Primære forskningsområder

• Characterization of cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in foetal and adult programming of the mammalian liver with specific emphasis on differentiation of stem/progenitor cells into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes.
  
  
• In vitro programming and differentiation of human hepatic progenitor cells (hHB/HepaRG), human embryonic stem cells (hESC), and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) along hepatic cell lineages with special emphasis on nutritional effects of the microenvironment
  
  
• Identification of novel molecular mechanisms involved in repair and regeneration of an injured liver using experimental animal models in mouse and rat.

Aktuel forskning

• Investigations aimed at elucidating a possible role of hexose (glucose versus fructose) induced changes in mitochondrial phenotype during programming of liver cell differentiation
• Generation of an in vitro system for studying hepatic differentiation and hepatic associated diseases using induced pluripotent stem cells and gene editing

Collaborators
Bjørn Quistorff, Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, SUND, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Lene Juel Rasmussen, Professor, Center for Healthy Aging, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, SUND, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Lisbeth Birk Møller, Senior Research Scientist, Medical Genetics Laboratory, The Kennedy Center, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Bjørn Holst,R&D Manager Disease Models, and Mikkel Aabech (post doc), Bioneer A/S, Hørsholm, Denmark
Peter Nagy, Professor, Department of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

Undervisnings- og vejledningsområder

Research based teaching

CV

Education/Academic degrees:

1985 M.Sc., Biochemistry

1990 Ph.D. (Lic.Scient), Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Professional appointments:

Assoc. Professor: Dept. of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, SUND, University of Copenhagen (2002-present)

Assoc. Professor (Molecular Biology): Dept. of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Roskilde University, Denmark (1995-2002).

Guest Researcher/Postdoctoral Fellow: Lab. of Experimental Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA (1987-1997).

Member of scientific staff (Biochemist): Institute of Toxi­col­ogy, Danish Ministry of Health, Denmark (1986-1987).

Member of scientific staff (Biochemist): Dept. of Clini­cal Chemistry, Aalborg Hospital South, Denmark (1985-1986).

Honors & Other Special Scientific Recognition:

Fogarty International Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Institutes of Health, USA (1990-1994)

Fellowships from the Danish Cancer Society (1992-1993 and 1994-1995)

Fellowship from the Danish Research Academy (1989-1990)

Professional duties:

Course leader, Cellens Kemiske Komponenter 1.sem Medicine and Odontology (2011-present)

Member of the steering group for the Graduate Program for Cellular and Genetic Medicine (CeGeM), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen (2010-present)

Member of the ICMM Work Environment Committee, Supervisory Representative, (2010-present)  

Partner and member of the steering group in the Danish Stem Cell Research Center (DASC) (2002-2010)

Member of the National Faculty at the Danish Stem Cell Research Doctoral School (Dascdoc), (2002-2010)

Member of the steering group for theICMM - Santaris Pharma – DTU - Højteknologifonden (2008-2010) project entitled “The world’s first microRNA medicine”

Member of the Research Management, Area 3: Regenerative Biology and Medicine, BioCampus, University of Copenhagen

Member of the Research Council for the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society (1997- 2004)

Member of the “Censorkorps i biologi” (2002-present)

Member of the “Censorkorps for ingeniøruddannelserne indenfor faget kemi” (2002-2006)

Co-organizer of a postgraduate course under the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), UEGW, Copenhagen/Malmø, October 2005

Member of the Board of Directors, Department of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Roskilde University, (1999-2002)

Publications: 43 original publications in peer reviewed journals, 2 reviews.

Other disseminations: Kassem M, Zimmer Rasmussen J, Nielsen JH, Bisgaard HC, Andersen CY, Brevig T, Horn P, Jensen LB, Madsen OD, Holst L, Clausen C, Pedersen LH, Andersson P (2009). Dansk Stamcelleinitiativ – Celle-baseret behandling som et dansk indsatsområde. Official report funded by The Danish Council for Technology and Innovation.

Meetings and abstracts: Invited speaker and participant with poster and/or oral presentations to several meetings in the field of liver biology and stem cells.

Referee for grant agencies: Welcome Trust, Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA), The Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society

Referee for scientific journals: Recent invitations include Nature Medicine, Hepatology, Am.J.Pathology, PlosOne, and Histology and Histopathology.

Supervisor and teaching: Pre- and post-graduate teaching in Chemistry, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, and Endocrinology at SUND/KU and Cell Biology and Biotechnology at RUC.

Supervisor for 2 post docs, 12 Ph.D.-students and 14 master students (1995-present).