New prorector Eva Hoffmann to lead the University of Copenhagen's research mission

A new prorector for research and innovation at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) has been appointed.

It will be Professor Eva Hoffmann, who as part of the rectorate will strengthen the university’s contribution to society and its position in the global research community.

This is according to a university release on KUnet.

»I look forward immensely to taking on the job as Prorector and to bringing my knowledge of Danish and international research and research politics into play,« says Eva Hoffmann in the KUnet announcement.

The new prorector has had a long research career in molecular genetics. For the past three years, she has served as acting head of department at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Copenhagen, which is home to approximately 300 staff and 45 research groups.

From lab to leadership

Rector David Dreyer Lassen welcomes the appointment of the new prorector and emphasises both her research credentials and her strategic skills:

»She is a top researcher with a passion for innovation, and throughout her career, she has demonstrated the ability to deliver excellent results by involving and engaging people,« the rector says in the release on KUnet.

»With Eva as Prorector, we will have even stronger capabilities championing the University’s necessary and strategic ambition to be solution-oriented, innovative and the best place for the best ideas.«

Eva Hoffmann herself highlights that she sees the role as an opportunity to create broad value — for UCPH and for society:

»As part of the University Leadership, I will make every effort to make research and innovation at UCPH ever more value-creating and internationally leading. At the same time, I will work to ensure it’s embedded in Danish research culture,« she says.

International outlook

Eva Hoffmann’s own research career reflects the international ambitions she will now help make real at the university.

She studied biology at the University of Oxford, earned a PhD in biochemistry from the same institution, and spent over ten years working in the UK, including as a fellow at the University of Sussex.

Her research focuses on how our genetic material changes as it is passed on to our children, and how these changes can affect fertility, cause miscarriage, and result in congenital diseases.

Today, Eva Hoffmann lives in Denmark with her family and has, alongside her academic career, co-founded the biotech company OvartiX.

She grew up on the island of Als, is a former junior national team swimmer, and a past president of the Oxford University Swimming Club.

Eva Hoffmann will take up the position on 1 July and is appointed for a five-year term until the end of 2030, with the possibility of a three-year extension.