“Looking back at the merely five years, Danish Diabetes Academy has existed, it is obvious that very much has been achieved in this very short time frame. Most importantly, the postdoc program from DDA was perfectly timed to collect a group of gifted medical doctors who just had graduated from their PhD program. Instead of following their colleagues into clinical fellowships, this group of medical doctors continued in science and now has a much better position to be the next generation of clinical researchers.

On a more senior level, DDA has provided us with a great opportunity to collaborate on practical matters across scientific fields and between institutions. We have engaged in symposia, workshops, summer schools etc. It has helped connecting the community and facilitated new collaborations.

Finally, DDA has been successful in efforts to internationalize our research field. Guest scientists have been brought to Denmark and Aarhus University was able to recruit a top scientist within epidemiology. We have held successful PhD courses on lipid metabolism in collaborations with Cambridge University. Something that only happened due to DDA support and this was not merely financial backing. On several occasions DDA proactively initiated some of these events and for this, they deserve much credit.

The impact of DDA has thus been visible on many levels already at this early time point. However, it is my firm conviction that the most important influence of DDA lies ahead.”

Professor Niels Jessen, Aarhus University