Nils Billestrup

Nils Billestrup serves as a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. His research is centered at the Endocrinology and Metabolism division, where he leads investigations into pancreatic beta cell pathophysiology in diabetes.

His research focuses on molecular mechanisms of beta cell failure in diabetes, with particular emphasis on:

• Epigenetic regulation through histone modifications
• Protective effects of gut microbial metabolites (especially butyrate)
• Cytokine-induced inflammatory pathways (IL-1β, NF-κB)
• Mitochondrial dysfunction in pancreatic islets
• Bone morphogenetic protein signaling in beta cells

Over the past five years, his group has established butyrate's role as a histone deacetylase inhibitor that preserves beta cell function against inflammatory damage.

Analysis of his recent publications (2019-2025) reveals a consistent research trajectory exploring how epigenetic modifications contribute to beta cell dysfunction in diabetes, with increasing focus on therapeutic applications of microbial metabolites. Key themes include chromatin binding alterations (particularly NeuroD1), mitochondrial protection, and suppression of inflammatory gene expression.

His academic mentorship is evident through frequent collaborations with junior researchers including S. S. Pedersen, M. Prause, and A. I. Urizar who appear as first authors on multiple publications, indicating active supervision of doctoral candidates. The research group maintains strong collaborative networks across European diabetes research centers as evidenced by multi-institutional publications.

Billestrup directs the Billestrup Group at the University of Copenhagen, which operates within the Endocrinology and Metabolism research section. The group employs molecular biology approaches including chromatin immunoprecipitation, islet isolation techniques, and transgenic mouse models to investigate diabetes pathogenesis and potential interventions targeting epigenetic mechanisms.