Two research projects on the effects of yoyo dieting and oral infections receive large Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Grants

The Novo Nordisk Challenge Programme targets ambitious research projects within annually selected themes that address some of the major societal and planetary challenges. The Challenge Programme gives leading researchers the opportunity to assemble a strong team that can collaborate to develop solutions to the challenges.

Read about the two SUND researchers projects below:

How cardiac fat impacts the heart function following changes in weight

Professor Thomas Jespersen

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Grant: 56,4 million DKK

Individuals with obesity are at increased risk of developing cardiac disease. However, how excess fat, within and around the heart, affects the pumping function and electrical stability at weight gain, weight loss and following weight fluctuations ("yo-yo dieting”) remains unclear.

Thomas Jespersen and his group will scrutinize how cardiac fat changes in composition and impacts the heart function following changes in weight. The aim is to investigate whether fat around the heart remodels and responds differently to diet and lifestyle-induced weight loss compared to medication-induced weight loss, and how these different approaches impact heart function. Additionally, the group will investigate what happens during weight fluctuations.

The research team of Professor Thomas Jespersen will work closely together with the teams of Professor Alicia Lundby, UCPH and Professor Prashanthan Sanders, Adelaide, Australia.

Professor Thomas Jespersen says about the NNF grant:

“This grant represents an unprecedented opportunity for high-resolution investigations of one of the dark spots of cardiac health and disease; namely the dynamics and pathophysiological impact of intramyocardial and epicardial fat on the working heart. Obtaining this knowledge is of immense importance in the context of the present obesity epidemic as we need to establish whether it is global obesity or cardiac fat accumulation which harms the heart. Additionally, in an era where weight management has become central to public health discussions, an understanding of how different weight loss approaches impact and benefit heart function is urgently needed.”

How infections in the mouth influence and interact with cardiometabolic diseases

Professor Torben Hansen

Center for Basic Metabolic Research

Grant: 60 million DKK

Infections in the mouth, such as gum disease and cavities, are connected to serious health issues like systemic inflammation, heart disease, and diabetes. These are known as cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs).

Torben Hansen and his group will explore how genetic factors, changes in the bacteria in the mouth and products produced by these bacteria, along with the immune system’s response, influence and interact with CMDs.

To better understand the connections between oral and overall health, they will use data and biological material from Danish health registries and biobanks. In addition, they will conduct treatment studies to identify key indicators and mechanisms that link oral health to overall health. The aim is to help improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of CMDs and oral infections by recognizing that the health of the mouth is an important part of the health of the whole body.

The research team of Professor Torben Hansen will work closely together with their partners at Zealand University Hospital, the Department of Odontology at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Kiel.

Professor Torben Hansen says about the NNF grant:

"We are grateful for this generous grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which enables us to explore how oral infections may influence the development of serious chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. At the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, we have long studied how genetic and molecular factors affect metabolic health. Through the CARPE DIEM project we can now in collaboration with our partners integrate insights from oral health to uncover new biological links and potentially transform how we understand, prevent, and treat cardiometabolic diseases."

Read more about the 2025 Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Programme.