As part of its annual celebration in September, Aarhus University will confer the Else Kai Sass Award, which is named after the first female professor at Aarhus University.
Professor Karin Lykke-Hartmann has been awarded the 2024 Else Kai Sass Award in recognition of her important contributions to fertility research and her entrepreneurship.
At the beginning of her research career, Professor Lykke-Hartmann was fascinated by the mystery and wonder of one of the most fundamental biological processes: How an egg and a sperm can merge to create a new life, and how something so seemingly simple can become so complex.
Since then, she and her research group have worked to unravel the molecular processes involved in fertility – and to understand how and why they sometimes go awry.
Professor Lykke-Hartmann took the leap from research to entrepreneurship after she and her team made a discovery with the potential to transform fertility treatment for women with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR): her spin-out Notify Therapeutics offers a unique hormone-free fertility treatment for infertile women who don’t benefit from standard hormone treatment.
Notify Therapeutics represents an important advance in treating female infertility, giving hope to infertile women who suffer from DOR.
Read more about Professor Karin Lykke-Hartmann.
Professor, chemist and entrepreneur Kim Daasbjerg is the first ever recipient of the Else Kai Sass Award. The award celebrates Kim Daasbjerg’s remarkable achievements within the fields of collaboration, innovation and the communication of research.
During his 30 years at Aarhus University, Kim Daasbjerg has been part of three research centres and two successful companies (RadiSurf and Danish Graphene), he’s been an excellent teacher and shared his knowledge across academic disciplines and with the world outside the university.
The professor's contribution has been noted by colleagues, collaboration partners and the senior management team. His nomination for the Else Kai Sass Award is a reflection of his ability to embody academic entrepreneurship. He is praised for challenging conventional thinking with alternative and innovative ideas. A characteristic he shares with the woman the award is named after: Else Kai Sass.
One of Kim Daasbjerg's recent achievements is the Open Science initiative, which invites Danish industry into an open collaboration with the university to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience. The initiative has resulted in successful partnerships that have benefited students, researchers and the business community. He is also the initiator of events such as Brainnovation Day, the Open Science festivals and entrepreneurship hackathons.
Kim Daasbjerg will receive the Else Kai Sass Award at the annual celebration on 15 September. The award is given by the Aarhus University Anniversary Foundation.
