Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research
The Center explores the molecular mechanisms and gene-environment interactions that underlie causes of diabetes and obesity with the ultimate aim of contributing to the development of new ways of treating and preventing diabetes and obesity.
Groundbreaking metabolic research through dynamic collaborative projects and integration of basic biology with translational, clinical, and innovation aspects.
Understanding diabetes and obesity
Among the most pressing global health challenges are obesity and diabetes, which affect hundreds of millions of people around the world. To accelerate new prevention and treatment strategies, researchers at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR) study the fundamental mechanisms and biological pathways that underlie metabolic health and disease.
Their groundbreaking research is possible due to a focus on dynamic collaborative research projects that integrate different levels of exploration – from single cell to whole body physiology – to effectively connect basic biological knowledge to translational and innovation outcomes.
The Center’s biomedical laboratory facilities are primarily located in the Maersk Tower at the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. These facilities include four enabling biology and technology platforms and one unit, which support the scientists in their research by accelerating their discovery and innovation efforts. The shared facilities are essential to advance the Center’s basic research questions and to ensure that the Center stays at the forefront of technological advancements of major importance for the research areas.
Science communication and public outreach
CBMR’s research has the potential to make a truly global impact, which is why the Center strives to ensure that its findings reach a wide audience. To help us with our public engagement, the Center collaborates with the Danish university medical museum, Medical Museion, which carries out research into science communication through the research program Metabolic Science in Culture. In 2019, the exhibition Mind the Gut, which drew on the Center’s metabolic research, won the UMAC Award – the highest honor for university museums.
Facts
€213 million
Independent funding:
€93 million
Host institution:
University of Copenhagen
Staff:
265
Research programmes:
Integrative Metabolism and Environmental Influences
Human Genomics and Metagenomics in Metabolism
Nutrient and Metabolite Sensing
Metabolic Science in Culture
Enabling biology and technology platforms:
Rodent Metabolic Phenotyping
Phenomics
Single-Cell Omics
Metabolomics
Computational Chemistry Unit
Juleen R. Zierath, Executive Director of the Novo Nordisk Center for Basic Metabolic Research
Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research