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Engineer becomes professor of bone biology at Aarhus University

Jesper Skovhus Thomsen’s path to biomedical research can seem a little convoluted, but for the newly-appointed professor, it makes good sense. Technology has always been of special interest to him, and now it is the technology of the body – in particular the bones – that preoccupies him.

2021.09.14 | Sabina Bjerre Hansen

[Translate to English:] Jesper Skovhus Thomsen er ny professor i knoglebiologi. Han tiltrådte sit professorat den 1. september 2021. Foto: Simon Byrial Fischel, AU Health.

Jesper Skovhus Thomsen is a new professor of bone biology. He took up his professorship on 1 September 2021. Photo: Simon Byrial Fischel, AU Health.

New professor Jesper Skovhus Thomsen from the Department of Biomedicine conducts research into bone biology. He examines the structure and strength of bones, and how they change as women and men grow older. Patients with osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis are those that benefit in particular from Jesper Skovhus Thomsen's research.

The newly-appointed professor originally graduated with an MSc in Electrical Engineering, and this background is still present in Jesper Skovhus Thomsen's health science research. He has e.g. examined how the bone microstructure changes in cosmonauts following 370 days of constant simulated weightlessness. Here, Jesper Skovhus Thomsen found that a combination of a medication against osteoporosis and 1–2 hours of daily exercise can counteract the loss of bone density.

At present, he is investigating how new medications can counteract loss of muscle- and bone tissue during physical inactivity.

Contact

Professor, PhD and MScEng Jesper Skovhus Thomsen
Aarhus University, Department of Biomedicine
Mobile: (+45) 24 75 81 20
Email: jst@biomed.au.dk

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