8.8 million DKK gives clinical doctors the opportunity to focus on research

How can a safe use of AI models in patient treatment be implemented? How can we ensure better surgical treatments for melanoma?

With support from Independent Research Fund Denmark, six doctors who directly interact with patients during examinations or treatments will now have the opportunity to delve into clinical research questions. The two examples above are just some of the six clinical areas they will explore.

See all grants under ‘Clinician Scientist Positions’ here.

The funding enables the clinicians to dedicate up to 50% of their working hours to research while the remaining time is spent in their clinical roles at respectively Aarhus University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Aalborg University Hospital, and Odense University Hospital.

The grants are awarded by Independent Research Fund Denmark under the research council DFF | Medical Sciences.

Can healthy donor stool be used to treat cirrhosis of the liver?

Karen Louise Thomsen from Aarhus University Hospital is one of the six clinicians now able to dedicate part of her working hours to research. She will focus on improving treatment for cirrhosis of the liver through Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT)—the transfer of microorganisms from healthy donor stool. Previous studies suggest that an imbalanced composition of gut microorganisms contributes to the progression of cirrhosis of the liver.

In her research project, Karen Louise Thomsen and her team will set up a study involving 220 patients who will receive either FMT capsules or a placebo. The patients will be monitored for one year to determine whether FMT can slow the progression of cirrhosis and reduce mortality rates.

Reservations are made for changes in grant amounts and number of grants during the upcoming administrative budget review.