Meteoric young medics with both feet on the ground In November 2010 Leo Pharma awarded honorary prizes to promising young researchers, with the DKK one million Gold Award going to the Dane Jacob Pontoppidan Thyssen. He has several awards under his belt, and he is a rising star within his field, but this success was not handed to him on a plate.
By Mikkel Ais Andersen Jacob Pontoppidan Thyssen is a gung-ho sort of chap. Since completing his medical studies, he has been researching into dermatology at Gentofte Hospital, where he also completed his PhD at the Allergy Research Centre in 2009. He has published 75 scientific articles and has just been awarded Leo Pharma’s honorary award worth DKK one million, which is awarded to promising young researchers with innovative results in their research. You have to be an early bird to follow the young researcher around, and today it has only been possible to catch him on the train between Copenhagen and Jutland. The time is 6.40, and he got up an hour ago to attend a three-day course in Jutland, but that does not bother him. “I love what I do, so hard work and long hours don’t faze me. That’s certainly one of the secrets to success – working hard at something you really find fun isn’t particularly hard at all in reality,” he laughs. And Jacob Pontoppidan Thyssen can only be said to have been successful.
Results with a global reach The chairman of the LEO Pharma Research Foundation
Tore Duvold justified the choice of Jacob Pontoppidan Thyssen as winner of their DKK one million gold award thus: “The prize goes to Jacob Pontoppidan Thyssen on account of his talent and dedication and in recognition of his exceptional contribution to medical science.” His research in dermatology has created international awareness around nickel allergy, for instance – particularly in connection with jewellery and mobile phones. And his research results have shown that Denmark’s controls on nickel in consumer products have resulted in a considerable fall in the number of nickel allergy cases among younger women. In addition, he has brought to bear important key data, which are used in political discussions about ways of tightening up the EU legislation on nickel.
Like winning the lottery On a daily basis the 35-year-old doctor works at the Department of Dermato-Allergology at Gentofte Hospital, where he works full-time with patients, and he was just in Outpatients when he received a call telling him he had been awarded the prize. “I knew I’d been nominated together with ten other young researchers, but I hadn’t really dared hope I might
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