The University of Oxford (OU), the University of Copenhagen (KU), and Aarhus University (AU) are delighted to announce the launch of the recently established Pioneer Centre for Statistical and Computational Methods for Advanced Research to Transform Biomedicine (SMARTbiomed).

In a huge step for international health research, SMARTbiomed has been made possible through what Aarhus University Rector - Brian Bech Nielsen, calls a “unique collaboration between three strong international universities”. It has been funded with a generous donation totalling DKK 250 million from the Lundbeck Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Villum Foundation, the Carlsberg Foundation, and the Danish National Research Foundation.

 

A landscape photograph of a brick Aarhus University building covered in ivy and grassy landscape stairs in the foreground. Trees frame the left and right sides.
Aarhus University

 

Aarhus University School of Business and Social Sciences is the anchor point for the collaboration, with hubs based at all three universities. Professor Chris Holmes, from the Department of Statistics is a co-director for the Oxford Hub, alongside Professor Cecilia Lindgren (Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health), and Professor Peter Visscher (the Big Data Institute). The Pioneer Centre's director is Professor Naomi Wray (Department of Psychiatry) and she will take up a joint appointment with Aarhus University.

Through the Pioneer Centre, research will be focus on the collection and analysis of large amounts of data from both Danish and international registers and biobanks. The research has the aim of learning more about, among other things, risk factors, relationships, patterns, treatments and consequences of a diverse range of diseases. The Centre's main objectives are as follows:

  • To bring together multidisciplinary research teams to develop new methods for analysing biomedical data.
  • To develop data platforms and software for biomedical research that are based on real medical issues and that are easily applicable.
  • To establish an internationally leading learning and career environment in health data research.

Collecting large amounts of biomedical data and using them to improve disease management requires both medical, statistical and computational approaches. SMARTbiomed will bring together a group of international researchers who know how to ask the right questions, who understand the complexity of data and who can translate it all into advanced treatment of diseases and disorders common in society,

Professor Naomi Wray, Pioneer Centre Director.

We look forward to the ground-breaking research and insights into biomedical data that will arise from the Pioneer Centre in the future.

For More Information

If you wish to find out more about SMARTbiomed and the Pioneer Centre, you can contact the following people:

Centre Director Naomi Wray, University of Oxford/Aarhus University: naomi.wray@psych.ox.ac.uk 

Rector Brian Bech Nielsen, Aarhus University: +45 23 38 23 49, rector@au.dk

Senior Vice President Jan Egebjerg, Lundbeck Foundation: + 45 39 12 80 06 (direct) / +45 21 19 37 13 (mobile phone), je@lundbeckfonden.com
 

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SMARTbiomed was established the 1st June 2024 and will run until 2036.

For opportunities with SMARTbiomed, please visit their website to see what is available.

The logo of SMARTbiomed was provided by the Communications team. The image of Aarhus University was provided by the Aarhus University Communications Team.

Edited 22.08.2024: rephrasing in all paragraphs; paragraphs rearranged; quote added, and extra information on directors added.