Magnus Kjærgaard, Gregers Rom Andersen, and Ditlev Egeskov Brodersen. Vice-Dean, Education, Kristine Kilså
Lecturer of the Year – Bjørn Pedersen
“Bjørn is a truly excellent lecturer. You feel like you’ve really grasped the material, especially because he uses clear explanations and includes text on his slides.”
“Bjørn has contributed to my learning — and that of other students — in an exemplary way.”
“Bjørn is an outstanding lecturer who combines academic depth with humor, making the teaching both educational and entertaining.”
“Bjørn is exceptionally skilled at summarizing large amounts of curriculum in a short amount of time. He creates excellent overview slides that make it easy to revisit the material later without rereading 50 pages. His explanations are concise and to the point, yet still leave room for humor. Overall, his lectures are of very high quality, with great time management, and it’s clear that Bjørn is passionate about the subject matter and about helping us learn. A truly talented communicator.”
Student Teacher of the Year – Bo Volf Brøchner
“Bo has a deep and insightful understanding of the material. He quenches your thirst for learning without ever making you feel like a burden for asking questions!”
“Bo is a skilled instructor who explains things clearly and creates a safe and inclusive learning environment where everyone feels welcome to participate.”
“Bo is always great at helping us prepare for presentations — and he’s funny, too.”
The MBG PhD program committee has in 2019 established an MBG PhD prize which is named in honor of Kjeld Marcker, one of the founding professors of our Department.
The price is given to exceptional PhD students who have defended their PhD study in the last year. There is no fixed number of prices per year, but only truly outstanding candidates will be considered.
The VIP members of the PhD program committee assess the nominated candidates on their overall performance. All activities during the PhD study are considered, but scientific success will be weighted strongly. Obvious aspects are publications, independence and initiative in the scientific work, popular science activities, but also any other activities within the Department or University.
Self-nomination is not possible, but anyone, including PhD students, is welcome to suggest candidates to the MBG program committee.
Johan Lassen
This year’s first awardee has published five first-author papers, with two more on the way in Nature Communications, and has taken the lead on applying machine learning to complex biological data. Alongside his research, he has supervised students, contributed to teaching, and played an active role in the department’s academic life. His work on mass spectrometry data and cohort studies has opened up new directions in computational metabolomics. It’s a great pleasure to present the first of this year's Kjeld Marcker awards to Johan Lassen.
Lynette Nel
Some research quietly fills in the gaps — some changes the picture entirely. This year’s second awardee has done just that, using crystallography and cryo-EM to reveal how molecules move across membranes, shedding light on a process fundamental to all eukaryotic life. Her findings are already shaping how we understand drug action in human cells, and she’s the first author on three published papers, with a fourth on the way. Beyond the lab, she’s brought energy and community spirit to the department, organizing everything from seminars to the Friday bar. It’s a pleasure to present the second Kjeld Marcker PhD Award to Lynette Nel.
Nanna Birkmose
Some PhD students impress with their experiments, others with their ideas — and then there are those rare few who do both with quiet confidence and lasting impact. This year’s third awardee built an entire peptide library from scratch, uncovered new ways to target congenital diseases, and turned a complex biological challenge into real solutions for human health. She is a natural collaborator, an excellent communicator, and a thoughtful mentor — having guided four bachelor students all the way to co-authorship. Her peers know her as a steady, constructive force in both the lab and the PhD community, and her work continues to bridge research and real-world impact. It is a real pleasure to present the last of this year’s Kjeld Marcker PhD Awards to Nanna Birkmose.
