Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research

CBMR visited the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark, for its spring retreat in 2023.
CBMR visited the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark, for its spring retreat in 2023.

Purpose

The burden of cardiometabolic diseases continues to increase globally – the number of people living with diabetes has quadrupled over the past forty years, while the rate of obesity has tripled over the same period. This public health crisis has been exacerbated by a lack of effective diagnosis, prevention and treatment approaches. Richer research into cardiometabolic diseases will help furnish deeper and fuller scientific understandings of these phenomena, so that needless deaths and suffering can ultimately be prevented.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR) was established to drive forward fundamental research into these diseases. It applies a multidisciplinary approach, combining research in genetics, physiology and pharmacology, which in turn informs innovative outreach activities carried out through a unique collaboration with the University’s museum of medical history and culture, the Medical Museion.

History

The Center was established in 2010 at the University of Copenhagen with an DKK 885 (€119M) million grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The Novo Nordisk Foundation awarded an additional DKK 700 million (€94M) to the Center in 2018.

In 2023, the Foundation awarded extended funding worth up to DKK 1 billion (€134M) for the period 2024-2028.

Vision

To pioneer groundbreaking research towards better cardiometabolic health.

Mission

To lead collaborative interdisciplinary research from single-cell genomics to whole-body systems, transforming the basic understanding of cardiometabolic health, and accelerating its translation into prevention and treatment strategies.