will conduct research into dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), which is a serious heart condition. Only 50 per cent of patients survive five years after diagnosis, and treatment options are limited. This project will investigate the possibility of using Ankrd1 as a new biomarker and study small molecules that can prevent the development of DCM.

Associate Professor Rikke Katrine Jentoft Olsen from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Research Unit for Molecular Medicine at Aarhus University Hospital will study whether intermittent hypoxic therapy (IHT) can improve symptoms and alleviate tissue damage in patients suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). IHT is a new form of treatment in which the body is exposed to small doses of oxygen deficiency, thereby prompting physiological and cellular mechanisms that train the body to tolerate oxygen deficiency.

Clinical Associate Professor Ulla Kampmann Opstrup from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus (SDCA) has received a grant for a project that, among other things, will optimise the follow-up programme of gestational diabetes, as women, after having suffered this condition, have a 50 per cent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes within the first 10 years after giving birth.

Associate Professor Ruben Pauwels from the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health will develop a tool that can generate realistic X-ray images using artificial intelligence (AI). He will focus on the type of X-ray called panoramic dental X-ray, but the principle applies to any type of medical imaging. The result will enable future research studies to generate unique, adaptable data sets and, in the long term, improve tools for e.g. diagnosis and treatment planning.

Associate Professor Thomas Rasmussen from the Department of Biomedicine and the Department of Infectious Diseases at Aarhus University Hospital has received a grant to find and develop treatments that can eliminate latently infected cells and strengthen the immunological control of HIV. The goal is to advance the development of a cure.

Professor Torben Sigsgaard from the Department of Public Health will examine the correlations between transient fluctuations in air pollution and the incidence of heart rhythm disturbances among patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). He will do this using AUH's ICD register, which has approx. 2,000 patients registered with clinical data and associated measurements from their ICD unit.

Clinical Professor Karen-Lise Garm Spindler from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Department of Oncology at Aarhus University Hospital has received a grant to develop guidelines for examining and informing about sexual dysfunction following radiotherapy for anal cancer. The project will result in better opportunities for prevention and treatment of late sexual complications in women with anal cancer.

In an international study, Clinical Professor Hatice Tankisi from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology at Aarhus University Hospital will investigate the possible treatment effect of continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS), a form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), as well as transcranial static magnetic stimulation (tSMS), which is believed to lower the cortical excitability of ALS.  

Professor Peter Vedsted from the Department of Clinical Medicine, Department of Public Health, Research Unit for General Practice, and Silkeborg Regional Hospital will investigate the effect of a new communication model between general practice and the hospital regarding MRI referrals for lower back pain in the Central Denmark Region. The model aims to ensure that the referrals follow the clinical guidelines to reduce overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatments. The collaboration is led by the Diagnostic Center in Silkeborg, the University of Southern Denmark, and the Research Unit for General Practice.

Clinical Professor Ida Vogel from the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at Aarhus University Hospital has received a grant to conduct genetic analyses and register studies to provide a better understanding of mosaicism, its consequences and the needs of parents during the diagnostic investigation of mosaicism.

A total of 295 applications have been submitted, and research funding has been awarded to 62 projects at hospitals and universities across the Denmark. Each of the original research ideas has received between approx. DKK 2.2 million and DKK 4.3 million, and the research projects will typically run over 3 - 4½ years.