Young research talent wins prestigious prize
PhD student Asbjørn Kjær Attermann from the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University took home the honour and the Fogh-Nielsen main prize of DKK 75,000. The grant is awarded to young researchers who not only conduct outstanding research, but are also skilled communicators.
Three carefully selected PhD students faced off in the traditional scientist’s showdown when the Faculty of Health held PhD Day 2026 last Friday. Each candidate had 10 minutes to present their research in front of a packed Per Kirkeby Auditorium, after which a judging committee distributed the total grant sum of DKK 125,000.
Asbjørn Kjær Attermann from the Department of Clinical Medicine, Department of Molecular Medicine (MOMA) won the main prize of DKK 75,000. He delivered a strong presentation of his research, which challenges the notion that the thymus is irrelevant in adults – and, using AI and clinical data, shows that the organ may still play an important role in immune function and in the effectiveness of immunotherapy in cancer treatment.
The two other finalists were Ibrahim Alzaim from the Department of Biomedicine and Simon Horsholt Thomsen from the Department of Clinical Medicine, Centre for Prenatal Diagnostics – Department of Clinical Genetics. The judges awarded them a shared second place and DKK 25,000 each.
The prize money comes from the Consul Johannes Fogh-Nielsen and Mrs Ella Fogh-Nielsen Foundation, and the funds are given as project support for new studies that can build on the research results the winners achieved during their PhD studies.
Contact
PhD student Asbjørn Kjær Attermann
Aarhus University – Department of Clinical Medicine
Department of Molecular Medicine (MOMA)
Email: [email protected]