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From TestCenter Denmark to a new supermicroscope: Novo Nordisk Foundation has donated DKK 18 billion for infrastructure

Infrastructure is a vital prerequisite for research, healthcare and education of the highest quality. The Foundation has just published a new report assessing the Foundation’s impact on research, education, the economy and health. The report highlights that the Foundation has awarded total grants exceeding DKK 18 billion since 2007 for infrastructure to benefit research and society.

Many people associate infrastructure with transport, road and cable networks. But infrastructure, including advanced laboratory equipment and technology, is also an important prerequisite for having effective healthcare and world-class research and education.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation therefore supports infrastructure of the highest quality.

The Foundation has just published a new report assessing the Foundation’s impact on research, education, the economy and health.

The report highlights that the Foundation has awarded total grants exceeding DKK 18 billion since 2007 for infrastructure to benefit research and society.

The Foundation wants researchers, doctors, nurses and others to have access to the highest-quality infrastructure in the form of modern equipment and the most advanced technology. This ultimately benefits patients and also has the positive effect of attracting talented researchers from abroad and ambitious healthcare professionals.

“The Novo Nordisk Foundation contributes significantly to increasing the capacity of existing public-sector institutions in the education, health and research sectors. We do this by supporting major infrastructure projects, such as laboratories, special research facilities, research and testing equipment and training programmes. This can also include support for a research talent academy. Our investment in research equipment and in establishing educational programmes means that more talented personnel can be recruited. We want to enter into dialogue with the institutions and help them to achieve their ambitions,” says Thomas Alslev Christensen, Senior Vice President, Impact, who is responsible for the Foundation’s impact assessment, corporate social responsibility and data reporting.

Increased testing capacity and the world’s best laboratory equipment
The Foundation’s grants for infrastructure include support for establishing TestCenter Denmark at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Foundation awarded more than DKK 250 million to establish the test centre, which is based at Statens Serum Institut. The grant has helped provide the necessary testing devices, reagents and equipment that have enabled many thousands of tests for COVID-19 to be performed every day.

Another example is a supermicroscope at the University of Copenhagen. The Foundation awarded a grant of DKK 60 million for establishing an advanced cryoelectron microscope to analyse protein structures. The grant enables new insight into and understanding of the three-dimensional construction of proteins, which can be used for developing new drugs tailored to each individual patient.

Read the whole report
Read more about the societal impact of the Foundation’s grants in 2020 here.

 

About the Novo Nordisk Foundation
The Novo Nordisk Foundation is an independent Danish foundation with corporate interests. It has two objectives: 1) to provide a stable basis for the commercial and research activities of the companies in the Novo Group; and 2) to support scientific, humanitarian and social causes.

The vision of the Foundation is to contribute significantly to research and development that improves the lives of people and the sustainability of society. Since 2010, the Foundation has donated more than DKK 30 billion (€4 billion), primarily for research at public institutions and hospitals in Denmark and the other Nordic countries as well as research-based treatment and prevention of diabetes. Read more at www.novonordiskfonden.dk/en.

Further information
Christian Mostrup, Senior Programme Lead, +45 3067 4805, [email protected]