Centers associated ICMM
The Center for Gene Expression studies the multiple aspects of gene expression in an integrated manner by bringing together laboratories that span the range of subjects encompassing the process.
Gene expression is the highly conserved pathway used to selectively decipher the coded messages in our DNA. It is essential for making and sustaining cells capable of responding to differentiation cues, stimuli, and insults. Decoding of our DNA occurs via two distinct processes, transcription and translation. The RNA transcripts are initially made as pre-mRNAs which are then processed further, such as by the removal of untranslatable regions of RNA by ‘splicing’. The final product, mRNA, encodes information not only for the synthesis of proteins, but also for regulation. Despite decades of research into gene expression, our understanding of the proofreading processes and feedback loops ensuring that the ‘translation of our DNA’ is coordinated and precise, remains poorly understood. In short, a holistic view of the process is lacking.
The Center comprises a wide range of expertise and skills within its research programs spanning disease systems biology, proteomics, high throughput protein production and characterisation, chemical biology, disease biology, and protein therapeutics.
The centre contributes to the progress of translational research within medicine and provides fundamental insights which can be used to promote drug discovery and development.
More detailed descriptions of the research conducted at Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research see the
Center for Protein Research (CPR) - homepage
At the Copenhagen Center for Glycocalyx Research (CGR), we explore how the cell surface shapes life and health. Our research focuses on the glycocalyx – the complex layer of glycans and glycan-binding proteins that governs how cells communicate with each other and their surroundings.
We investigate how inflammation and degenerative diseases disrupt these networks, altering cellular signaling and surface protein patterns. By mapping these changes, we aim to uncover new biological insights and translate them into more precise diagnostics and therapies that can improve human health.
Previous Centers
The CCS was a research center at the University of Copenhagen dedicated to understanding the causes and consequences of chromosome instability. It was established through a generous grant from the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF). The CCS was based in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Panum Institute, and had strong connections during its funding period to the Nordea Center for Healthy Aging, the Department of Biology and the NNF Center for Protein Research
Center for Chromosome Stability (CCS) existed from 2015-2025.
Center for Healthy Aging was a research
During its 15-year existence, CEHA has brought together passionate researchers, health care and clinical professionals, and other key stakeholders, from seven departments, three university hospitals, three faculties at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH), and municipalities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from across Denmark and beyond. As a result, CEHA emerged early on as a leader of aging research and as a key driver of societal change for healthy aging in Denmark and beyond.
Center for Healthy Aging (CEHA) existed from 2009-2024.
CEPAN was a research center at the University of Copenhagen dedicated to developing new antibiotic solutions to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The aim of the center was to establish a discovery platform focused on peptide-based antibiotics, exploiting the unique properties of peptides that interact with the bacterial envelope. The discovery of leads, therapeutic strategies, and antibiotic targets useful for treating multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections, as well as elucidation of their mechanisms of action, were core activities.
In particular, the center explored antisense antibacterial concepts using the peptide-like DNA mimic PNA (Peptide Nucleic Acid) to target essential genes at the translational level, by simply designing a short PNA with a sequence complementary to the mRNA translation initiation site, thereby blocking the access of the ribosome to this crucial mRNA translation start site. In addition, the center explored novel peptide carriers for efficient delivery of potential antibacterial compounds with inherently poor bacterial uptake. Peptide-based adjuvant antibiotics were investigated as a means to circumvent resistance to existing antibiotics and to sensitize bacteria to drugs they were inherently resistant to. Additionally, synergistic combinations representing multimodal treatment regimens were examined to reduce the risk of resistance development.
Center for Peptide-Based Antibiotics (Cepan) existed from 2017-2022.
The glycome is considered the third language of life after the genome and the proteome. It comprises the myriad of sugars, also known as the complex carbohydrates, which cover the surface of our proteins and cells.
At Copenhagen Center for Glycomics, researchers strive to understand how changes in the glycome can cause or predict disease. Precise gene editing technologies such as CRISPR/CAS9 are applied to regulate the expression of genes, which encode glycome-producing enzymes, and an array of advanced technologies including mass spectrometry are used to characterize the phenotype of the genetically modified cells. This strategy has been successful in discovering new types and functions of glycosylation in health and disease, and has led to visions of custom-designed cell factories for production of recombinant glycoprotein therapeutics.
Copenhagen Center for Glycomics (CCG) existed from 2008-2022.
The release of the first draft sequence of the human genome in 2001, with its predicted ~20,000 protein-coding genes, was the first phase of an ongoing biological revolution. In the next phase, the aim is to describe the normal function of all of these genes, as well of a myriad of other functional elements in the genome, and their potential association with disease.
The aim of WJC was to contribute to this functional characterization by systematic studies of breakpoints in balanced chromosomal rearrangements (BCR) obtained via collaboration with diagnostic laboratories world-wide. The state-of-the art methods used for the mapping of chromosomal breakpoints ranged from initially fluorescence in situ hybridization to at the end the center the revolutionizing next generation sequencing. Apart from discovering new disease genes, the strategy turned out to be an ideal way to reveal long-range position effects, where breakpoints located far from a gene by dysregulation resulted in the same phenotype as direct inactivation of the gene itself.
Wilhelm Johannsen Center for Functional Genome Research existed from 2001-2013.