Researcher ID: B-4866-2015

Scopus Author ID: 12040179400

My research is focused on the effects of the diet in childhood on nutritional status, growth, bone health and cardiometabolic profile, with the ultimate goal of improving dietary recommendations for children, promote a healthy weight and prevent lifestyle diseases from early life. I have profound experience with biomarkers of nutritional status and have worked with immune function and cog­nitive function in children. During the last 15 years I have specialized in designing and leading large high-quality randomized trials in children, but I also work with observational data. During 2011-2014 I managed the large OPUS School Meal Study involving more than 800 school children with >10 partners. Since then I have designed and led a number of large cross-disciplinary research projects with children from infancy to adolescence, investigating the effects of foods and nutrients on nutrient status, growth, body composition and cardiometabolic health, mainly in randomized designs. I currently lead two WPs in the large multi-level multi-component cluster-RCT Generation Healthy Kids, which aims at promoting healthy weigth, wellbeing and health behaviors among approx. 2000 school children in 24 local communities.

I have strong collaborations with leading research groups in the UK, Canada, Ireland and Sweden and represent Denmark in the European and International Nutrition Societies, as President of the Danish Nutrition Society.

EMPLOYMENT

2023 – present   Research group leader ¦ Lifecourse Nutrition & Health, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports (NEXS), University of Copenhagen (KU), Denmark.

2014 – present    Associate Professor of children's nutrition, NEXS, KU, Denmark.

2010 - 2014          Assistant Professor of paediatric nutrition, NEXS, KU.

2008 - 2010          Post doc, Nutrition and disease prevention, NEXS, KU.

                               Maternity leave: 12.11.08–23.09.09 (50 weeks in total)

EDUCATION & INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE

2005 – 2008         PhD in Human Nutrition, Faculty of Life Sciences, KU.

2007                      Research stay (2 months), University of Southampton, England.

2002 - 2005          MSc in Human Nutrition, Faculty of Life Sciences, KU.

2003                      Exchange student (4 months), Cornell University, New York, USA.

1998-2002            BSc in Biology, Faculty of Science, KU.

LARGER RESEARCH GRANTS

Secured > 56 M DKK in research grants as PI, co-PI or WP lead the last 10 years: 

• Generation Healthy Kids, 2022-2026 (29.4 M DKK, Novo Nordisk Foundation) (Leader of WP2 and WP6)
• PREPARE-CHILD - PRE-Pregnancy weight loss And Reducing CHILDhood overweight, 2022-2026 (4.4 M DKK, Novo Nordisk Foundation) (WP lead)
• Underweight among children in Denmark, 2022-2025 (2.0 M DKK, Novo Nordisk Foundation) (PI)
• KORN - Wholegrains and early prevention of lifestyle diseases, 2019-2021 (2.6 M DKK, Independent Research Fund Denmark) (PI)
• D-pro - Effects of milk protein and vitamin D on children’s growth and health), 2018-2022 (6.3 M DKK, Arla Food For Health) (PI)
• FiSK - Fish, children, health and cognition, 2016-2019 – research and communication project (Nordea-fonden) (PI for research, 9.0 M DKK)
• Vitamin D & children’s immune function, 2015-2017 (1.1 M DKK, Lundbeck Foundation) (PI)
• ODIN Junior - Vitamin D trial, 2013-2017 (WP4, 3.1 M DKK, EU-commission) (Co-PI)
• HAPFAM, 2013-2017 (WP5, 4.8 M DKK, Innovation Fund Denmark) (Investigator)

COURSES IN LEADERSHIP AND RESEARCH MANAGEMENT

2022              LUKU-basis, Leader Development Programme, KU.

2019              Leading Research, KU.

2014              Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and Monitoring, NEXS, KU.

2012              Leadership Programme for Women, Implement Consulting and KU.

2010              Project Management for Researchers, Implement Consulting, Copenhagen.

2007              European Nutrition Leadership Platform Programme, Wageningen University, NL.

APPOINTMENTS AND BOARD POSITIONS

2023-             Advisory Board Member, Center for Childhood Health (Center for Sundt Liv og Trivsel), Denmark

2023-2024    Scientific Committee, Nordic Nutrition Conference 2024 in Bergen, Norway.

2022-2023    Organizing committee for two symposia within Lifecourse nutrition at the 14^th European Nutrition Conference in Belgrade in 2023, in a joint European collaboration.

2021-2022    Organizing committee for the 1^st Nutrition summer school 2022 in Helsinki, in collaboration with the other Nordic nutrition societies.

2020-             Representing Denmark in Working group on Improving Standards in the Science of Nutrition, Federation of European Nutrition Societies (FENS).

2020-2021    Writing group member of the report "Nordic diet, health and sustainability", Danish Council for Prevention, Denmark.

2019-             President of the Danish Nutrition Society, Denmark

2015-             Editor, British Journal of Nutrition, The Nutrition Society, UK

2018-2019    Editorial Board Member, Journal of Nutrition, American Society for Nutrition, USA

ACADEMIC AWARDS

2017              SCIENCE Dissemination Award (25.000 DKK), KU.

2012              New Investigator Award, ISSFAL Society, Vancouver, Canada.

2012              The FLIK-Prize 2012 (10.000 DKK), The Danish Association of Food Scientists.

2009              LIFE Academic Prize 2009 (10.000 DKK), Faculty of Life Sciences, KU. 

INVITED TALKS AND CONGRESS CHAIR ACTIVITIES

2023              Chair & invited speaker, Nutrition and Early Life symposium, FENS Conference, Belgrade, Serbia.

2022              Invited speaker, EU-funded INSUM workshop on nutrition and somatic health indicators, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland / online.

2018              Chair & Invited Speaker, LOM Conference, Lifestyle, Obesity and Metabolic research, KU

2017              Session Chair, Vitamin D and Health in Europe Conference, Cork, Ireland.

2017              Invited speaker, Symposium on dietary vitamin D requirements, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium.

2016              Invited speaker, Nutrition Congress 2016, Somerset-West, South Africa.

2016              Congress chair & evaluator of Young Investigator Awards, the 12^th ISSFAL Conference, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

2006-2023    >52 scientific abstracts presented at international conferences.

YOUNG RESEARCHER SUPERVISION & ASSESSMENT

2021-2022    Mentor for a Tenure Track Assistant Professor, KU

2013-2023    Principal supervisor of 8 PhD students and co-supervisor of 3 PhD students.

2015-2019   Head of assessment committee or Assessor for 4 PhD candidates.

2005-2023    Supervisor of 35 MSc students, 7 BSc students and 9 other project students.  

PUBLICATION OVERVIEW

• 90 peer-reviewed original research articles in international scientific journals
• 2 editorials in international scientific journals
• 1 comment, 1 book chapter, 1 scientific paper in Danish

• H-index: 27 (Web of Science, June 2023)
• Total no. of citations: 9,277.

Presentations:

Sept 2017: Oral presentation for nurses about official dietary recommendations for children, hosted by Nestlé Nutrition Network.

April 2014: Oral presentation about the OPUS School Meal Study for Danish health nurses, hosted by Semper AB, Copenhagen.

Feb 2013: Advisor on a study investigating effects of the Nordic Diet in toddlers, Semper AB, Stockholm.

Oct 2012: Oral presentation about the OPUS School Meal Study at Semper AB, Stocholm.

Funding and sponsorships:

Received funding from the Arla Food for Health Center (AFH) for the study "D-pro" on the effects of vitamin D and dairy protein on children's bone health, growth and muscle strength. Vitamin D and placebo tablets were donated by Verman Oy, AB, Finland.

In the FiSK Junior study (2016-2017) study foods were purchased with discount from Skagenfood A/S, Sødam A/S via gaardmester.dk and REMA1000 Danmark A/S and provided in kind by Amanda Seafoods A/S. 

In the OPUS School Meal Study (2011-2012) Danæg A/S, Naturmælk, Lantmännen A/S, Skærtoft Mølle A/S, Kartoffelpartnerskabet, AkzoNobel Danmark, Gloria Mundi and Rose Poultry A/S provided foods in kind for the study.