Associate professor receives 10 million DKK for groundbreaking kidney cancer research

Iben Lyskjær Heimann, an associate professor at the Department of Clinical Medicine, has been appointed as a new Lundbeck Foundation Fellow and receives a sum of 10 million Danish kroner for a new research project, which she hopes can lead to improved kidney cancer treatment.

As a new Lundbeck Fellow, Iben Lyskjær will, through analyses of tissue and blood from patients, identify new biomarkers with the goal of optimizing kidney cancer treatment.
As a new Lundbeck Fellow, Iben Lyskjær will, through analyses of tissue and blood from patients, identify new biomarkers with the goal of optimizing kidney cancer treatment. Photo: Dan Colmorn

As a new Lundbeck Foundation Fellow, Iben Lyskjær Heimann, a respected molecular biologist, will use the research funds to identify new biomarkers that can determine the risk of recurrence in kidney cancer patients.

Iben Lyskjær Heimann and her research team will, through analyses of tissue and blood from patients, identify these new biomarkers to improve risk assessment, predict patient response to immunotherapy, and reveal any residual disease after surgery or new recurrences.

"If the study is successful, it could potentially contribute to improving patients' chances of surviving the disease by being offered the most effective treatment, and by being able to detect a possible recurrence early. We hope it can help revolutionize kidney cancer treatment if we can understand how the immune system changes in response to and during immunotherapy treatment," says Iben Lyskjær Heimann.

The purpose of the Lundbeck Foundation's Fellows program is to support promising young researchers in their efforts to establish an independent profile and research group, as well as to lead to research breakthroughs that have a significant impact on research and society.

Contact

Associate professor and Ph.D. Iben Lyskjær Heimann
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine – Department of Molecular Medicine (MOMA)
Phone: 78455358
E-mail: iben.lyskjar@clin.au.dk