Eight AU researchers receive major grants from the Independent Research Fund Denmark

Eight early-career researchers at Aarhus University will have the opportunity in the coming years to develop their research and take on leadership roles as directors of their own research groups.

They have each received a grant of around six million Danish kroner from the Danish Council for Independent Research's Sapere Aude programme: DFF-Starting Grant.

Sapere Aude grants are awarded to early career researchers who have conducted world-class research within their academic field. With this grant, they will have the opportunity to strengthen their research ideas and develop their skills as research directors through developing and leading their own research group at a high international level.

One of the recipients from Aarhus University, Christoffer Basse Eriksen – a postdoc at the Department of Mathematics – will, through his research project, carry out the first large-scale study of Flora Danica, an 18th-century botanical work known for its detailed illustrations of Danish plants. The Independent Research Fund Denmark asked him what the grant will mean for his research career:

"It’s a great honour for me to receive a Sapere Aude grant and in this way help set the direction for the development of my field of research in the coming years. I’m particularly pleased to be able to establish my first research group. Throughout my research career, I’ve grown professionally by being part of strong international research environments. I’m very much looking forward to taking the first steps towards establishing such an environment in Aarhus. At the same time, I’m excited that the project will bring the unique Flora Danica material into international scientific historical research for the first time," Christoffer Basse Eriksen says.

The Independent Research Fund Denmark received 354 applications and awarded 36 grants, corresponding to a success rate of 10 per cent.

The eight researchers from AU:

Ken Pfeuffer – associate professor, Department of Computer Science

Christian Damsgaard – assistant professor, Department of Biology - Zoophysiology

Rasmus Kock Flygaard – assistant professor, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics - Protein Science

Leonardo Bonetti – associate professor, Department of Clinical Medicine - Center for Music in the Brain

Andreas Pavlogiannis – associate professor, Department of Computer Science

Lingzhao Fang – assistant professor, Centre for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics

Christoffer Basse Eriksen – postdoc, Department of Mathematics - Science Studies

Chao Sun - associate professor, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics - Neurobiology

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Cecillia Jensen