Forskningsprofil

My research has concentrated on two primary areas: Addressing patient-centred clinical challenges during hospitalization within Emergency Medicine and Eosinophilic Oesophagitis (EoE). So far, my most significant contribution to Emergency Medicine has been the establishment of an organization aimed at involving short-term employees in research endeavours. Nationally, it has been the groundbreaking pioneering work in enhancing knowledge and treatment of EoE in Denmark. My ongoing goal remains ensuring that research translates into organizational efforts aimed at benefiting individual patients.

In May 2021, I assumed the role of Director of Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Aalborg University Hospital. Before my appointment, the department did not have a dedicated research director, or a culture focused on research. Key accomplishments during my tenure include the establishment of a thriving research environment and the formulation of the Acute Basic Palliation Concept.

The research start-up process in combination with many short-term employees quickly showed a need for developing research projects that were possible to complete in a short time frame. This resulted in development of a concept called “sniff research” (Snus til forskning) which have resulted in a very high number of young doctors, medical students as well as other types of employees participating in a research project while working in the department. As a deliberate department strategy, we chose to focus on patient centred research with the vision that all research should have consequence for the patient as soon as possible. An example of this, was the development of the “Acute Basic Palliation Concept” aiming to ensure that terminal patients in the department were offered the option to die at home regardless of the time of the day. Additionally, we wanted to secure high-quality end-of-life care by collaborating with palliation specialists, patient organisations, and specialists in Emergency Medicine. The results have been remarkable despite the demanding 24/7 operational nature and the sector changes which typically pose challenges. To ensure, that the results benefit the patients in the entire region, I have established peer-reviewed regional hospital guidelines for Acute Basic Palliation based on the studies, successfully implemented the concept within our department, taught all doctors in the region via staff meetings, as well as nurses in the municipalities. Presently, efforts are underway to engage the politicians in ensuring that the concept will be a permanent part of hospital operations in all departments in the region and adapt the concept for direct application in the primary sector.

The EoE research has been my main research interest since I studied the disease as part of my Ph.D. My work has led to a paradigm shift in the clinical approach of surgeons and gastroenterologists across Denmark, facilitating timely diagnosis of patients and contributing to a significant increase in the incidence of Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE), which has transitioned from being the lowest to the highest in Europe. I published the first Danish regional EoE guideline, the first national guideline, and the first Danish EoE review for adults and children. Besides having the largest international population based EoE cohort (DanEoE), where we have published a large number of papers, the group has moved into registry-based research in EoE. We have documented the large regional differences in detection of the patients and showed that patients have an increased risk of developing anxiety or depression. Moreover, I initiated and continue to manage an EoE Clinic at the hospital, catering to challenging cases from all over the North Denmark Region and the Central Danish Region as well as teaching gastroenterologists to treat these cases.

In my career as researcher, the international collaborations have always been central. In my ph.d. and later as a post doc, I set up an oesophageal pain model and collaborated with Professor Magnus Simrén in Gothenburg. Later on, this led to the international tour de force with professor Daniel Sifrim to establish normal values for pH and impedance measurements of the oesophagus which changed clinical practice all over. The last years I have been part of the international collaboration EoEConnect where we have provided large-scale real-life knowledge of detection and effectiveness of treatments.