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Life Sciences

The selection of Life Sciences as a research theme within the framework at SDC is based on Danish-Chinese positions of strength and a common interest in investing and supporting research within the area. Life Sciences deals with two major subthemes, 1) Neuroscience and Cognition and 2) Omics.

Neuroscience and Cognition
The collaboration research collaboration between Denmark and China aims to combine Chinese and Danish scientific strongholds within neuroscience, cognition and technology.

Neuroscience is a traditional stronghold in Danish research. During the last decade, funnelled by rapid progress in scanning technologies, image processing and mathematical modelling, the use of neuroimaging techniques to study the human mind has grown dramatically. The physiological underpinnings of this development were originally discovered by Danish research groups in the 1970s. However, the introduction of functional brain imaging has expanded on the applicability and scope of such investigations. This has created a need for a new organisation of multidisciplinary research work and ‐culture and a strong sense of a common research identity in spite of differences in training.

Over the last 20 years, the Chinese Government has invested heavily in all areas of basic neuroscience as part of a major drive for excellence. New research institutions with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment have been established and elite Chinese and foreign scientists have been recruited back to China to participate in pushing future development.
Omics
Omics is a common term for a number of large scale analytical techniques for global assessment of the state of biological material. It can be subdivided in genomics, proteomics, glycomics, lipidomics and metabolomics.
Omics approaches are becoming increasingly important for biochemistry research and production such as the pharmaceutical and food industries. The approach first and foremost seeks to describe the full situation in a given biological system and therefore yields results that are not obtainable with traditional reductionist methods within the field of biochemistry or molecular biology.

Denmark has a strong research tradition within several omics disciplines. Research groups in glycomics, lipidomics  and membrane biophysics are present at the University of Southern Denmark, and a center for metabolomics  has been established at the Copenhagen University. Danish scientists within proteomics and have been pioneers in developing mass spectrometry based proteomics. Proteomics is now an important activity in most Danish Universities and all the activities are linked in a strong national network that also includes major Danish biotech and pharma companies, some of which have important activities in China.
Since the turn of the century the Chinese government has invested forcefully in establishing advanced research environments and now has state-of-the-art facilities, laboratories and equipment, as well as some of the most accomplished scientists in the world. The progression has been rapid, and in some fields, for instance genomics, the competences and equipment of the Chinese institutes are unmatched.

PhD students
SDC PhD students play an important role in the research collaboration. They all work with both a Danish and a Chinese supervisor, do research in both countries and contribute to teaching the Master’s programmes at SDC in Beijing. This close connection provides the PhD students with a unique opportunity to establish personal and professional relationships and bring Danish and Chinese research environments closer together.

Principal Coordinators

Kim Ryun Drasbek
Associate professor
Department of Clinical Medicine
Aarhus University
E-mail: ryun@cfin.au.dk



To discuss proposals for research activities, which can strengthen SDC's activities within the research area or the related Master’s programmes, please contact the Principal Coordinators.
Ding Wenjun
Professor and Executive Dean
College of Life Sciences
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
E-mail: dingwj@ucas.ac.cn

Master's programmes

PhD students

View Lorenzo Guerci's profile at dtu.dk
Lorenzo Guerci
DTU Bioengineering, Technical University of Denmark
Topic: Leveraging single-cell and spatial transcriptomics data to infer gene regulatory dynamics
Starting date: 15 December 2022
View Magnus Tudsborg Frantzen's profile at aau.dk
Magnus Tudsborg Frantzen
Department of Chemistry and Bioscience at Aalborg University
Topic: Molecular mechanism of calcium dyshomeostasis in dopaminergic neurons
Starting date: 1 December 2022
View Camilla Termansen Erichsen's profile at au.dk
Camilla Termansen Erichsen
Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University
Topic: Mechanisms behind cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia and depression
Starting date: 1 November 2022
View Irene Delgado Alonso's profile at aau.dk
Irene Delgado Alonso
Department of Chemistry and Bioscience at Aalborg University
Topic: Development of antibodies as tools for combating viral infections and beyond
Starting date: 1 October 2022
View Magnus Haraldson Høie's profile at dtu.dk
Magnus Haraldson Høie
Department of Health Technology, Bioinformatics section, DTU
Topic: Immunological binding and vaccine design using protein language models
Starting date: 1 September 2021
View Ole Borup Svendsen's profile at au.dk
Ole Borup Svendsen
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University
Topic: The microstructural organization of OFC top-down connectivity and its functional association to OCD
Starting date: 1 September 2021
View Kamilla Ankær Brejndal's profile at sdu.dk
Kamilla Ankær Brejndal
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SDU
Topic: Molecular mechanisms of the Klebsiella CrrA/CrrB two-component system leading to aquasition of colistin resistance
Starting date: 1 September 2021
View Jannik Nicklas Eliasen's profile at ku.dk
Jannik Nicklas Eliasen
Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen
Topic: Explore neuronal activity of psychedelics which underlie the therapeutic effects in mental disorders.
Starting date: 31 December 2020
View Jacob Skallerup Andersen's profile at aau.dk
Jacob Skallerup Andersen
Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University
Topic: Personalized Medicine in Rheumatic Autoimmune Diseases
Starting date: 1 December 2020
View Lasse Knudsen's profile at au.dk
Lasse Knudsen
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University
Topic: Validation of layer-dependent fMRI in M1 and its application in ALS patients
Starting date: 1 November 2020
View Martin Nørmark Thesbjerg's profile at au.dk.
Martin Nørmark Thesbjerg
Department of Food Science - Food Chemistry and Technology, Aarhus University
Topic: A cross-cultural, cross-species study of protein and peptide posttranslational modifications and phospholipids in Danish and Chinese milks
Starting date: 1 November 2020
View Andreas Fønss Møller's profile at sdu.dk
Andreas Fønss Møller
Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark
Topic: Integrative machine learning analysis of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics during embryonic development.
Starting date: 1 August 2020
View Rasmus West Knopper's profile at au.dk
Rasmus West Knopper
Department for Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University
Topic: Locus coeruleus: The master switch for brain health?
Starting date: 1 December 2020
View Luciano de Oliveira Souza's profile at ku.dk
Luciano de Oliveira Souza
Department Of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen
Topic: Identification of a predictive omics signature for taxane resistance in prostate cancer
Starting date: 31 December 2019
View Jefferson Novaes Gomes's profile at ku.dk
Jefferson Novaes Gomes
Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, the University of Copenhagen
Topic: Opioids and the Mesopontine Cholinergic Nuclei: Explorations of a new target for combating opioid addiction.
Starting date: 1 December 2019
View Christopher Aboo's profile at aau.dk
Christopher Aboo
Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University
Topic: Personalized medicine for neuropathies using multi-omics integration
Starting date: 1 December 2019
View Thomas Beck Lindhardt' profile at aau.dk
Thomas Beck Lindhardt
Center of functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University
Topic: The neurophysiology of sleep: awake animal MRI of the glymphatic system
Starting date: 1 December 2019
View Aurore Zelazny's profile at aau.dk
Aurore Zelazny
Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University
Topic: The effect of semantics on perception: synaesthesia, multisensory perception and food experience
Starting date: 10 October 2018
View Katrine Tang Stenz' profile at au.dk
Katrine Tang Stenz
Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University
Topic: Beneficial effects of remote ischemic conditioning and blood flow restricted exercise in stroke
Starting date: 1 Maj 2018
View Deniss Petrovs' profile at dtu.dk
Deniss Petrovs
Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, DTU Bioengineering
Topic: Discovery and Characteri- zation of Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes from Gastrointestinal Tract Resident Bacteria
Starting date: 1 December 2017