For the fifth time, the Danish Cardiovascular Academy (DCAcademy) has awarded grants to the cardiovascular research field – this time amounting to 26 million DKK, which is the highest amount DCAcademy has ever awarded. Accordingly, in mid-May, 25 researchers received the positive news that they have been awarded a grant for their research projects.

— As we received 150 high quality applications this year, our grant committee faced the challenging task of selecting the most promising and innovative research projects. I look forward to following their contribution to our understanding and treatment of cardiovascular disease, says Thomas Jespersen, Executive Managing Director, DCAcademy.

“Research into heart disease is of crucial importance”

The Danish Heart Foundation is contributing DKK 6.7 million to cardiovascular research as part of DCAcademy's total grant pool of DKK 26 million this year. The Foundation's funding will support seven PhD projects and four five-year clinical part-time Postdoctoral Fellowships.

With cardiovascular disease being the second most common cause of death in Denmark, investments into this research area are more critical than ever.

— Research into heart disease is of crucial importance to optimise the treatment of patients and at the same time, as far as possible, prevent diseases from occurring, says Anne Kaltoft, CEO of the Danish Heart Foundation.

Kaltoft expresses strong confidence in the quality of this year’s selected projects:

— It is therefore with pride that we are once again supporting several important research projects this year, which hopefully can help make new important discoveries, she adds.

The Danish Heart Foundation remains committed to advancing research that can lead to earlier detection, better treatment, and ultimately the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Research projects that reflect a wide-angle view on how to prevent, understand, and treat heart disease

With cardiovascular disease being such a wide research field, the DCAcademy grant committee chose research projects that range broadly.

This year, the research projects reflect a wide-angle view on how to prevent, understand, and treat heart disease—from genes and cells to lifestyle, medications, and new medico-tech:

• Heart failure & heart rhythm problems: Several projects explore better treatments (e.g. supplements, oxygen therapy, hormone effects), risks (like bleeding or sudden cardiac arrest), and how conditions like atrial fibrillation affect patients
• Genetics & personalized medicine: Some researchers are diving into how our genes — especially in special populations like Greenlanders — can influence heart disease risk, using cutting-edge tools like proteogenomics and single-cell analysis
• Obesity & metabolism: Other projects link childhood obesity, genetics, and heart changes, and explore if reducing intense athletic training or using specific metabolic treatments can help the heart recover
• Blood vessels & atherosclerosis: Some studies investigate how inflammation, immune system pathways, and even blood vessel cell behavior can lead to heart disease — and how to stop it
• Kidneys, lungs, and whole-body effects: Other researchers delved into how heart disease connects with kidney damage, blood clots in lungs (especially in cancer patients), and how to improve recovery after events like cardiac arrest
• AI & modern screening: And some projects are testing the use of artificial intelligence, new screening methods, or clinical trial strategies to catch and treat heart issues earlier and more effectively.

The 25 Grant Recipients and their respective projects will be presented on our website www.dcacademy.dk on the 22^nd of August 2025 at 12:00 PM.

DCAcademy is funded by The Danish Heart Foundation and The Novo Nordisk Foundation from 2021-2026.

This year, DCAcademy supports:

16 PhD projects
Five 2-year full-time Postdoctoral Fellowships
Four 5-year clinical part-time Postdoctoral Fellowships

PhD grant recipients, affiliations, and titles/themes of their projects:

• Anne Bjerg Nielsen, University of Copenhagen: Nutritional supplements in heart failure
• Cecilie With, University of Copenhagen: Impact of the common Greenlandic TBC1D4 variant on glucose metabolism and cardiovascular risk
• Deepthi Rajan, University of Copenhagen: An Elucidation of The Mechanistic Link between Atrial Fibrillation and Cardiac Arrest
• Emilie Katrine Kongebro, University of Copenhagen: Screening For Atrial Fibrillation: A study of adverse effects including bleeding events, quality-of-life aspects and health economic consequences
• Emily Laura Meyer, University of Copenhagen: Molecular Phenotyping of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy by Single Cell Proteomics
• Hannah Karin Wood-Kurland, University of Copenhagen: The Impact of Hormone Therapy Treatment on Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Postmenopausal Women
• Ida Taraldsen, University of Copenhagen: Oxygen treatment in Acute Heart Failure - An investigation of optimal oxygen doses and administration for patients admitted with Acute Heart Failure
• Josefine Natalie Synnestvedt, University of Copenhagen: Reversing the Athletes Heart: Can Detraining Promote Myocardial Recovery?
• Karoline Korsholm Jeppesen, University of Southern Denmark: Kidney injury in cardiac arrest and cardiogenic shock
• Kristian Boje Nielsen, University of Southern Denmark: Proteogenomics as a tool to identify plasma proteins and genes causing and predicting coronary atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic aneurysms
• Laura Amalie Rytoft, University of Copenhagen: The Natural History of Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction: A 10-year Follow-Up of iPower
• Lærke Bruun Madsen, University of Copenhagen: Family Care Intervention and Cardiometabolic Health: A Novel AI-Assisted Approach to Childhood Obesity Treatment
• Mathilde Løk Olsen, University of Copenhagen: Childhood Obesity, Genetics, and Cardiac Remodeling
• Oskar Kjærgaard Hørsdal, Aarhus University: Metabolic Interventions in Cardiogenic Shock Complicating Acute Myocardial Infarction
• Salma Charabi, University of Copenhagen: Ketamine sedation as early neuroprotective agent following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (the KETOHCA trial)
• Sara Munk Laursen, University of Southern Denmark: CORPLOIDIA-Cardiomyocyte polyploidy, an enigmatic challenge and a prospect for mammalian heart muscle cell renewal.

Postdoctoral grant recipients, affiliations, and titles/themes of their projects:

• Cong Liu, (2-year), Aarhus University: STINGing Away Atherosclerosis: The Role of IFN-Driven Endothelial Activity
• Seyda Ünsal, (2-year), University of Southern Denmark: Investigating the efficacy of novel biological intervention (anti-MFAP4) in heart failure
• Frederik Filip Vinggaard Stæger, (2-year), Rigshospitalet: First Cardiovascular GWAS in Greenland
• Yun Huang, (2 year), Danish Cancer Institute: Integrating proteomics and genetics to investigate cardiovascular disease risk across life stages
• Jannik Hjortshøj Larsen, (2-year), University of Southern Denmark: Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotype Switching in Atherosclerosis: Impact on Extracellular Vesicles
• Julie Kiranjot Kaur Vishram-Nielsen, (5-year), Zealand University Hospital – Roskilde: Randomized Comparisons of Systematic Assessment of Volume Status and Choice of Loop Diuretic at Time of Discharge in Acute Decompensated Heart Failure
• Kristoffer Berg-Hansen, (5-year), Aarhus University Hospital: Exogenous KETOne Supplements in Patients Hospitalized for Acute Heart Failure - A randomized clinical trial (KETO-AHF)
• Nina Nouhravesh, (5-year), Herlev-Gentofte Hospital: Pulmonary Embolism & Anticoagulation Evaluation in Cancer Patient: Overtreatment of Incidental Events – PEACE
• Naja Dam Mygind, (5-year), Bispebjerg Hospital: Exploring Clonal Hematopoiesis and Inflammation in Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction and the risk of developing Heart Failure; an iPOWER substudy.