Søren-Peter Olesen

CV

Education

1989               PhD (dr.med.), University of Copenhagen

1988               Internship, Rigshospitalet

1982               MD (medical doctor), University of Copenhagen

1979               MSc (elec.engineer.; civilingeniør), Danish Technical University

Positions

2025-             Professor emeritus, Dept Biomed. Sci., University of Copenhagen

2015-2024      CEO of the Danish National Research Foundation

2008-2015      Head of the Section of Cardiovascular Res., Dept. Biomed. Sci., U. Copenhagen

2005-2015      Director of the Danish National Research Foundation Centre for Cardiac Arrhythmia

1998-2024      Professor of Physiology, Dept. of Biomed. Sci., University of Copenhagen

1989–1998     Head of Department, NeuroSearch A/S

1987-1989      Internship, Dept. of Medicine, Surgery, Ophthalmology, Copenhagen Hospitals

1986-1987      Postdoc, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Med. School, Boston, USA

1982-1986      Research assistant/PhD student, Dept. Med. Physiol., U. Copenhagen

The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters

2009-2011      Secretary General

2005-2008      Member of the Science Policy board

1998-             Member

Publications

Published >180 papers in international peer reviewed journals including Nature, PNAS, Circulation, Physiological Rev. about ion channels, arrhythmia, cardiovascular- and neurophysiology. h-factor is 65.

Co-inventor on 25 issued international patents on new chemical compounds, biological principles, and technological inventions for electrophysiological characterization of drug effects.

Grants

The Danish Medical Research Council. Framework grants from 1998-2016. PI

The Danish National Research Foundation Center for Cardiac Arrhythmia. 2005-15. PI Innovationfund Denmark. Grant no 65-2013-3. 2014-18. Co-PI.

The Lundbeck Foundation, The NovoNordisk Foundation, The Danish Heart Foundation, The Velux Foundation a.o. continuous support from 1998-2015. PI

EU Marie Curie Actions: Coordinator and/or participant in Science Grant SC1*CT91-0665; Biomed 2 project BMH4-97-2118; FP7, Marie Curie, ITN, PITN-GA-2009-2357

Teaching and supervision

Have supervised 39 PhD students and taught medical, dentistry and human biology students cardiovascular and neurophysiology, cell biology and pharmacology.

Boards

Member of the European Research Council’s Plus Panel 2026-

Chair of the Carlsberg Foundation’s Semper Ardens Life Science Evaluation Panel 2026-

Member of the board of directors of the Carlsberg Foundation since 2012 and vice-chair 2022-24

Member of the governing board of the Carlsberg Laboratory since 2012 and chair 2022-24

Member of the board of the Scandinavian Physiological Society, 2010-2015

Member of Fagligt Udvalg, Danish Ministry of Higher Educations and Science, 2009-2015

Member of Biomedicinsk Udvalg, The Danish Heart Foundation, 2008-14

Chairman of committees for international guest scientist housing in the Danish National Bank (2002-present)

Industry and Innovation

Member of the supervisory board of The Carlsberg Group A/S, 2012-24

Consultant to Acesion Pharma A/S, 2013-15

Member of the board of directors of Sophion Bioscience A/S, 2001-11

Co-founder of Sophion Bioscience – CEO 2000-2001

Co-founder and CEO of of Poseidon Pharma 2001-2

Consultant to NeuroSearch A/S, 1998-2012

Head of department at NeuroSearch 1989-98

Chairman of the committee making the university-industry collaboration strategy at U Cph, 2009-10 Chairman of the University of Copenhagen patent and licensing supervisory board 1998-2007