In June, the Danish Cardiovascular Academy granted a total of DKK 24 million for cardiovascular research, and three researchers from Aarhus University received grants for PhD and postdoc projects, involving both clinical and molecular research.

Dung Nguyen Riis from the Department of Clinical Medicine has received DKK 1.1 million for a PhD project. With the grant, she will improve how resuscitation is taught to hospital staff. She will also study how the teaching affects the quality of cardiac massage and survival after cardiac arrest.

Marlene Schouby Bentestuen from the Department of Clinical Medicine has received DKK 1,650,000 from both the Danish Cardiovascular Academy and the Danish Heart Foundation. In her PhD project, Marlene Schouby Bentestuen will identify patients with a high risk of developing life-threatening arrhythmia (heart rhythm disturbances) as a side effect of psychoactive drugs. In the project, she uses pharmacogenetic testing to determine genetics and responses to pharmaceuticals. 

Laura Alonso Herranz from the Department of Biomedicine has received DKK 1,150,000 for a postdoc project. She will study the smooth muscle cells in our arteries and how we can change the composition of the atherosclerotic plaque that sits on the blood vessel wall. If the plaque ruptures, it can lead to the occlusion of the vessel and heart attack. The goal is thus to prevent atherosclerosis from leading to heart attack.

This article is partly based on a press release from the Danish Cardiovascular Academy, which is available on the front page of the website: www.dcacademy.dk