Sarah Bakkær Munk Andreasen is a Researcher at the Institute for Health Services Research within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Southern Denmark . Her work focuses on Reproductive Toxicology , Maternal and Child Health , and Environmental Medicine , with a particular emphasis on the effects of maternal exposure to medications and chemicals on offspring development. Research Areas : Endocrine disruption, pharmacological effects on developmental biology, mental health in pediatric populations. Key Collaborations : Odense Child Cohort, focusing on longitudinal studies of childhood development. Her publications highlight associations between maternal use of antifungal medications and paracetamol with altered steroid hormone levels and anogenital distance in offspring, as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children's mental health. She primarily employs epidemiological and cohort-based methodologies. Labs/Teams : Active contributor to the Odense Child Cohort project, a population-based birth cohort study.
Axel Skytthe is a researcher at the University of Southern Denmark with a focus on Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography (EBB) . His research spans medical demography , genetic epidemiology , twin studies , and aging . He is affiliated with the Danish Center for Twin Research and the Institute for Health Services Research . Research Interests : Axel’s work primarily investigates genetic and environmental influences on aging, disease susceptibility, and mortality through large-scale twin cohorts. His studies often intersect with genetics , biostatistics , and demographic trends . Recent projects include analyzing BMI development across early life stages and exploring mTOR pathway epigenetics in tic disorders. Publications : His extensive body of work (203 publications) includes groundbreaking twin studies on respiratory syncytial virus , tic comorbidities , and exceptional lifespans . Collaborative research spans 25 twin cohorts globally, highlighting genetic determinism and environmental interactions. Professional Activities : Axel has participated in major conferences like the 15th International Society for Twin Studies Congress (2014) and European Congress of Epidemiology (2013). He is also a peer reviewer and board member in several organizations.
Velisar Manea is a Postdoctoral Researcher (Research Fellow) at the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen. His work focuses on cognitive and social development in infancy, utilizing methodologies like pupillometry to investigate foundational aspects of human cognition. His research spans developmental psychology, cognitive science, and social cognition with specific emphasis on altercentrism, theory of mind, and preverbal infant capabilities. Key investigations examine how infants process memory under social perspectives and resolve conflicts between self and other representations. Recent publications reveal trends in infant cognitive development, particularly the emergence and evolution of perspective-taking abilities. His 2023 work identifies receding altercentric biases in infant memory, while the 2022 study demonstrates challenges in self-representation during perspective conflicts, indicating sophisticated social-cognitive processing in preverbal stages.
Dora Kampis serves as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology within the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. Her research focuses on the cognitive mechanisms underlying human social nature, spanning from infancy through adulthood. Her primary research interests include Social Cognition , Early Childhood Cognition , Social and Cognitive Development , and Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging . Using behavioral methods (eye-tracking, looking time studies, interactive paradigms) and neuroimaging (primarily EEG), she investigates how social cognitive abilities emerge and develop, examining their interactions with perception and memory systems. Her work bridges ontogenetic and phylogenetic perspectives to understand the foundations of adult human cognition. Analysis of her recent publications (2021-2024) reveals a strong focus on infant social cognition, particularly perspective-taking abilities, self-other distinction, memory development, and semantic processing in preverbal children. Her research employs rigorous experimental designs with infants aged 14-36 months, often involving collaborative international studies. Key trends include investigating altercentric biases, cognitive flexibility in changing contexts, and the emergence of theory of mind precursors. Dr. Kampis maintains active research collaborations across multiple countries, as evidenced by her international co-authorship patterns. Her work has gained significant attention in the scientific community, with several publications covered by news outlets and discussed on academic social media platforms.
Janni Ammitzbøll is a Researcher at the National Institute of Public Health , specializing in Child and Adolescent Health . Her work focuses on infant mental health, preventive interventions, and scale validation in community health care contexts. Key Research Areas : Infancy and Child Health, Mental Health, Intervention Studies, Public Health Psychology Collaborations : Active in interdisciplinary projects like 'Små Børns Sundhed' and PUF-programmet Activities : Frequent speaker at conferences and public institutions on topics like early childhood mental health and parenting programs
Karina Dyrvig Honoré is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences , University of Southern Denmark, affiliated with the Research Unit for Pediatrics (Odense). Her work focuses on neonatal nutrition, human milk composition, and childhood growth trajectories. Key Research Interests: Human Milk, Anthropometry, Body Composition, Infancy, Necrotizing Enterocolitis Her recent publications analyze breastfeeding's impact on childhood body composition ( Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics , 2025), neonatal growth outcomes ( Acta Paediatrica , 2025), and the role of stoma closure in preterm infants ( European Journal of Pediatric Surgery , 2021). Research keywords span Pediatrics, Nutritional Biochemistry, and Neonatal Surgery . She contributes to collaborative projects on preterm infant nutrition, including scoping reviews on mineral and micronutrient content in fortification products (2023–2026, 2023–2024). Her work involves partnerships with institutions like Odense University Hospital (OUH).
Emanuela Yeung serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Social Sciences, specializing in infant cognitive and social development through advanced neurocognitive methodologies. Her research centers on developmental psychology with emphases on infancy, cognitive development, and social understanding. She employs eye tracking, pupillometry, and EEG to investigate foundational aspects of infant cognition, particularly how young children process social information and develop self-representation capabilities. Her experimental work often examines perspective-taking challenges in preverbal children. Her 2022 publication in Open Mind demonstrates her focus on how infants navigate conflicting perspectives during self-representation development. This work exemplifies her broader research trajectory examining the intersection of cognitive maturation and social understanding in early development using precise neurocognitive measures. Dr. Yeung is actively affiliated with the Centre for Early Childhood Cognition and the Virtual Learning Lab at the University of Copenhagen, where she contributes to interdisciplinary research on early cognitive development through cutting-edge experimental paradigms.
Anni Larnkjær is an Academic staff member at the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen. She is part of the Lifecourse Nutrition & Health research group, specifically working with the Paediatric and International Nutrition group where she focuses on Danish studies. Dr. Larnkjær participates in the Nutrition, Growth and Development course and supervises master students. Dr. Larnkjær's educational background includes a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Copenhagen (1994) and a Master of Science in Experimental Biology and Organic Chemistry from the University of Southern Denmark (1990). Her primary research interests focus on nutrition in infancy and childhood, obesity in infancy and childhood, growth and diet, hormones related to growth and appetite, and probiotics. Her work examines how early nutrition affects growth patterns, body composition, and long-term health outcomes, with particular attention to childhood obesity prevention and management. Dr. Larnkjær's recent research has explored the relationship between maternal adiposity and appetite-regulating hormones in human milk, vitamin D supplementation for bone health in children, and the association between vitamin B12 concentration and cognitive development in young children. Her work often utilizes longitudinal cohort studies to track developmental outcomes. Researcher ID: O-7794-2014 Scopus Author ID: 6507346174 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7790-7888 Dr. Larnkjær has been serving as a Scientific writer in the Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Life Science, University of Copenhagen since 2004. Prior to this position, she worked as a Research Scientist at Leo Pharma (1994-2004), completed an Industrial Ph.D. at Novo Nordisk/University of Copenhagen (1990-1994), and served as a Research Scientist at Novo Nordisk A/S (1990).
Carsten Eriksen is a Tenure Track Scientist in the Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), specializing in Disease Systems Immunology. His research focuses on the interplay between gut microbiota and the immune system, particularly in inflammatory bowel diseases and early life microbiome development. His research interests center on immunology and microbiome interactions, with emphasis on gut microbiota signatures in inflammatory bowel disease, antibody coating mechanisms, and early life microbial dynamics. Eriksen investigates how specific gut pathobionts escape immune surveillance and contribute to disease flares in Crohn's disease, while also examining oral microbial signatures related to dental caries in children and resistome development in infancy. His publication record shows a strong focus on gut microbiome-immune system interactions, with recent work spanning inflammatory bowel disease, early life microbiome development, and animal models of gut health. The research consistently applies bioinformatics approaches to analyze microbial communities and their relationship with host immunity. Eriksen actively participates in major scientific conferences including the EMBL Human Microbiome symposium and European Mucosal Immunology Group meetings, where he has presented findings on gut pathobionts in Crohn's disease. His work has garnered significant attention across social media and news outlets. He leads research within the Disease Systems Immunology group at DTU, focusing on selective gut microbiome-immune interplays to identify disease-driving bacteria. His laboratory work integrates microbiome analysis with immunological approaches to understand host-microbe dynamics in health and disease.
Hiromichi Hagihara is a Lecturer at Osaka University's Graduate School of Human Sciences, where he conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of developmental psychology, cognitive science, and rehabilitation. He also holds part-time positions at Osaka Seikei University as a lecturer in Nursing and serves as a visiting researcher at RIKEN and the University of Tokyo's WPI-IRCN. His work bridges academic research with practical applications in child development and education. Dr. Hagihara earned his PhD in Human and Environmental Studies from Kyoto University in 2021. His educational background includes a Master's degree from Kyoto University (2018) and undergraduate studies in both Natural Sciences and Health Sciences (Occupational Therapy) at Kyoto University. Dr. Hagihara's research focuses on early language development, particularly the structure and evolution of "words" and "meaning" in infants and young children. He investigates how children acquire language within social contexts and how this relates to their cognitive and motor development. His work also explores quantitative assessment tools for pediatric rehabilitation, aiming to bridge the gap between clinical practice and scientific research. He advocates for connecting academic disciplines and connecting research with practical application in the field. His recent publications show a strong emphasis on developmental cognitive science, with particular focus on children's language acquisition, forgiveness understanding, and scale errors. His interdisciplinary approach combines methodologies from psychology, neuroscience, and rehabilitation science to examine child development from multiple perspectives. 2024 Osaka University Award for Young Faculty 2024 Best Poster Award at Japan Baby Science Society 2024 Many Babies Certificate of Achievement 2024 Excellent Award at Osaka University Student Research Presentation 2022 Top Downloaded Article in Infancy journal Dr. Hagihara actively mentors students through research projects, including the development of the educational board game "DAIGAKU," which simulates university life experiences. He has secured multiple competitive research grants, including a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on infant social interactions and language development. He leads the Osaka University Babylab (https://babylab.hus.osaka-u.ac.jp/), which conducts cutting-edge research on infant cognition and language development. His team collaborates with researchers internationally, including at the University of Warwick, Trinity College Dublin, and the ManyBabies consortium.
Kirstine Agnete Davidsen is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark. Her research focuses on clinical psychology, severe mental illness, child development, and cortisol biology. Key Research Areas: Mental health in offspring of parents with severe mental illness, early childhood regulatory problems, and biological markers like cortisol in psychiatric disorders. Collaborations: Erasmus Medical Center, Leiden University, and Danish public health institutions. Her recent publications include studies on disinhibited infant attachment, prenatal IQ predictors, and mental health outcomes in young children. She has presented at international conferences and received the Best Poster Prize in 2017. Her work often involves cohort analyses and translational research between clinical and pediatric populations.
Gitte Zachariassen is a Clinical Professor at the University of Southern Denmark, affiliated with the Clinical Institute and Odense University Hospital (OUH). She works half-time in research and half-time as a Neonatologist at HC Andersen Children's Hospital until March 2023. PhD, University of Southern Denmark (2011) Cand Med, University of Copenhagen (1997) Her research focuses on Human Milk , Preterm Infants , and Neonatal Nutrition , with significant work on Bone Density , Gut Microbiota , and Nutritional Requirements in early childhood. Recent publications highlight randomized controlled trials and long-term growth outcomes. She supervises PhD and Master’s students in areas including maternal health, breast milk components, and surgical improvements for conditions like Esophageal Atresia . Her projects include Milk Fat Globule Membrane studies and Micronutrient Fortification research.
Katarina Begus is a Tenure Track Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Social Sciences. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of curiosity and information seeking behaviors in infants, with particular attention to how these processes drive learning and development. She maintains regular office hours on Wednesdays from 11:00-12:00 and is actively engaged in research projects funded by The Independent Research Fund Denmark. Dr. Begus's research interests center on infant cognitive development, with specific emphasis on curiosity, information seeking behaviors, active social learning, neuroimaging techniques, eye tracking methodologies, and caregiver-child interaction patterns. Her work bridges developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience to uncover how infants actively seek information and how this motivation shapes their learning trajectories. She investigates how curiosity mechanisms are implemented in the brain and how they develop during infancy when active information seeking behaviors first emerge. Her publication record reveals a strong focus on infant social cognition, neural mechanisms of learning, and methodological innovations in developmental research. The research demonstrates consistent exploration of how infants process social information, attribute intentions to others, and engage in active learning through curiosity-driven behaviors. Her work spans multiple methodologies including neuroimaging, eye tracking, and cross-cultural studies. What motivates infant learning? Prize (2022) Dr. Begus currently leads a research project funded by The Independent Research Fund Denmark investigating curiosity, its mechanisms, and developmental trajectory. Her work has received significant attention with coverage by 19 news outlets, mentions on various social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Bluesky, and substantial academic readership through platforms like Mendeley. Her research bridges theoretical understanding with practical implications for early childhood education and intervention.
Dorthe Lisbeth Jeppesen serves as a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Copenhagen, specializing in Paediatrics with clinical affiliations at Copenhagen University Hospital (Region Hovedstaden). Her work spans dual locations at Kettegård Allé 30 in Hvidovre and Blegdamsvej 3 in Copenhagen N, reflecting her integrated role in both academic and clinical settings within Denmark's healthcare system. Her research expertise centers on neonatal cardiovascular development and immune system maturation , with specialized focus on patent ductus arteriosus in term-born infants, childhood hypertension epidemiology, and vaccine-induced immune responses. Key methodologies include large-scale cohort studies like the Copenhagen Baby Heart Cohort, longitudinal analyses of malnutrition impacts in Burkina Faso, and randomized clinical trials examining BCG vaccination effects. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges cardiology, immunology, and epidemiology to address critical gaps in pediatric health outcomes. Analysis of her 39 publications (2020-2025) reveals three dominant research trajectories: (1) cardiovascular dynamics in newborns through echocardiographic studies, (2) vaccine immunology with emphasis on BCG scarification and white blood cell modulation, and (3) environmental determinants of pediatric conditions including delivery mode effects on atopic diseases. Her work consistently employs Danish population data while incorporating international collaborations, particularly evident in malnutrition studies conducted in Burkina Faso. As a core investigator in the Copenhagen Baby Heart Study, Jeppesen contributes to one of Scandinavia's most comprehensive neonatal cardiovascular research initiatives. Her departmental role within Clinical Medicine involves close collaboration with Rigshospitalet's pediatric cardiology unit, facilitating direct translation of research findings into clinical practice for hypertension management and congenital heart condition diagnosis in Danish children.
Xuan Ji Li is a Guest Researcher in the Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen, specializing in microbiome research with a focus on human health implications. Based at Universitetsparken 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dr. Li contributes significantly to understanding microbial communities in various contexts from infant gut development to environmental resistance patterns. Dr. Li's research interests span multiple critical areas of modern microbiology including gut microbiome dynamics, antibiotic resistance mechanisms, microbial ecology across different environments, and the connections between microbial communities and human health outcomes. Their work particularly emphasizes developmental aspects of microbiomes in early life and the implications for disease prevention. Analysis of Dr. Li's publication record reveals a strong focus on microbiome-resistome interactions, particularly examining how antibiotic resistance genes co-occur and transfer within microbial communities. Their research spans multiple environments including human gut, airways, and agricultural settings, demonstrating an interdisciplinary approach that connects microbial ecology with clinical outcomes. The work shows particular strength in examining developmental aspects of microbiomes from infancy through adolescence. Dr. Li's research has gained significant attention in the scientific community, with multiple publications appearing in high-impact journals including Nature Communications, Microbiome, and The ISME Journal. Their work has been cited extensively and featured in news outlets, demonstrating the relevance and impact of their research findings. As a Guest Researcher, Dr. Li collaborates extensively with colleagues at the University of Copenhagen and internationally, contributing to a wide range of projects examining the complex relationships between microbial communities and human health outcomes across different life stages and environmental contexts.
