Researchers with a connection to the DNRF receive a grant from the Independent Research Fund Denmark

15. June 2020

Researchers with a connection to the Danish National Research Foundation are among 202 recipients who have received grants from the Independent Research Fund Denmark to explore new and original research ideas. With the grants, the Independent Research Fund Denmark has awarded a total of 696 million DKK across a wide range of scientific disciplines and research areas.

The image shows two small green plants that sprout.
The image shows two small green plants that sprout. Photo: Francesco Gallarotti/Unsplash

The Independent Research Fund Denmark recently funded 202 researchers with grants for their new and original research ideas. Several researchers with a connection to the DNRF are among the 202 recipients, who represent a wide range of scientific disciplines and research areas across the country. The grant from the Independent Research Fund Denmark is divided into the categories “Research project 1” and “Research project 2,” which are differentiated both by the amount and the grant period.

The recipients who are part of one of the DNRF’s Centers of Excellence or another funding instrument include Associate Professor Laura Feldt from Center for Medieval Literature (CML) at the Southern University of Denmark; head of center Jørgen Kjems from the Centre for Cellular Signal Patterns (CellPat) at Aarhus University; post-doc Christine Jeanneret from the Center for Privacy Studies (PRIVACY) at the University of Copenhagen; Professor Eva Hoffmann from the Center for Chromosome Stability (CCS) at the University of Copenhagen; Professor Morten Bennedsen, who holds one of the DNRF Niels Bohr Professorships; and Professor Mads Brandbyge from the Center for Nanostructured Graphene (CNG) at the Technical University of Denmark. Below you can find more information about each research project from the researchers listed above.

 

  • Associate Professor Laura Feldt, associate member, CML, the University of Southern Denmark, Research project 2, 5,146,344 DKK

     

    With this research project, Associate Professor Laura Feldt, together with Professor (with special tasks) and co-founder of CML, Christian Høgel, will explore the role of emotions and narratives in the formation of radical religions and the total devotion to religion. The researchers’ goal with the project is to develop a new approach to radical religion. Their work will be based on an analysis of the emergence of radical religion in antiquity and the various formats of the tales of total devotion in ancient Judaism and Christianity.

    “In this project, we are investigating the pull factors that help attract people to radical religion, rather than the usually examined push factors that push people away from society and into a radical religion,” said Feldt.

     

    Read more about the research project from CML here

  • Professor Jørgen Kjems, head of center at CellPat, Research project 1, 2,782,900 DKK

     

    With this project, Professor Jørgen Kjems will develop a method that can detect viral infection at very early stages and possibly predict the severity of the patient’s course of the disease. The method is based on a technology that can provide a snapshot of proteins and metabolites in the patient’s blood. Contrary to traditional antibody-based tests, this system is based on the body’s immediate response to an infection in the form of changes in blood composition within a few hours. The project’s ultimate goal is to create a screening platform that can quickly reveal — within a few days — whether a person has been infected and, at the same time, warn of any complications related to underlying disease status.

  • Associate Professor Christine Jeanneret, PRIVACY, the University of Copenhagen, Research Project 2, 3,263,377 DKK

     

    Sounds fundamentally influence our experience of place. However, this has never been studied in relation to the history of the court. With SOUND, it is post-doc Christine Jeanneret’s ambition to do exactly that and examine how the past sounded in an attempt to reconstruct these sounds at museum exhibitions.

    “In SOUND, I will study soundscapes and everyday life at the Rosenborg Court from the new perspective of sound history. I will consider sounds produced by people across multiple social classes and genders (royal families, servants, mistresses, visitors), animals, mechanical sounds (bells, carts, kitchen utensils, weapons), artistic sounds (music, entertainment), and natural sounds (water, wind, fire),” said Jeanneret. She added:

    “One result of this research will be the realization of an exhibition with immersive soundscapes in Rosenborg in 2023 to spread the story, not only to the public but also to their ears.”

     

    Read more about Jeanneret’s research project in a press release from PRIVACY here

  • Professor Eva Hoffmann, CCS, Research project 1, 2,873,368 DKK

     

    Chromosome defects in women’s eggs are the main cause of losing one in four desired pregnancies, and egg failures are showing a strong upward trend in women who are only in their late 20s to women in their 40s. In this project, Professor Hoffmann will identify the mechanisms that make eggs worse with women’s age. The project is based on newly developed technologies that can map chromosome defects directly in women’s eggs. With this knowledge, the project aims to be able to develop interventions that can be used to provide better genetic quality in eggs and thus reduce pregnancy loss.

  • Professor Morten Bennedsen, DNRF Niels Bohr Professorship, Research project 1

     

    With the research project “Crisis management in Danish companies,” Niels Bohr Professor Morten Bennedsen will look more closely at the enormous negative economic effect that COVID-19 has on companies in Denmark and other countries. The ambition is to create a platform that can be used by companies, boards, advisors, organizations, and ministries to understand the economic impact of the crisis on business. In this context, the project will investigate what characterizes crisis-robust companies in terms of organization, management practices, and ownership. The project will both provide knowledge here and now that can help Danish companies to emerge from the crisis over the coming months and, at the same time, provide longer-term knowledge that can result in a greater understanding of effective crisis management, for companies to use in future crises.

  • Professor Mads Brandbyge, CNG, the Technical University of Denmark, Research project 1, 2,777,384 DKK

     

    With this project, Mads Brandbyge wants to develop a quantum mechanical theory that can provide a better understanding and development of components that operate on the THz scale. Such components can open up to countless usable applications.

    Read more about the research project from Mads Brandbyge in a press release from CNG here