Researchers
Professors
Elisabeth Bendstrup, MD, PhD, Professor
E-mail: kabend@rm.dk
Dr Bendstrup is an associate professor at the Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy at Aarhus University Hospital. She is responsible for the Center of Interstitial Lung Diseases, a third referral centre for interstitial lung diseases. She also takes leading part in the Danish Center of Sarcoidosis. Besides interstitial lung diseases and sarcoidosis, the center also does lung transplantation evaluation and post transplant follow-up. Dr. Bendstrup became a specialist in internal medicine in 2004 and in respiratory medicine in 2006.
Research: Dr Bendstrup’s main research interest is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, connective-tissue disease related interstitial lung diseases, and other interstitial or rare lung diseases with specific focus on epidemiology, palliation, rehabilitation and comorbidities. She takes active part in international conferences and is member of several ILD meeting steering committees.
Hans Jürgen Hoffmann, B.Sc, PhD, Professor
E-mail: hjh@clin.au.dk
Professor Hans Jürgen Hoffmann is in charge of experimental laboratory diagnostics for the Allergy Center AUH and pulmonary diseases. He has held and holds positions of trust in the Danish (DSA) and European (EAACI) Allergy Associations, as well as in the European Respiratory Society, and is on the board of the Stampe and the Frölich Foundations. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences.
Professor Hoffmann's research focuses on the consequences of IgE crosslinking on human mast cells and blood basophils as the origin of allergy, and on intralymphatic immunotherapy as innovative treatment of allergy. He has a model system with cultured human mast cells from known donors, and both plasma IgE and synthetic IgE clones. He chairs an EAACI task force on standardisation of the Basophil Activation Test (BAT) and combines basophil and mast cell activation to better understand the contribution of IgE to allergic disease. He has initiated three trials of Intralymphatic Immunotherapy and is working toward establishing the latter as at treatment alternative.
From 2020 – 2023, he leads a Grand Solutions programme (www.ILIT.NU) funded by the Innovation Fund of Denmark to bring intralymphatic Immunotherapy closer to the clinic. This programme engages pharmaceutical industry as well as the secondary medical sector in translational research.
Venerino Poletti, MD, PhD, Professor
E-mail: venerino.poletti@gmail.com
Venerino Poletti is Head of the Department of Diseases of the Thorax Forli´in Italy and Affiliate Professor at the Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy in Aarhus University Hospital.
Expertise in Interventional Pulmonology (rigid bronchoscopy, thoracoscopy, EBUS-EUS, transbronchial cryobiopsy, stent insertion) and diffuse parenchymal lung disease.
Researches on: pathogenesis, clinical profiles and diagnostic new approaches of diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, autoimmune lung disorders); pathology and pathophysiology of severe asthma, chronic bronchiolitis and COPD; pulmonary infections in immunocompromised host; lung cancer; lymphoproliferative lung disorders and rare lung tumors.
Officer of the European Respiratory Society (now Head of Assembly 12-diffuse parenchymal lung diseases), member of ERS Task force on IPF, member of the ATS guidelines on diagnosis of sarcoidosis and member of the ACCP committee on transbronchial cryobiopsy in diffuse parenchymal lung diseases, chair of ERS guidelines on cryobiopsy and surgical lung biopsy in diffuse lung diseases.
Speakers in international meetings on diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (IPF, sarcoidosis, etc.), transbronchial cryobiopsy and pathogenesis/treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, cystic lung disorders, lymphoproliferative lung disorders, etc.
President of the "Associazione Italiana Pneumologi Ospedialieri - AIPO".
Senior consultants
Johannes Schmid, PhD
E-mail: johaschm@rm.dk
Dr. Johannes Schmid works as a senior consultant at the Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy, specifically the Allergy Center, at Aarhus University Hospital
Main patient categories seen at the Allergy Center are patients suspected for food or drug allergy, patients with severe hayfever and severe reactions to insect venom, urticaria and patients with difficult to treat and/or severe asthma.
The Allergy Center has a broad range of cooperating departments, e.g. dermatology, occupational medicine, paediatrics, ENT.
Dr. Schmid is in charge of the laboratory performing tests of repiratory physiology.
Research: Main research interests are immunological changes during Allergen Immunotherapy, biomarkers of allergy and severe asthma.
Birgitte Holst Folkersen,
E-mail: birgfolk@rm.dk
Birgitte Holst Folkersen is a senior consultant in the Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy at Aarhus University Hospital. With collegues Dr. Nina Voldby and Dr. Torben Riis Rasmussen, she is in charge of the Clinic for Lung Cancer Investigations and has a special interest in Interventional Pulmonology.
Birgitte Holst Folkersen became a specialist in internal medicine in 2003 and in respiratory medicine in 2005.
Nina Voldby,
E-mail: ninavold@rm.dk
Nina Voldby is a senior consultant in the Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy at Aarhus University Hospital. With collegues Dr. Birgitte Folkersen and Dr. Torben Riis Rasmussen, she is in charge of the Clinic for Lung Cancer Investigations and has a special interest in Interventional Pulmonology.
Nina Voldby became a specialist in respiratory medicine in 2012.
Postdoc
Thomas Skovhus Prior, PhD
E-mail: thbjer@rm.dk
Thomas Skovhus Prior is becoming a pulmonologist at Aarhus University Hospital and Regional Hospital Central Jutland. At the moment, I am conducting my PhD at the Research Department of the Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy, Aarhus University Hospital.
Research: Health-related quality of life, comorbidities and biomarkers in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis will be investigated during my PhD study. The study aims to translate and validate two health-related quality of life questionnaires in Danish. Afterwards, quality of life of these patients will be assessed and the impact of a number of factors on their quality of life will be examined. Comorbidities of the patients will be prospectively registered, and the influence of the comorbidities on quality of life and disease progression will be evaluated. Also, a number of biomarkers will be assessed and correlated to disease progression in order to determine if the biomarkers can be used as prognostic factors for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Supervisors: Senior consultants Elisabeth Bendstrup, MD, PhD and Ole Hilberg, MD, DMSc.
PhD students
Janne Møller, senior consultant
E-mail: jannmoel@rm.dk
Dr. Møller is a senior consultant at Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy at Aarhun University Hospital. She works in the Center of Rare Lung Diseases, at third referral centre for interstitial lung diseases. She takes leading part in the Danish Center of Sarcoidosis. Besides interstitial lung diseases and sarcoidosis, the center also does lung transplantation evaluation and post transplant follow-up. Dr. Møller became a specialist in respiratory medicine in 2016.
Research: Her main research interest and PhD is sarcoidosis; Epidemiology, Health-related quality of life and fatigue in Danish patients with sarcoidosis.
Supervisors: Senior consultants Elisabeth Bendstrup, MD, Ph.d and associate professor, and Ole Hilberg, Med.Sc.D and professor.
Bjarke Hviid-Vyff
E-mail: bjahvi@rm.dk
Bjarke Hviid-Vyff is senior house officer in pulmonology currently conducting his PhD in the research unit of the Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy at Aarhus University Hospital and Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University.
Research: The ongoing project ILIT.NU, a large scale phase 2/3 field trial in intralymphatic immunotherapy in grass pollen allergy. Previously; mostly unpublished work relating to severe asthma and induced sputum.
Supervisors: Proffessor Hans Jürgen Hoffmann, B.Sc, PhD & senior consultant Johannes Schmid, MD, PhD, & consultant Søren Helbo Skaarup, MD, PhD.
Finished PhD
Birgit Refsgaard Iversen, PhD
E-mail: Birgit.Refsgaard@aarhus.rm.dk
Birgit Refsgaard Iversen is a clinical nurse specialist at the Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy at Aarhus University Hospital.
Research: A cross-sectorial lung team has been established. It consists of nurses and doctors from the Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy and nurses from the Acute Team in the Municipality of Aarhus. The outgoing lung team inteds to preserve, detect, diagnose and treat patients with an exacerbation of COPD. The work is performed in the patient's home.
The aim of the study is to examine the effects of the work of the outgoing lung team in the Municipality of Aarhus to patients with COPD at risk of exacerbation of COPD.
The study is a RCT where mixed-methods are applied. The levels of health literacy, self-efficacy, healt status, patient involvment, depression and anxiety, and admissions due to exacerbation in COPD will be investigated. Also the patients' experiences about being affiliated to the outgoing lung team will be assessed based on interviews.
Supervisors: Lotte Ørneborg Rodkjær, associate professor, PhD and Senior Researcher at Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Anders Løkke Ottesen, MD, consultant at Vejle Hospital and Vibeke Bregnballe, clinical specialist, post.doc., Aarhus University Hospital.
Søren Helbo Skaarup, PhD
E-mail: soerskaa@rm.dk
Søren Helbo Skaarup is a consultant in respiratory medicine and PhD fellow. Main fields of interest are allergen immunotherapy, clinical ultrasound and interventional pulmonology.
Research: The ongoing PhD is about intralymphathic immunotherapy and contains clinical research, search for immunological biomarkers and an educational study on ultrasound guided injection technique.
Other interests include research into use of ultrasound in respiratory medicine mainly with focus on evaluation of diaphragmatic function, pneumothorax, malignant and infectious pleural conditions, including use of medical thoracoscopy.
Supervisor: Professor Hans Jürgen Hoffmann, B.Sc (Hons), PhD.