Clare Louise Hawkins

Clare Louise Hawkins is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. She joined the department in March 2017 after nearly 20 years at the Heart Research Institute in Sydney, where she served as Scientific Director and Inflammation Group Leader. Her research focuses on understanding the role of oxidative stress and inflammation in driving lesion development in atherosclerosis and related chronic inflammatory diseases.

• BSc(Hons) Chemistry, University of York, UK (1993)
• PhD Chemistry, University of York, UK (1997)

Professor Hawkins' research investigates how oxidants produced during inflammation modify biological molecules and cells associated with the arterial wall, with particular focus on immune cell extracellular traps and myeloperoxidase-derived oxidants. Her work spans multiple disciplines including redox biology, cardiovascular disease, diabetes complications, and innate immunity. The Hawkins Group employs in vitro immune and vascular cell models, biochemical and cellular assays, molecular biology techniques, and analytical methodologies including HPLC and EPR spectroscopy to study these complex interactions.

Her recent publications reveal consistent themes across redox biology, inflammation, and vascular disease, with particular emphasis on hypohalous acids, histone modifications, extracellular traps, and nucleic acid oxidation. These studies collectively aim to develop targeted therapies that limit damaging reactions during chronic inflammation without compromising innate immune defenses.

• 2018: Lifetime Achievement Award and Lecture, Society for Free Radical Research (Australasia)
• 2018: Leopold Flohe Redox Pioneer Award and Lecture, Society for Free Radical Research (Europe)
• 2016: Blackmore's Mentor of the Year Award, HRI
• 2013-16: Australian Research Council Future Fellowship
• 2009-12: Career Development Fellowship, National Heart Foundation, Australia
• 2003-8: R. Douglas Wright Biomedical Fellowship, National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia

Professor Hawkins has mentored more than 30 PhD students to completion and serves as a mentor for postdocs and assistant professors both at UCPH and internationally. Her research is supported by significant grants including funding from the Independent Research Fund Denmark, Royal Society of Chemistry, and Novo Nordisk Foundation. As Secretary-General of the Society for Free Radical Research (Europe) since 2021, she maintains extensive international collaborations across multiple continents.

The Hawkins Group (Redox Biology Group) focuses on gaining detailed understanding of how inflammatory oxidants and extracellular traps contribute to disease development. The team actively investigates four main research projects: protective mechanisms of selenocyanate in inflammatory disease, post-translational histone modification in inflammation, macrophage extracellular traps in disease, and nucleic acid modification in diabetes and inflammatory disease.