The study of human metabolism lies at the core of my research interests and activity. During the course of my career, I have been involved in research projects examining the effects of diet and exercise on human health and disease. I have received funding from various countries and bodies (USA: AHA, NIH/NIDDK; Singapore: A*STAR, NMRC; Denmark: NNF, DFF; Industry: Nestle, Arla) to evaluate the effects of exercise, diet, obesity and weight gain/weight loss, sex differences, and fatty liver on energy and substrate metabolism, lipid and lipoprotein kinetics, and insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue. I like to think of myself as a “metabolist.”

I intend to keep generating novel scientific knowledge on the effects of diet and exercise on human health, by conducting innovative transdisciplinary research at the interface between biochemistry, metabolism, and physiology. I believe that diet and exercise provide two of the most potent intervention models to alter physiological and metabolic function, challenge systems and organs, and thereby help understand the mechanisms by which the body works and responds to external stimuli in order to maintain its normal function (i.e. health), as well as the mechanisms that fail and lead to abnormal body function (i.e. disease). My vision is to bring together and fuse different research expertise, and create a melting pot of different types of research – from clinical to basic research and anything in-between – to gain a deeper and better understanding of the mechanisms by which the human body works. 

I make use of a variety of methodologies to assess human physiological function and metabolism in vivo, including the oral and intravenous glucose tolerance tests in conjunction with mathematical modeling to evaluate glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and pancreatic beta cell function (i.e. insulin secretion); the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp technique in conjunction with stable isotope tracer infusions to evaluate whole-body and organ-specific (skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, liver) insulin action and substrate kinetics; dual X ray absorptiometry (DXA), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to evaluate body composition, fat distribution and ectopic fat deposition; tissue biopsies to evaluate relevant cellular factors and molecular mechanisms; indirect calorimetry (canopy/mask/chamber modes) to evaluate basal metabolic rate and diet- and exercise-induced thermogenesis; and others. I am not fixated on methods and tools per se, but rather on the physiological questions of interest. I utilize whichever method and tool can help answer the question I am asking!

Ikke.

Updated: 21-Sep-2024

Education & degrees

B.Sc. in Human Nutrition & Clinical Dietetics (2000)
M.Sc. in Nutrition and Exercise (2004)
Ph.D. in Human Metabolism (2008)

Positions

2008-2009: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Dept of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University (Athens, Greece).
2010–2011: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA).
2011–2015: Assistant Professor of Medicine, Center for Human Nutrition, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (MO).
2015–2018: Assistant Professor of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore & Principal Investigator, Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*Star.
2018–2022: Associate Professor in Obesity and Energy Balance, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen (Denmark).
2022–present: Professor in Obesity and Metabolism, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen (Denmark).
2023–present: Honorary Professor, Division of Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London, UCL (United Kingdom).

Research output

226 papers total: 145 original research articles, 66 reviews, 12 editorials and 3 letters to the editor.
Leading author in 77 papers and second in 46; senior author in 48.
Average IF₂₀₂₃ = 6.3 (median = 4.6). 

Researcher profiles

ORCHID
Scopus
Web of Science/Publons
Google Scholar

Citation metrics

Web of Science: 11,860; h-index=51
Elsevier Scopus: 13,227; h-index=54
SciVal FWCI (circa 2014-2023) = 2.5
Google Scholar: 21,032; h-index=65; i10-index=167
Elsevier composite impact indicator (c-score): Part of the World’s Top 2% Most-Cited Scientists for career-long (top 0.9%) and single most recent year (2023; top 0.2%) impact in the primary field of expertise (Endocrinology & Metabolism).

Funding

Cumulatively, total: € 22,440,460
> as PI/Co-PI: € 7,735,190
> as Co-I: € 14,705,270 

Book chapters, scientific conferences & seminars

11 book chapters
41 poster presentations
11 oral presentations
36 invited lectures

Editorial activities (current)

> Editorial board member: Diabetes (2022-); American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2020-)
> Associate editor: Clinical Nutrition (2022-); Frontiers in Nutrition (2019-)
> Peer-reviewer for 68 international journals and 7 funding organizations
> External board member for 10 academic institutions

Hobbies

> Committed to daily exercise; come rain, snow or shine.
> Enjoy riding all sorts of boards (skate, snow, wake) whenever the opportunity presents itself.