Nyhed
New members of the board in 2026
The Minister for Higher Education and Science has appointed Professors René Holm from the University of Southern Denmark and Tine Rask Licht from the Technical University of Denmark as new members of the Board of Independent Research Fund Denmark. Nanna Mik-Meyer, Copenhagen Business School, Jørgen Frøkiær, Aarhus University, and Lasse Rosendahl, Novo Nordisk Foundation CO₂ Research Center have been reappointed.
Based on the fund’s strategy for 2024–2026 “Curiosity-driven research in a world of change”, the new members will, together with the rest of the board, help set the future direction of Independent Research Fund Denmark.
The first new board member is René Holm, Professor of Pharmaceutics at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Southern Denmark. In addition to his research and teaching activities at SDU, René Holm has served on several scientific advisory boards and acted as a consultant, including for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which works non-profit to combat poverty, disease, and inequality across the globe.
The second new board member is Tine Rask Licht, Director of the DTU National Food Institute and Professor of Gut Microbiology. She was a member of the research council DFF | Technology and Production from 2009 to 2014 and served on its Executive Committee during the final three years of her term.
Tine Rask Licht has also served several terms on the academic council at DTU, is an active science communicator through podcasts, radio, and television, and is the author of the book “Mavefornemmelser og Mikrobiologi” (Gut Feelings and Microbiology).
The Board of Directors of Independent Research Fund Denmark consists of nine members. In addition, 75 members serve across five academic research councils. The board has recently appointed new members to the research councils as of 1 January 2026.
Each year, a number of members are also appointed to thematic review panels that allocate funding to research within politically prioritised themes, such as green research, clinical research, or research on vulnerable children and young people.
As of 1 January 2026, the Board of Directors of Independent Research Fund Denmark consists of:
Søren Serritzlew, Professor, Aarhus University – Chair of the Board
Gemma Clare Solomon Larsen, University of Copenhagen
Helle Kryger Aggerholm, VIA University College
Jørgen Frøkiær, Aarhus University
Klaus Petersen, University of Southern Denmark
Lasse Rosendahl, Aarhus University
Nanna Mik-Meyer, Copenhagen Business School
René Holm, University of Southern Denmark
Tine Rask Licht, Technical University of Denmark