Pulsating synerg y

The Novo Nordisk FouNdaTioN research ceNTre clusTer

addressing global challenges

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The world is facing major challenges as the global population increases and ages. Simultaneously, human health and the environment are underpressure as more people suffer from lifestyle-related diseases, resources are being depleted and carbon dioxide emissions are rising. More research is required to meet these challenges, improve the combating of disease and use natural resources more intelligently.

The vision of the Novo Nordisk Foundation is to contribute significantly to research and develop -ment that improves the health and welfare of people. The Foundation aims to use its indepen d - en ce, flexibility and long-term perspective to pro-mote and support world-class research – especially in the areas of health sciences and biotechnology.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation research centre cluster comprises four centres and a biobank: the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research;

the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research;

the Danish National Biobank;

the Novo Nordisk Foundation Section for Basic Stem Cell Biology; and

the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability.

This brochure provides more information about each centre.

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The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research

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The novo nordisk Foundation center for Protein research was established to promote basic and applied discovery research on human proteins of medical relevance with the explicit goal of becoming among the world’s leading laborat­ories in this field.

cell behaviour is largely determined by which proteins the cell produces and how these pro­teins are modified. The consequence is that diseased tissue has a different proteome than healthy tissue. The vision of the center is to create new opportunities for exploring and under standing the complicated path from pro­tein modifications to disease. The means of accomplishing this include high­technology studies of proteins in diseased and healthy cells combined with processing the enormous quan­tities of data by using computer technology.

This research is intended to benefit people af­fected by serious diseases for which treatment is currently not available or not very effective.

dedicaTed research groupsscientists at the center are experts in research fields spanning protein production and charac­terization, protein function and interaction, pro­tein imaging, computational biology and mass spectrometry–based proteomics. Five dedicated research groups focus directly on studying the molecular biology and the pathology of proteins

in areas such as ubiquitin signalling, molecular endocrinology, regulation of mitosis, chromatin structure and function and chromosome stabil­ity and dynamics. The center also gives priority to translational research opportunities in medi­cine with the aim of generating research results useful for drug discovery and development.

another priority of the center is to provide high­quality training of the new generations of young scientists. close to half the staff mem­bers are Phd fellows or postdoctoral fellows, who receive support from highly qualified sci­entists and have access to advanced equipment and methods that will qualify them at a top in­ternational level.

Further, universities and hospitals can collabor­ate with the center by using resources already available at the center or through funding from joint grant applications. similarly, companies can tap into the knowledge and expertise pro­duced by the center.

FuNdiNgin 2007, the novo nordisk Foundation awarded a 10­year grant of dKK 600 million (€80.7 mil­lion) to establish the novo nordisk Foundation center for Protein research at the University of copenhagen. The center opened in 2009 and will have 150 employees when fully operational. Professor Jiri lukas leads the center.

The center for protein research focuses on identifying

the molecular causes of a wide range of diseases by

performing high-technology studies of human proteins

in diseased and healthy cells and aims at contributing

to developing new and more effective treatment.

www.cpr.ku.dk

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research

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the novo nordisk foundation center for basic metabolic research

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The aim of the novo nordisk Foundation center for basic Metabolic research is to become a glo bally leading centre for interdisciplinary ba­sic metabolic research and a global focal point in creating new knowledge to defeat the epi ­ de mics of type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The center will advance research discoveries, education and innovation in metabolic diseases to new heights by integrating studies of human genetics and genomics, cellular biology, human physiology, targeted molecular pharmacology and environmental factors. This will improve the health and quality of life of patients and benefit society as a whole.

Three maiN research ThemesThe center covers three main research themes: metabolic genetics, where the goal is to pre­sent validated algorithms for assessing individu­als at high risk of developing hyperglycaemia, adiposity and vascular co­morbidities and to predict disease onset and progression;

integrative physiology, where the goal is to define the molecular and physiological mechan­isms by which dietary compounds, weight loss and physical activity improve insulin sensitivity in order to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes; and

metabolic receptology and enteroendocrinol­ogy, where the goal is to characterize the entire elusive enteroendocrine system (hormones of

the gastro intestinal tract). This knowledge can be used for developing non­surg i cal strategies that mimic the curative effect of bariatric sur­gery on type 2 diabetes and obesity.

To harvest the synergies created across the cen­ter, an overarching research function, translation­al metabolic physiology, will be central in con­necting the basic metabolic research performed at the center and metabolic and endocrinologi­cal clinics located in denmark and globally. The center also has an international scientific direc­tor, who will contribute to ensuring that the cen­ter develops into an internationally outstanding and renowned research and education centre.

The center has initiated international research allia nces with partners in scandinavia, the United states and china as part of its research strategy of optimizing knowledge interactions and syner­gy on an international scale. These leading lab­oratories have become integrated partners to complement the skills of the center’s researchers.

FuNdiNgin 2010, the novo nordisk Foundation awarded a 10­year grant of dKK 885 million (€119 million) to establish the novo nordisk Foundation center for basic Metabolic research at the University of copenhagen. The center opened the same year and will have approximately 180 employ­ees when fully operational. Torben Klein is the center’s Managing director.

The center for Basic metabolic research is committed

to generating profound knowledge about metabolic

functions as a basis for new approaches to preventing,

diagnosing and treating some of the world’s most pressing

health challenges: type 2 diabetes and obesity.

www.metabol.ku.dk

THE DANISH NATIONAL BIOBANK

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over the years, danish society has invested huge sums in building national registries con­taining information about all residents. in addi­tion, denmark’s health care sector has routinely collected biological material from a large num­ber of individuals.

The main purpose of the danish national bio­bank is to give scientists an overview of and ac­cess to biological samples in both existing and future collections and to facilitate the linkage between samples and registry data. This infra­structure will open new ways of understand­ing why disease occurs and how to prevent and treat it. it will take biomedical research in den­mark another step forward.

uNique iNFrasTrucTureThe initiative has three pillars: the national biobank registry, with detailed information about biological samples available in denmark’s health care sector and large bio­banks;

the danish national biobank (more than 6 million samples), with state­of­the­art robot sys­tems for storing, processing and delivering bio­logical samples for research purposes; and

the coordinating centre.

The national biobank registry gives researchers online access to combined data from all the bio­banks participating in the danish national bio­

bank initiative, totalling 15 million samples. in the national biobank registry, the information from the individual biobanks throughout den­mark will be linked with disease codes and de­mographic information from national registries. searching the registry will enable researchers to look up the number of biological specimens available on patients with a certain diagnosis.

The coordinating centre staff will be responsi­ble for the day­to­day operations of the danish national biobank. The staff will build expertise in receiving, storing and retrieving biological samples for research purposes and will advise and assist researchers in issues arising from us­ing the information available in the national biobank registry, such as ethical considerations. The staff will also work to develop new meth­ods for extracting valuable information from biological samples.

FuNdiNgin 2009–2010, the novo nordisk Foundation awar ded a 10­year grant of dKK 118 million (€15.9 million) to establish the danish national biobank at statens serum institut. denmark’s Ministry of science, innovation and higher edu­c ation (dKK 36 million/€4.8 million) and the lund beck Foundation ( dKK 25 million/ €3.4 million) have also contributed to establish­ing the danish national biobank. The biobank opened in 2012 and is led by Professor Mads Melbye.

The danish National Biobank creates exceptional perspectives

for health science research by providing a giant freezer

facility as well as research infrastructure to link the more

than 15 million biological samples in denmark’s health care

sector with the unique danish registries.

www.nationalbiobank.dk

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Section for Basic Stem Cell Biology

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The danish stem cell center (danstem) is in the process of establishing itself as a hub for inter­national basic, translational and early clinical stem cell research. The overall aim of the center is to develop novel therapeutic approaches for diabetes and cancer.

danstem comprises two sections: the novo nord isk Foundation section for basic stem cell bio logy (basicstem) and the section for stra­tegic Translational stem cell research and Ther­apy (Transstem).

basicstem brings together excellent develop­mental, cancer and stem cell biologists. re­search groups in basicstem focus on how the progenitor cells normally present in embryos de­velop into different kinds of cells, including stem cells, on how pancreatic beta cells that secrete insulin are specified and on the special proper­ties of cancer stem cells. The goal is to under­stand and control these processes and thereby to create the basis for developing future cell­based therapies for diabetes and cancer.

Transstem focuses on translating promising basic research results and on moving them to­wards early clinical application.

a sYNergisTic eNviroNmeNTby establishing a creative and synergistic research environment, basicstem and Transstem will pro­

vide scientists and clinicians with the best possible context for cutting­edge basic stem cell research and for translating the results from these studies into novel therapies for diabetes and cancer.

danstem’s principal investigators are all highly regarded throughout the world for their contri­butions to science. They also have well­estab­lished international collaboration and actively participate in several international scientific consortia.

danstem plays an active role in training under­graduates, Phd fellows and postdoctoral fel ­lows. danstem’s unique infrastructure, high­ level mentoring and international networks make danstem an international centre geared to cre­ate a new generation of developmental and stem cell biologists and clinicians.

FuNdiNgin 2010, the novo nordisk Foundation awarded a 10­year grant of dKK 350 million (€47 mil­lion) to establish the novo nordisk Foundation section for basic stem cell biology at the Uni­versity of copenhagen. The section for stra­tegic Translational stem cell research and Ther­apy received dKK 64.8 million (€8.7 million) from the danish council for strategic research. danstem opened in 2011 and will have approxi­mately 100 employ ees when fully operational. Professor henrik semb leads the center.

With the overall goal of developing new stem cell-

based therapeutic approaches for diabetes and

cancer, danstem addresses basic questions in stem

cell and developmental biology and seeks to identify

the factors that govern the development of different

cell types in the body.

www.danstem.ku.dk

Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability

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The novo nordisk Foundation center for bio­sustainability aims at conducting research on the next generation of production organisms, also called cell factories, for the sustainable and economically feasible bio­production of chemi­cal compounds and for improving production of therapeutic proteins. The center does this by using advanced metabolic engineering tech­niques and taking advantage of genome­scale science. The center’s research focuses on three different model organisms: baker’s yeast, E. coli for producing valuable chemicals and chinese hamster ovary (cho) cells for producing thera­peutic proteins.

The overall goals of the center are: to determine the spectrum of chemistry that can be produced biologically; and

to accelerate the engineering, design and construction of cell factories for the bio­ produc­tion of chemical compounds and therapeutic proteins.

iNTerNaTioNal NeXus The vision of the center is to influence the so­cietal and industrial development in greater copen hagen by making it an international nex­us for bioprocessing and bioengineering expert­ise and knowledge.

Key objectives include developing new technol­ogies and transferring knowledge to industry

for the benefit of society. The center is there­fore organizationally designed to operate at the interface of basic and translational research. The center comprises eight basic research units, the scientific sections, and one translational re­search unit called the center core, which op­erates about 15 research projects emphasizing translational research and applied perspectives. in addition to the center’s activities at the Tech­nical University of denmark (dTU), the center also includes highly esteemed research groups at the chalmers University of Technology and the KTh royal institute of Technology in swe­den, the University of california at san diego and the University of copenhagen.

The center offers excellent postdoctoral train­ing opportunities and Phd education in col­laboration with other leading universities within this field and thus helps to address the pressing need for a critical mass of well­trained, talented scientists and engineers who can advance the development of cell factories.

FuNdiNg in 2010–2012, the novo nordisk Foundation awarded a 10­year grant of dKK 980 million (€131.9 million) to establish the novo nordisk center for biosustainability at the Technical University of denmark. The center opened in 2011 and will have approximately 300 employ­ees when fully operational. Professor bernhard Palsson leads the center.

The center for Biosustainability focuses on

developing new knowledge and technologies

to help facilitate the transformation from the

existing oil-based chemical industry to a more

sustainable bio-based society, in which chemicals

are produced biologically.

www.biosustain.dtu.dk

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about NOVO NORDISK FOUNDATION

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The FouNdaTioN’s oBjecTivesThe novo nordisk Foundation is an independent danish foundation with corporate interests. our history dates back to the 1920s. ever since nobel laureate august Krogh, one of the founders of the Foundation, secured permission to produce insulin in 1922, our mission has been to return a substantial contribution to society by supporting research and development.

The Foundation’s objectives are:

to provide a stable basis for the commercial and research activities of the companies in the novo group; and

to support scientific, humanitarian and social causes. Free aNd iNdepeNdeNT researchall grants awarded by the novo nordisk Foun­dation support free and independent research, with researchers deciding their research pri­orities and being able to publish as they wish. grants are awarded in two ways:

grants awarded in open competition based on the applications received and assessed by expert committees; and

thematic grants, in which the board of the Foundation decides the overall theme and inter­national experts assess the research by peer re­view. graNTs iN opeN compeTiTioNToday, the Foundation has two main commit­tees and seven other committees engaging 45 experts, who are experts in their fields and therefore extremely qualified to assess the qual­ity, originality and feasibility of projects. The Foundation receives about 1000 applications annually for grants for research projects and scholarships and funds about 20% of them. in 2012, this amounts to grants totalling dKK 265 million (€35.6 million).

ThemaTic graNTssince 2007, the Foundation has donated dKK 2.9 billion (€390 million) to establish a cluster of world­class research centres at public research in stitutions in greater copenhagen.

The ambition is to develop and strengthen the scientific competencies in the region of greater copenhagen, to train leading researchers and to achieve world­class scientific results within bio­medicine and biotechnology. The aim of the cen­tres’ geographical proximity is that this will lead to a pulsating, creative environment capable of creating fruitful interdisciplinary partnerships based on the centres’ closely related scientific fields.

prizesThe Foundation also awards several honorary prizes each year, for which no applications are solicited, to reward researchers for unique re­search efforts. The novo nordisk Prize is the most prestigious of these prizes. our sTrucTureour structure reflects the two­pronged nature of our objectives: commercial and societal. The novo nordisk Foundation awards grants, where­as the Foundation’s wholly owned subsidiary, novo a/s, manages the Foundation’s commer­cial activities. The objective of novo a/s is to manage the Foundation’s endowment and its controlling interests in novo nordisk a/s and novozymes a/s, thereby ensuring that the Foun­dation obtains a satisfactory financial return.

Together, novo a/s, novo nordisk a/s and novo ­ zymes a/s and their subsidiaries are known as the novo group. The Foundation’s ambition is that, by generating research­based products and services, novo group companies will position themselves as internationally recognized and sig­nificant actors in improving how disease is com­bated and natural resources are used.

More information

The novo nordisk Foundation center forbasic Metabolic research

www.metabol.ku.dk

The danish national biobank

www.nationalbiobank.dk

The novo nordisk Foundation section for basic stem cell biology

www.danstem.ku.dk

The novo nordisk Foundation center for Protein research

www.cpr.ku.dk

novo nordisk Foundation center for biosustainability

www.biosustain.dtu.dk

Novo Nordisk FouNdaTioNTuborg Havnevej 19DK-2900 HellerupDenmarkTelephone: +45 3527 6600

nnfond@novo.dkwww.novonordiskfoundation.com