This year, a record number of +240 participants attended the DCAcademy Summer Meeting in Nyborg, Funen. Throughout the three days, participants were given the opportunity to engage with leading experts and peers across the diverse spectrum of cardiovascular research and geography whereas participants travelled from different areas of Denmark and countries such as Brazil, U.S.A., Germany, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands.

“I am very happy to observe that once again, our Summer Meeting has provided the setting to bring together researchers from near and far. It's been great to see new and familiar faces coming together for science and networking”, says Thomas Jespersen, Executive Managing Director, DCAcademy.  

This year’s programme featured an outstanding amount of 53 talks through clinical, pre-clinical, and basic research sessions. Furthermore, 67 poster presentations were held where participants had the opportunity to share their (latest) research.

The three C’s: “Circulation, Communication, and Care”

If you've heard of the DCAcademy Summer Meeting - or maybe even attended - you'll know that the meeting is a three-day mixture of highly professional cardiovascular research, networking across research steps and areas and geography, and that is has a special atmosphere with room for curiosity and caring for each other.

During the meeting, we were lucky to meet a participant who gave a very on-point characterisation of what she thinks the DCAcademy Summer Meeting is.

According to Tarannum Ara, PhD student at Aarhus University, the experience of the meeting can be summarised into three words - or even more precisely three C’s: “Circulation, Communication, and Care”.

The first C refers to the circulation of knowledge passing between participants ranging from early career researchers to senior experts. The second C stands for communication. At the meeting, all participants are encouraged to network and communicate across sectors, geography, and background to foster collaboration. With the last C, Tarannum highlights the care for the cardiovascular society which pervades throughout the Summer Meeting.

We think Tarannum's points are very appropriate and therefore we will try to paint a picture of this year's meeting based on the three C's, in this article.

Circulation: Possible future research within emerging technologies and AI

One of the main focus areas of this year’s Summer Meeting was emerging technologies. Among several talks, Professor Inga Voges from University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein explored the question: Has AI reached clinical usefulness in cMRI? While Associate Professor Dmitry Postnov, Aarhus University, provided new insights into new technologies and methods through a talk on optical vascular imaging for translational and clinical research.

For Tarannum, the talks on emerging technologies and sessions related to this were especially fascinating: “I found the talks on AI and machine learning particularly interesting as they provided a unique insight into a different and upcoming area of cardiovascular research”. Additionally, the talks sparked new ideas which Tarannum, among many of the participants, would consider using in her own research in the future.

Communication: Young Investigator Day

On the first day, Sunday, also known as the Young Investigator Day, early career researchers were welcomed and introduced to each other through a meet and greet. Hereafter, masterclasses on cardiovascular pharmacology were initiated and the researchers engaged in group work with case studies about possible dilemmas within cardiovascular drug treatment.

The early career researchers' case work was later presented in groups and this fostered good and thought-provoking reflections that hopefully could be put into perspective in the researchers' own projects.

In between masterclasses and group work, the early career researchers were given time for networking. Jonathan Achter, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Copenhagen, reflects on the first day and states: "For me, the Young Investigator Day was the highlight because we had the opportunity to network and exchange ideas and experiences with each other - both in a personal and professional context. This aspect was very rewarding for me".

Care: Celebration of cardiovascular researchers

At DCAcademy, we believe it is important to care for the cardiovascular community and honour early career researchers as well as seniors who have made special contributions to the field.

A highlight from the DCAcademy Summer Meeting was therefore the award ceremony Monday evening where the DCAcademy Rising Star Award 2025 and the DCAcademy Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 were given.

The Rising Star Award is presented at the DCAcademy Summer Meeting to recognise outstanding scientific achievements by an early career researcher. This year, the recipient was Charlotte Glinge, a clinical researcher at Rigshospitalet – Copenhagen University Hospital, specialising in cardiology and genetic heart diseases.

When receiving the award, Charlotte’s excellent work was highlighted: Her research is published in leading journals like Nature Genetics, European Heart Journal, and JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology, and is marked by strong international collaborations. Charlotte is also a highly appreciated colleague and supervisor, known for her dedication to her PhD students.

This year, the DCAcademy Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Professor Emeritus, Niels-Henrik von Holstein-Rathlou, for his dedicated work and contributions in the cardiovascular field. Colleagues from across the world emphasised Niels-Henrik’s integrity, ground-breaking research, and dedication while congratulating him in a video which brought laughter to not only Niels-Henrik but also the audience.

Furthermore, Niels-Henrik has played an instrumental role in the initiation of the DCAcademy since the beginning in 2021 as Senior Vice President at the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

We congratulate both award winners and welcome them to our DCAcademy hall of fame.

We hope to see you again next year

Save the date: Next year’s DCAcademy Summer Meeting will be from 18-20 June 2026 at Storbælt Sinatur Hotel & Conference, Nyborg, Funen.