What if the body could heal itself better? New DIAS Chair secures major Novo Nordisk Foundation grant
For Professor Holger Jahr, that question has shaped a career at the intersection of biology, engineering, and materials science. Now, as newly appointed DIAS Chair at the University of Southern Denmark, he begins this next chapter with significant backing: a DKK 9.15 million start package grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
The grant is designed to support the recruitment of leading researchers and to give them the freedom to build ambitious research environments from the ground up. For Jahr, it provides the foundation to advance work on next-generation implants - materials designed not just to replace damaged tissue, but to actively support the body's own regenerative processes. And in some cases, to disappear entirely once their job is done.
"We have long accepted that a metal implant is forever. But nature doesn't work that way - and neither should we.
I believe we are close to a point where an implant can guide the body through healing and then quietly step aside, leaving behind nothing but restored tissue. That, to me, is what medicine should aspire to."
- Holger Jahr, DIAS Chair of Health Sciences
Where disciplines meet
Jahr's research moves across boundaries. It combines computational modelling, advanced manufacturing, and regenerative biology to design implants that integrate with the body - and, in some cases, gradually dissolve as natural tissue takes over. The materials are engineered to degrade at a controlled rate, providing mechanical support precisely as long as needed before being safely absorbed.
This challenges a deep assumption in implant medicine: that permanence equals reliability. For many patients - particularly in orthopaedics and dentistry - a temporary implant that disappears on cue could mean fewer revision surgeries, fewer long-term complications, and a fundamentally better outcome.
It is precisely this kind of cross-disciplinary work the Novo Nordisk Foundation aims to support research that connects fields and carries the potential to reshape healthcare and sustainability.
At DIAS, that ambition finds a natural home.
”This grant reflects the strength of Holger Jahr’s research and the importance of patiently fostering groundbreaking ideas.
The DIAS spirit is very much to create a space where researchers can think and challenge established ideas across disciplines and, in so doing, make a difference for society.
Holger is an exemplary DIAS researcher and a wonderfully engaging colleague.”
- Sten Rynning, DIAS Director
Building something new
The grant - of up to DKK 10 million over four years - is awarded to the recruiting institution and strengthens the conditions for attracting and retaining top researchers in Denmark.
For DIAS, the award marks more than a successful grant. It signals the beginning of a new research environment, one built on curiosity, collaboration, and the willingness to cross boundaries in pursuit of better solutions.