EliteForsk

Andreas Hougaard Laustsen-Kiel receives Elite Research Award

Professor at DTU Bioengineering, Andreas Hougaard Laustsen-Kiel is among this year's recipients of the Elite Research Award. He conducts research in biotechnology and medicine and is a world leader in research into modern antidotes.

Andreas Hougaard Laustsen-Kiel is among this year's recipients of the Elite Research Award. Photo: Kristoffer Juel Poulsen.

Tuesday 25 February 2025

Tore Vind Jensen

Today, five young researchers of international standing will receive the Elite Research Award, which recognises researchers who have made an exceptional contribution to strengthening Danish research. In addition, 17 Elite Research Travel Grants will be awarded to talented PhD students - including two from DTU.

This year's winners will be honoured for their research at an awards ceremony at The Black Diamond in Copenhagen. The awards are granted by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science and will be presented by Her Majesty the Queen and the Minister for Higher Education and Science, Christina Egelund.

Recipients of the Elite Research Award will each be awarded DKK 1.2 million in recognition of their work and the impact their research has on society. DKK 1 million goes to the recipient's research activities, while DKK 200,000 is a personal award, according to a press release from the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.

Among the researchers is Professor at DTU Bioengineering, Andreas Hougaard Laustsen-Kiel. Born in 1987, he became a professor at DTU Bioengineering in 2021, aged just 35. In 2022, he became head of the Centre for Antibody Technologies.

Video credit: Kristoffer Juel Poulsen/Ministry of Higher Edication and Science.

The Independent Research Fund Denmark writes in its citation for the nomination of Andreas Hougaard Laustsen-Kiel:

Andreas Hougaard Laustsen-Kiel is a researcher in biotechnology and medicine and a world leader in research on modern antivenoms. His work includes both the development of antibodies that can neutralise snake venom toxins, called recombinant human antibodies, and research into the mechanism behind the toxic effects of these toxins in order to develop antidotes.

He has developed theories of toxin synergy and the evolution of neurotoxins, and with this new understanding, Andreas Hougaard Laustsen-Kiel has developed biotechnological methods that can simulate the immune system in the laboratory to create fundamentally different antidotes. Andreas Hougaard Laustsen-Kiel's work also includes the future fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria through the use of bacteriophages.

Andreas Hougaard Laustsen-Kiel's pioneering work has led to new molecular biological insights into how cross-reactive antibodies are formed and can be developed into super broad-spectrum antibody cocktails that can neutralise complex toxins across species. These methods are now being used by researchers in several countries and are expected to bring a whole new generation of antidotes to the market.

The potential of Andreas Hougaard Laustsen-Kiel's research is underlined by the fact that he has filed 14 patents and co-founded no less than eight biotech companies, which together have developed more than 100 new products. He has the ability to translate his research into practical and commercial solutions that can have a major impact both on health and on the development of industry."

See full citation in Danish.