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DTU researchers receive grants from the Independent Research Fund Denmark

Eight talented researchers from DTU have just received The Sapere Aude: DFF-Research Leader grants from the Independent Research Fund Denmark. They are part of a group of 40 young research leaders in total, who will help set the direction for future research.

DTU. Photo: Kontraframe / Thorbjørn Hansen.

Thursday 25 June 2026

Patrick Kirk Langschwager

The Independent Research Fund Denmark has just awarded DKK 249 million to 40 promising young researchers through the Sapere Aude: DFF-Research Leader Grant program. The purpose of the program is to give talented researchers, who have delivered top-class research within their field, the opportunity to develop and strengthen their own research teams and lead projects for up to 4 years.

Among the recipients are 8 researchers from DTU, who each receive DKK 6.3 million. The recipients are:

Axel Ahrens, DTU Health Tech, with the project 'The Connection between Auditory Perception and Movement Kinematics'.

Evgeniia Gilshtein, DTU Electro, with the project 'Co-Engineering of Multi-Dimensional Interfaces for Thin-Film Solar Cells (MultiDCell)'.

Theodora Kontogianni, DTU Compute, with the project 'Total3D: Building Universal Representations for Spatial AI'.

Leoni Johanna Jahn, BRIGHT, with the project 'EVOLOOP: Untangling phenotype, epigenetics and genetic feedback mechanisms in environmental adaptation'.

Benjamin Michael Lipp, DTU Management, with the project 'Situating the Logistics of Care'.

Maryam Abdinejad, DTU Energy, with the project 'Electrochemical Direct Air Capture for Sustainable Carbon Neutrality (eDACsustain)'.

Mohamad Bayat, DTU Construct, with the project 'Establishing the theoretical framework for large area printing of moon dust in vacuum using light sources'.

Kristoffer Vitting-Seerup, DTU Health Tech, with the project 'Beyond Genes: The Atlas of Causal Isoform Regulation'.

Backed by these grants, the researchers can now develop the optimal framework for their work and contribute to future breakthroughs.

Read more about the program and the individual projects at the Independent Research Fund Denmark.

Contact

Axel Ahrens Assistant Professor Department of Health Technology aahr@dtu.dk

Evgeniia Gilshtein Researcher, Tenure Track Department of Electrical and Photonics Engineering evggi@dtu.dk

Theodora Kontogianni Associate Professor Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science Mobile: +45 91767504 thekon@dtu.dk

Leonie Johanna Jahn Senior Researcher Biotechnology Research Institute for the Green Transition Mobile: +4593511554 lejj@dtu.dk

Benjamin Lipp Department of Technology, Management and Economics Mobile: +45 36203411 bmili@dtu.dk

Maryam Abdinejad Assistant Professor Department of Energy Conversion and Storage marab@dtu.dk

Mohamad Bayat Associate Professor Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering Phone: +45 45254734 mbayat@dtu.dk

Kristoffer Vitting-Seerup Associate Professor Department of Health Technology krivi@dtu.dk