Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF) has awarded a total of DKK 78 million to 28 talented early-career researchers across the country. Two of the grant recipients are employed at Health, where they carry out research into the benefits of immunotherapy for cancer patients and the correlation between exercise and spontaneous abortion.

• Iben Lyskjær Heimann of the Department of Molecular Medicine (MOMA) will receive DKK 2,867,328 to study which patients with metastatic cancer of the kidneys can benefit from immunotherapy as treatment. She will also examine whether a combination of surgery and immunotherapy can provide a better prognosis in relation to survival.
• Anne Sofie Dam Laursen of the Department of Clinical Epidemiology (KEA) will receive DKK 2,877,912 to increase awareness of how different levels of physical activity among pregnant women can affect the risk of spontaneous abortion.

The two researchers’ grants are part of Independent Research Fund Denmark’s Inge Lehmann programme, which aims to support talent development and improve the gender balance in Danish research environments. In 2022, a total of 211 researchers applied for funding under the Inge Lehmann programme at Independent Research Fund Denmark, and 28 got through the eye of the needle. The 28 grant recipients are all women.

You can read more about the two Health researchers’ projects in the descriptions on the DFF website (in Danish).

This coverage is based on press material from DFF (in Danish).