Professor Torben Hansen secures DKK 60M NNF Challenge Grant
The CARPE DIEM project will draw on Danish registries, biobank resources and advanced omics technologies to leverage data from diverse populations, including Greenland, to uncover genetic and molecular mechanisms linking oral infections and cardiometabolic diseases.
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).
With support from a six-year, DKK 60 million Challenge Grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Hansen Group will explore how genetic factors, changes in the bacteria in the mouth and products produced by these bacteria, and the immune system’s response, influence and interact with CMDs.
To better understand the connections between oral and overall health, the Group 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 project is titled 'Cardiometabolic diseases, Periodontitis and Dental Caries: Deciphering the role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic regulatory Mechanisms' (CARPE DIEM), and is a collaboration with partners at Zealand University Hospital, the Department of Odontology at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Kiel.
"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," says Professor Torben Hansen.
Read more about the 2025 Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Programme.