Scopus Author ID: 57192066846

Henrik Munch Roager is an Associate Professor and Head of the Nutrition, Microbiome & Metabolomics research group at Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, at University of Copenhagen. Henrik holds a PhD from the Technical University of Denmark in intestinal metabolomics (2016). Henrik and his team focus on understanding the mechanisms by which the gut microbiota contributes to food digestion and health by combining the fields of metabolomics, gut microbiota and human nutrition. Henrik is a recipient of the American Society of Nutrition E.L.R. Stokstad Award (2022), the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) Drummond Early Career Scientist Award (2019), and received a prestigious Sapere Aude: DFF-Starting Grant (2020) to establish his own group at University of Copenhagen. Henrik Roager has published >40 papers including corresponding and first authorships in high ranking journals such as Nature Microbiology, Gut, and Nature Communications. 

Henrik frequently communicates his research via press releases, podcasts, popular science articles, and social media. 

Our group’s mission is

• To understand the role of the gut microbiome in digestion and health
• To study personal responses to diets through omics-analyses
• To develop biomarkers of diets, foods, microbes and diseases using metabolomics
• To improve nutritional strategies for patients

Master Thesis Opportunities

We are looking for highly motivated masters students (with an interest in microbiology/chemistry/nutrition/bioinformatics) to perform their thesis or project work in our group. Please reach out to us and hear more.  

Employments

2024 -          Associate Professor (Promotion programme), Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Uni. Copenhagen
2021 - 2024 Associate Professor (temporary position), Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Uni. Copenhagen
2020 - 2021 Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Uni. Copenhagen
2018 - 2020 Postdoc, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Uni. Copenhagen
2016 - 2018 Postdoc, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark 

Education

2012 - 2015 PhD student, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark 
2014.03-06  Visiting researcher, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
2010 - 2012 M.Sc.Eng. Biotechnology (Honors Program), Technical University of Denmark
2011.02-06  Exchange student at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
2007 - 2010 B.Sc.Eng. Human Life Science Engineering, Technical University of Denmark

Postgraduate courses in teaching, leadership and management

2023-24      UCPH Forward Talent Programme, University of Copenhagen
2020-21      Leading Research – a leadership course, University of Copenhagen
2019.04       European Nutrition Leadership Platform's Essentials Programme, Luxembourg
2019.09-12  Young Investigators Coaching Programme, University of Copenhagen
2017.09-12  Project Management for Researchers, Technical University of Denmark
2017.01       Patent Course, Technical University of Denmark
2015.03       Teaching and Learning, Technical University of Denmark

Honours and Awards 

2022.06       E.L.R. Stokstad Award 2022
2019.03       British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) Drummond Early Career Scientist Award
2016.10       Nominated by the institute for DTU’s ‘Young Researcher Award’
2013.10       G.A. Hagemanns Mindefond Grant (Nominated by the Institute Director)
2013.05       Best poster at 8. Danish Conference on Biotechnology and Molecular Biology
2013.01       Prize for an excellent presentation at Novo Scholarship Symposium 2013
2012.12       Graduated from the Honors Program at DTU
2012.02       Novo Scholarship in Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
2012.01       Venture Cup finalist in the Idea Competition in Life Science & Medtech
2011.11        Best Bachelor Poster at Symposium for Biotech Research at DTU

Grants

Funding as PI/Co-PI: >40,6 mio DKK // Funding as Co-applicant: 18.0 mio DKK

2025-29      Co-PI, Novo Nordisk Foundation (15.000.000 DKK to our lab)
MHI – Microbiome Health Initiative

2024-27      PI, Novo Nordisk Foundation – Project (4.000.000 DKK)
GutEnergy – Human gut microbiome-dependent energy extraction

2023-26      PI, Independent Research Fund Denmark - Project 1 (2.879.989 DKK)
AROMA - Aromatic lactic acids during infancy: production, metabolism and function

2023-27      Co-PI, Horizon MSCA Doctoral Networks (2.245.000 DKK to our lab)
NUTRIOME - Precision nutrition and postprandial immune responses

2023-27      PI, Arla Food for Health (6.633.000DKK), Danish Danish Milk Levy Fund (1.683.000 DKK)
YourGutBrain – Yoghurt to alter gut movements and brain function

2023-24      PI, Biocodex Microbiota Foundation: International Research Grant (1.500.000 DKK)
FORTIFY - Bifidobacterium-derived peptides to fortify the intestinal mucosa in early life

2021-25      PI, Independent Research Fund Denmark - Sapere Aude: DFF Starting Grant (6.191.999 DKK)
MOTILITY – Diet-derived microbial metabolites to modulate gut motility in infants

2020-26      Co-applicant, Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Programme (18.000.000 DKK to our lab)
PRIMA – towards Personalized dietary Recommendations based on the Interaction between diet, Microbiome and Abiotic conditions in the gut

2017-20      PI, Different funds (516.000 DKK)
(Beckett Fonden, Hørslev Fonden, Augustinus Fonden, and Ejnar og Aase Danielsens Fond)
BIFIDO - Bifidobacteria and the immune system early in life

Memberships of boards, scientific committees & programs
2024-          Advisory Committee member for the 11^th Beneficial Microbes Conference
2023-          Founder and executive co-leader of Copenhagen Gut Microbiome Hub (www.cphgut.ku.dk)
2023-          Associate Editor of Microbiome
2020-22      Scientific Committee member for the 3^rd Nordic Metabolomics Society Conference 2022
2019           Expert reviewer for APC Microbiome Ireland, Postdoctoral Excellence programme, a Marie                                    Sklodowska-Curie COFUND fellowship at APC Microbiome Ireland
2019           Expert reviewer for Czech Science Foundation, main public funding agency in the Czech Republic
2016-          Reviewer for journals incl. Nature Medicine, Nature Microbiology, Nature Metabolism, Nature Comm.

Supervision

Supervision of 7 PhD students (hereof 5 current), 3 postdocs (hereof 1 current), +30 MSc/BSc students

Key publications (For more - see Google Scholar)

Sinha (...) Roager, Licht (2024) Dietary fibre directs microbial tryptophan metabolism via metabolic interactions in the gut microbiota. Nature Microbiology.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-024-01737-3

Procházková (...) Roager (2023) Advancing human gut microbiota research by considering gut transit time. Gut. 
https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2022-328166 

Laursen (...) Roager (2021). Bifidobacterium species associated with breastfeeding produce aromatic lactic acids in the infant gut. Nature Microbiology. 
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-021-00970-4 

Meslier, Laiola, and Roager et al. (2020). Mediterranean diet intervention in overweight and obese subjects lowers plasma cholesterol and causes changes in the gut microbiome and metabolome independently of energy intake. Gut
https://doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-320438

Roager et al. (2019). A wholegrain-rich diet reduces body weight and systemic low-grade inflammation without inducing major changes of the gut microbiome: A randomised cross-over trial. Gut, 68:83-93 https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2017-314786

Hansen and Roager et al. (2018) A low-gluten diet induces changes in the intestinal microbiome of healthy Danish adults. Nature Communications, 9:4630 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07019-x 

Roager and Licht (2018). Microbial tryptophan catabolites in health and disease. Nature Communications, 9:3294 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05470-4

Roager et al. (2016). Colonic transit time is related to bacterial metabolism and mucosal turnover in the gut. Nature Microbiology, 1:16093 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.93

Scientific Expert on 'Microbiome Signature Project', Medicon Valley Alliance
Consultant for Clinical Microbiomics A/S, SNIPR Biome