Professor Henrik Sillesen is appointed to the new position as Medical Director of Clinical Science in the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Henrik Sillesen is highly experienced within the field of cardiovascular disease, which will also be his focus area, when he starts up on 1 December 2021 in the Foundation. Here he will be part of the grant-giving programme area that supports clinical research and collaborates with the Danish regions as well as the Governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands on establishing five specialised Steno Diabetes Centers in Denmark, a diabetes and lifestyle centre in Greenland and a diabetes and endocrinology centre in the Faroe Islands. The common vision for the centres is to provide world-class treatment for people with diabetes.
“The purpose of the new position is to strengthen our competencies within cardiometabolic disease as the scientific community and clinical practice are moving towards precision medicine, asking the fundamental question: What is the right treatment for the individual patient at the right time? We are very pleased to welcome such a skilled clinician and scientist as Henrik Sillesen, who will form part of my team and our efforts to support the Steno Diabetes Centers, the scientific community and society in order to improve the lives of people with cardiometabolic disease,” says Martin Ridderstråle, Senior Vice President, Clinical Science, Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Henrik Sillesen has been instrumental in establishing and developing the Department of Vascular Surgery at Rigshospitalet into a world leading clinic. Parallel to this, he has held a number of distinguished positions in professional organisations, among them President of the European Society of Vascular Surgery, President of the World Federation for Vascular Specialties, President for the Danish Heart Foundation, and member of several committees for important guidelines within his broad area of expertise in cardiovascular disease, most recently the upcoming 2022 ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular management of patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery from the European Society of Cardiology.
Since 2016, the Novo Nordisk Foundation has awarded a total of DKK 7.8 billion for the establishment of Steno Diabetes Centers in all the five regions of Denmark and in Greenland.
Further information
Christian Mostrup, Senior Programme Lead, Communications, +45 3067 4805, [email protected]
