The Novo Nordisk Foundation Diabetes Prize 2025 is being awarded to Professor Knut Dahl-Jørgensen for his exceptional contributions to the understanding, prevention and treatment of type 1 diabetes. His research has reshaped clinical practice and advanced our knowledge of the disease’s underlying mechanisms, especially in children and adolescents.
Over a career spanning more than 40 years, Professor Dahl-Jørgensen has delivered several key breakthroughs in diabetes care. From demonstrating the benefits of intensive insulin therapy to uncovering a potential viral cause of the disease, his work has had a lasting impact on both science and patient outcomes.
“Improving the lives of children with diabetes has been my lifelong motivation,” says Dahl-Jørgensen. “This prize is a personal honour and a tribute to the many colleagues, patients and families who have made the research possible.”
Landmark discoveries in diabetes treatment
In the 1980s, Professor Dahl-Jørgensen led the OSLO Study, which provided some of the earliest evidence that insulin pump therapy and intensified treatment regimens could reduce the risk of serious complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy – damage to the eyes, kidneys or nervous system. His findings were later confirmed by international trials and contributed to major changes in diabetes guidelines.
“It was clear to us early on that young people with diabetes needed more than standard care. Demonstrating that tighter control could prevent complications gave us both clinical evidence and a sense of purpose. We were changing expectations,” says Dahl-Jørgensen.
He was also among the first to warn that too rapid a reduction in blood glucose levels could exacerbate eye damage, shaping how treatment is initiated to this day.
Later studies from his group revealed that young people with type 1 diabetes already show signs of cardiovascular disease. Using imaging tools such as MRI and ultrasound, his team identified early atherosclerosis in children and adolescents, spurring new preventive strategies.
A novel direction: viruses and diabetes
More recently, Dahl-Jørgensen has focused on one of the most debated questions in diabetes research: what causes the immune system to attack insulin-producing beta cells? Solving this riddle could help discovering what causes type 1 diabetes in the first place – thus improving both diabetes care and prevention.
In the DiViD Study, he and his colleagues collected pancreatic biopsies from patients shortly after diagnosis. They found strong evidence of low-grade enteroviral infection in the islets. A groundbreaking finding that supports the hypothesis that viruses may trigger type 1 diabetes.
“Discovering viral traces in the pancreas in all cases was an unexpected but compelling lead. Moments like this, when the data opens a new path, remind you why long-term research matters,” he says.
This led to a phase II clinical trial testing antiviral therapy in newly diagnosed children. The results, published in Nature Medicine in 2023, showed that antiviral treatment with pleconaril and ribavirin helped preserve the patients’ natural insulin production.
Building on this success, further trials are underway to explore combination therapies that may delay or halt disease progression.
Elevating standards of care
Beyond the lab, Dahl-Jørgensen has played a crucial role in improving diabetes care in Norway. He helped establish the Norwegian Childhood Diabetes Registry, enabling systematic benchmarking of outcomes and quality of care. These efforts have contributed to Norway’s position as one of the world’s leading countries in paediatric diabetes management.
“Professor Dahl-Jørgensen’s research has had a profound impact on how we understand and treat type 1 diabetes,” says Lena Eliasson, Chair of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Committee on Endocrinology and Metabolism. “His work combines scientific excellence with clinical relevance, making him a truly deserving recipient of this award.”
The prize will be formally presented at the Scandinavian Society for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting in Oslo, August 21-23, 2025, at which Professor Dahl-Jørgensen will deliver his prize lecture.
About the Novo Nordisk Foundation Diabetes Prize
The Novo Nordisk Foundation Diabetes Prize (formerly the Novo Nordisk Foundation Lecture Prize) was established in 1979 and is awarded to an active scientist from a Nordic country who has made an outstanding contribution to diabetes research or treatment.
The recipient is invited to deliver a lecture at the annual meeting of the Scandinavian Society for the Study of Diabetes. The accompanying award totals DKK 600,000 (€80,000), comprising DKK 100,000 as a personal award and DKK 500,000 earmarked for research or development activities.
The prize is awarded by a committee composed of three members from the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Committee on Endocrinology and Metabolism and the Chair of the Scandinavian Society for the Study of Diabetes.
