Personal profile

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Research Focus

Organic, Bioorganic, and Medicinal Chemistry
With a foundation in chemical synthesis the Olsen Lab is developing peptidomimetic secondary structures and using naturally occurring macrocyclic peptides for development of HDAC inhibitors and quorum sensing modulators. We are also developing a suite of chemical tools for investigation of the function of human lysine deacylase enzymes.

Education
2004. Ph.D., Royal Danish School of Pharmacy.
2000. Cand.polyt. (M.Sc. Chem. Eng.), Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

Positions
2024 - present. Vice Head of Department
2019 - present. Head of Section, Biopharmaceuticals
2014 - present. Professor, University of Copenhagen
2010 - 2013. Associate Professor (with tenure), DTU
2007 - 2010. Postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Ghadiri, Scripps, La Jolla, CA
2005 - 2006. Independent Research Associate, Danish University Pharm. Sci.
2001 - 2004. Ph.D. student, Royal Danish School of Pharmacy
2000 - 2001. Research Associate, Novozymes A/S, Protein Chemistry, DK

Awards and Honors
2016. ERC Consolidator Grantee (European Research Council)
2016. FRIAS Guest Scientist (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg)
2014. EFMC Prize for a Young Medicinal Chemist in Academia
2012. Junior Scientist Participation Fellowship 47th Bürgenstock Conference
2011. Danish representative 3rd EuCheMS Young Investigator Workshop
2010. Lundbeck Foundation Fellow
2010. Steno Grantee, The Danish Council for Independent Research
2007. Young Elite Researcher's Award, Danish Agency for Science 
2004. Novo Nordisk Ph.D. Plus Prize
2004. Ludwig Tegner & Hustrus Mindelegat

Selected Publications
B. H. Gless,* S. H. Schmied, C. A. Olsen.* Peptide Cleavage and Transamidation via Thioester-to-Imide Acyl Transfer in Branched Intermediates. JACS Au 2025, 5, 67–72. [ChemRxiv] (Editor’s Choice)

D. Zhang, J. Gao, Z. Zhu, Q. Mao, Z. Xu, P. K. Singh, C. C. Rimayi, C. Moreno-Yruela, S. Xu, G. Li, Y.-C. Sin, Y. Chen, C. A. Olsen, N. W. Snyder, L. Dai, L. Li, Y. Zhao. Lysine L-Lactylation is the Dominant Lactylation Isomer Induced by Glycolysis. Nat. Chem. Biol. 2025 , 21, 91–99. [PubMed]

T. N. Hansen, D. Danková, M. Bæk, L. Grlas, C. A. Olsen. SuFEx-Based Solid-Phase Synthesis of Compound Arrays: Discovery of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors. JACS Au 2024, 4, 1854–1862.

B. H. Gless,* S. H. Schmied, B. S. Bejder, C. A. Olsen.* Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Assay for Investigating the Reactivity of Thioesters in Biochemistry and Native Chemical Ligation. JACS Au 2023, 3, 1443–1451.

J. E. Bolding,+ A. L. Nielsen,+ I. Jensen,+ T. N. Hansen,+ L. A. Ryberg, S. T. Jameson, P. Harris, G. H. J. Peters, J. M. Denu, J. M. Rogers, C. A. Olsen. Fluorogenic Substrates and Cyclic Peptide Inhibitors of the Oligonucleotide Activated Sirtuin 7. Angew. Chem Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202314597.

J. E. Bolding,+ P. Martín-Gago,+ N. Rajabi, L. F. Gamon, T. N. Hansen, C. R. O. Bartling, K. Strømgaard, M. J. Davies, C. A. Olsen. Aryl Fluorosulfate Based Inhibitors that Covalently Target the SIRT5 Lysine Deacylase. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202204565. [ChemRxiv]

N. Rajabi,+ T. N. Hansen,+ A. L. Nielsen,+ H. T. Nguyen, M. Bæk, J. E. Bolding, O. Ø. Bahlke, S. E. G. Petersen, C. R. O. Bartling, K. Strømgaard, C. A. Olsen. Investigation of Carboxylic Acid Isosteres and Prodrugs for Inhibition of the Human SIRT5 Lysine Deacylase Enzyme. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202115805. [ChemRxiv] (Hot Paper)

C. Moreno-Yruela, M. Bæk, F. Monda, C. A. Olsen. Chiral Posttranslational Modification to Lysine ε-Amino Groups. Acc. Chem. Res. 2022, 55, 1456–1466[ChemRxiv]

C. Moreno-Yruela,† D. Zhang,† W. Wei, M. Bæk, W. Liu, J. Gao, D. Dankova, A. L. Nielsen, J. E. Bolding, L. Yang, S. T. Jameson, J. Wong, C. A. Olsen,* Y. Zhao.* Class I Histone Deacetylases (HDAC1–3) are Histone Lysine Delactylases. Sci. Adv. 2022, 8, eabi6696.

B. H. Gless, B. S. Bejder, F. Monda, M. S. Bojer, H. Ingmer, C. A. Olsen. Rearrangement of Thiodepsipeptides by S–N Acyl Shift Delivers Homodetic Autoinducing Peptides. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021143, 10514.

B. H. Gless, M. S. Bojer, P. Peng, M. Baldry, H. Ingmer, C. A. Olsen. Identification of Autoinducing Thiodepsipeptides from Staphylococci Enabled by Native Chemical Ligation. Nat. Chem. 201911, 463–469.

C. Moreno-Yruela, I. Galleano, A. S. Madsen, C. A. Olsen. Histone Deacetylase 11 is an ε-N-Myristoyllysine Hydrolase. Cell Chem. Biol. 201825, 849–856.

J. S. Laursen, P. Harris, P. Fristrup, C. A. Olsen. Triangular Prism-Shaped β-Peptoid Helices as Unique Biomimetic Scaffolds. Nat. Commun. 2015, 6, 7013.

J. S. Laursen, J. Engel-Andreasen, P. Fristrup, P. Harris, C. A. Olsen. Cis-Trans Amide Bond Rotamers in beta-Peptoids and Peptoids: Evaluation of Stereoelectronic Effects in Backbone and Side Chains. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013135, 2835-2844.

A. S. Madsen, C. A. Olsen. Profiling of Substrates for the Zinc-Dependent Lysine Deacylase Enzymes: HDAC3 Exhibits Decrotonylase Activity In Vitro. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 201251, 9083-9087.

C. A. Olsen. Expansion of the Lysine Acylation Landscape. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 201251, 3755-3756.

Media and Outreach
Sustainable labs are climate-friendly and save money (Press release: UCPH Health Science, 3 Jan 2023; Ritzau)

You can feel this acid when you work out. Now it may help increase knowledge of cancer medicine (Press release: UCPH Health Science, 19 Jan 2022)

Researchers develop promising way to find new cancer drugs (Press release: UCPH Health Science, 19 Jan 2021)

Researchers map communication between staphylococci (Press release: UCPH Health Science, 10 May, 2019)

Dansk Kemi, vol. 100, September 2019, Ny metode identificerer stafylokokkers signalmolekyler

Vin & Videnskab, Copenhagen, February 2019. Title: The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (for 300 non-scientists)

New enzyme discovery may help improve drugs against cancer, diabetes and obesity (Press release: UCPH Health Science, 25 July 2018)

Participated in the DR2 TV program ”Danskernes Akademi” Fall 2011 (approx. 30.000 viewers)

Interview regarding my Lundbeck Group Leader Fellowship project in the Danish TV2 talk show ”Lounge” (Fall 2010)

Selected Lectures
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, December 2024
Danish Peptide Symposium, Copenhagen, November 2024
Aarhus University Seminar, Aarhus, October, 2024
FASEB Conference, Rome, IT, August, 2024
Princeton University, NJ, USA, March 2024
ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA, March 2024
Twinning for Excellence in Biophysics, Biocentre, Cph, November 2023
International Peptide Symposium, Brisbane, QLD, AUS, October 2023
Solid Phase 2023, Gold Coast, QLD, AUS, October 2023
International Conference on Medicinal Chemistry, Lille, France, July 2023
University of Colorado–Anschutz Medical Campus, Denver, CO, March 2023
NYU Chemistry, New York, NY, December 2022
8th EuChemS Congress, Lisbon, Portugal, August 2022
FASEB Reversible Acetylation in Health and Disease, Puerto Rico, August 2022
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, April 2022
ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA, USA, March 2022
1st MedChem Symposium, University of Copenhagen, February 2022
Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, November 2021
National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, USA, October 2020 (webinar)
BRIDGE Program, Copenhagen, Denmark, August 2020 (webinar)
MolTag Lecture, Vienna, Austria, June 2020 (webinar)
Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany, November 2019
CNRS, Bordeaux, France, September 2019
13th Australian Peptide Conference, Port Douglas, Qld, AUS, September 2019
7th Annual Discovery Chemistry & Drug Design Congres, Berlin, June 2019 
7th Drug Discovery Innovation Programme, Frankfurt, Germany, April 2019
Bordeaux Foldamer Meeting, France, September 2018
Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, June 2018
RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan, April 2018
EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland, February 2018.
Visions in Chemistry–Torkil Holm Symposium, Copenhagen, January 2018
EpiChemBio and Mutalig COST Meeting, Porto, Portugal, September 2017
Novabiochem 12th Chem. Biol. Peptides Conference, Durham, UK, Sep. 2017
Lundbeck A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark, August 2017
10th Peptoid Summit, Bekeley, CA, USA, August 2017
AsiaTIDES, Kyoto, Japan, February 2017
Karlsruher Institut Technologie (KIT), Germany, November 2016.
FRIAS Lecture, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg, Germany, November 2016
Lecturer Pharmazie, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg, November 2016
3rd Freiburg Epigenetic Spring Meeting, Freiburg, Germany, April 2016
Advances in Peptide and Protein Chemistry, Pacifichem, HI, December 2015
Synthetic Modulators of PPIs, Pacifichem, Honolulu, HI, December 2015
University of Geneva, Switzerland, November 2015
COST Action Epichembio Meeting, Budapest, September 2015
German Pharmaceutical Society (DPhG) Meeting, Düsseldorf, September 2015
Peptoid Summit, Berkeley, CA, USA, August 2015
Danish Chemical Society Mini Symposium on Foldamers, June 2015
Singapore International Chemistry Conference SICC-8, Singapore, Dec 2014
Inaugural Professorship Lecture, University of Copenhagen, September 2014
International Symposium on Med Chem, Lisbon, Sept 2014 (prize lecture)
ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA, August 2014
ACS National Meeting, Dallas, TX, USA, March 2014
Australian Peptide Symposium, Penang, Malaysia, September 2013
ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA, April 2013
PepCon, Suzhou China, March 2013
University of Barcelona Seminar Series, Barcelona, Spain, October 2012
Danish Chemical Society Annual Meeting, Odense, June 2012
EuCheMS Young Investigator Workshop, Crete, Greece, July 2011
Frontiers in Peptide Chemistry, Pacifichem, USA, December 2010

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or