Center for Healthy Aging

CEHA evolved into a leading interdisciplinary aging research initiative. What made CEHA unique was its exploration of the complex interplay between cellular, organismal, and societal factors that influence aging. This holistic perspective was essential for understanding the human aging process in all its facets. CEHA’s development rested on six strategic pillars: interdisciplinarity, scientific excellence, a holistic framework, outreach and stakeholder engagement, challenging stereotypes, and capacity building.

At its interdisciplinary inception in 2009, CEHA brought together scientific excellence in biology, health sciences, medical sciences, social sciences, and humanities from universities around the world. At the University of Copenhagen alone, researchers hailed from three disparate faculties that rarely interact: Health and Medical Sciences, Humanities, and Social Sciences. By bridging scientific, methodological, and cultural divides, CEHA crossed disciplinary boundaries and embraced an interdisciplinary research approach that has developed through the years. This approach allowed CEHA researchers to employ a common, holistic framework to understand the complex interplay of biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors that influence health and well-being at the individual and societal levels.

In parallel, CEHA expanded outreach and stakeholder engagement by increasing its range of partners to include healthcare providers, patient organizations, municipalities, organizations for the elderly, and other key societal stakeholders while building multi-faceted communications capabilities. Involving different societal actors shaped CEHA’s research and maximized its translation and impact and the generation of medical and societal interventions. A key factor in these efforts was challenging stereotypes related to ageism and offering strategies to mitigate these stereotypes.

Finally, through our capacity-building efforts and high-quality educational program(s), CEHA trained the next generation of aging researchers in our holistic research framework and techniques for engaging with the media, citizens, and stakeholders.

Research Focus Points for CEHA

CEHA evolved rapidly, increasingly crossing and merging disciplines from medical and health sciences, social sciences, and humanities and pursuing a holistic framework for aging research capturing complex interactions at and between the cellular, individual, and community levels.

Research Achievements

Molecular determinants of healthy lifespan. CEHA III significantly deepened our understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing the hallmarks of aging, that is, biological aging. Genes and biological pathways that contribute to health and lifespan were identified, and crucial biological elements essential for normal brain function were meticulously explored. In addition, advanced deep learning algorithms were successfully leveraged to predict various health outcomes in humans. These groundbreaking achievements not only paved the way for methods to measure biological age and identify biological clocks but also led to the discovery of novel drugs and interventions that enhance human health and extend lifespan. CEHA further catalyzed such research as a founding member of VitaDAO, a distinguished investment community valued at 170 million USD that actively funds aging research in the academic and industrial sectors.

Exercise is medicine. CEHA III’s research underscored the pivotal role of basic biological processes and interventions such as physical exercise in mitigating age-related deterioration. Our investigations provided compelling evidence for benefits of alternate-day fasting on glucose and lipid metabolism, especially among obese individuals and patients with type 2 diabetes. We determined how strength training counteracts aging-related declines of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function and found that inflammation diminishes the positive effects of strength training. Importantly, CEHA III’s research established that long-term resistance training can be seamlessly integrated into daily routines to improve muscle mass, strength, and mental well-being and reduce abdominal fat. Prolonged resistance training counteracts age-related loss in muscle function for years. Additionally, we innovated a simple yet effective method for enhancing muscle mass among the elderly population: walking down stairs. CEHA III’s work strengthened the potent concept of ‘exercise is medicine’ by demonstrating the transformative effects of physical activity on overall health.

Psychological and societal dimensions of healthy aging. To further unravel the complexities of aging, CEHA III probed its societal dimensions. We identified significant attitude shifts in retirement motivation and the perception of successful retirement in Europe, providing valuable input for policy debates. CEHA III’s international collaborations demonstrated that technological solutions are relevant for community interventions among older citizen groups, as long as the social context of technology use is considered. Psychologically, aging is a life transition that influences both mental and physical health. We found that a positive intergenerational workplace climate correlates with higher levels of self-perceived healthy aging across age groups, paving the way for future studies on intergenerational dynamics to combat ageism. Additionally, research exploring responses to critical events (such as the COVID-19 crisis) highlighted the importance of trust, effective health communication, and policy interventions in managing health-related transitions in later life.

Maximizing societal impact. To maximize the societal impact of CEHA III’s research, a structured partnership model fostering collaborations across sectors and perspectives was developed. This led to innovations such as play-based conversation games, which were developed with and implemented in community organizations, and tools enhancing person-centered care for use in clinical encounters, which were designed in collaboration with leading clinical scientists, e.g., Mayo Clinic (US). CEHA III also forged strategic partnerships in Danish life science to drive innovation and research in targeting chronic diseases and inequities associated with aging and instituted a joint strategic program with Edinburgh University on models of care for older adults. Collectively, these research initiatives not only deepened scientific understanding but also influenced policy, improved healthcare practices, and enhanced overall quality of life, marking significant strides toward a healthier, more active aging experience for individuals worldwide. The next section provides examples of such efforts.

See 'CEHA End Report 2019-2023' under Reports below for more information 

CEHA End Report 2019-2023

Appendices CEHA End Report 2019-2023

CEHA Self-Evaluation Report 2022

CEHA 10yr Report 2009-2018

CEHA Self-Evaluation Report 2016

CEHA Report 2009-2013

Bekker-Jensen Group

Cellular Stress Signaling
Led by Professor Somin Holst Bekker-Jensen

Our primary goal is to understand the contribution of cellular stress signaling pathways to a range of human diseases and aging processes. Our emphasis is on obtaining a deep mechanistic insight, while exploring opportunities for clinical translation of our findings.

Bergersen Group

Alzheimer’s Disease
Led by Professor Linda Hildegard Bergersen

Our main goal is to counteract Alzheimer’s disease through beneficial effects of physical exercise on the brain dependent on the lactate receptor, hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 (HCAR1), which is activated in the brain by lactate from hard working muscle. With our discovery that lactate, acting through its receptor HCAR1, can mimic high intensity exercise to increase capillary density and the combined neurotrophic-angiotrophic growth factor VEGF, as well as adult neurogenesis, in brain. We now target HCAR1 pharmacologically for potential treatment and prophylaxis of dementias.

Bohr Group

DNA Repair and Mitochondrial Homeostasis
Led by Affiliated Professor Vilhelm Bohr

The primary goals of the Bohr group include the characterization of the biochemical mechanisms that connect DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction to normal aging process and in age-related disorders. The group is also conducting intervention studies to increase healthy aging and to delay and reverse age-related diseases especially Alzheimer disease.

Clotworthy Group

Health Dialogues
Led by Assistant Professor Amy Clotworthy

To support older patients’ engagement in their healthcare trajectories, professionals have to “help people help themselves”. We are developing “Health Dialogues”, a new practice that recognizes the complexity of an individual’s life history as well as their specific everyday needs and priorities.

Conway Group

Psychological Work Environment
Led by Associate Professor Paul Maurice Conway

The primary goal of our project is to provide knowledge and recommendations on how to challenge stereotypes about senior workers in the workplace, ameliorate the relationships between people of different ages, improve senior worker’s work ability and well-being and influence their decisions about retirement, with the final goal of promoting and sustaining their contribution to society.

Flensborg-Madsen Group

Psychological Development
Led by Associate Professor Trine Flensborg-Madsen

The purpose of this group is to describe development and change in psychological characteristics over the life-course and to identify early- and later-life biological, psychological, and social determinants of development and change in psychological characteristics. Essentially, we believe that individual differences among older and elderly people can only be fully understood by including a life course perspective. Interventions to increase an active and healthy lifestyle in old people may be useful, but we have to remember that the most important factors influencing aging may have influenced the individual long before he or she enters old age.

Hickson Group

Chromosome Instability
Led by Professor Ian David Hickson

The main focus of the Hickson Group is to define how chromosomal instability over a human life-course influences the aging process and age-associated pathologies such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.

Hillersdal / Schwennesen Group

Assisted Living Technologies 
Led by Associate Professors Line Hillersdal and Nete Schwennesen

The primary aim of this group is to investigate the design and use of digital technologies for elderly citizens in need of care in the Danish welfare state. We are interested in the gap between the techno-scientific imaginaries that drive the current ‘push’ towards digitalization of elderly care, and the socio-material processes through which care is reconfigured and new ‘repertories’ of aging citizenship is produced.

Kjær Group

Skeletal Muscle Aging
Led by clinical professor Michael Kjær

The Institute of Sports Medicine has as a primary goal to understand the mechanisms behind the adaptation of aging skeletal muscle and connective tissue to physical activity, and we would like to covert these findings into guidelines regarding training of the aging human body in health and disease.

Kristiansen Group

Person-Centered Care
Led by Professor Maria Kristiansen

The goal of our interdisciplinary research is to enhance person-centered, diversity-sensitive and high-quality healthcare delivery for the increasing number of older adults. With aging as a key societal challenge, our work feeds into re-thinking healthcare policy and practice. We explore how to provide healthcare that reflects the preferences, needs and values of the individual person in his/her life context. In order to identify innovative approaches to ensuring healthcare services that are person-centered and of high quality for the increasing number of older adults, we work within an overall frame of interdisciplinary, multi-methods and co-created science.

Lauritzen Group

Indicators for Cognitive Function
Led by Clinical Professor Martin Lauritzen

The Lauritzen Group explores how the cumulative effect of adverse exposures influences brain function at different life stages in Danish men born in 1953 and in the context of animal model systems. The primary aim is to identify factors that influence changes in cognitive function, in middle or late life.

Loft Group

Family Demography 
Led by Assistant Professor Lisbeth Loft

The goal of our research is to examine the effects of family environments transitions and genetic predispositions in achieving healthy aging. We combine insights from a number of scientific disciplines such as demography, sociology, gerontology, public health, genetics, and statistics.

Lund Group

Social Inequality
Led by Professor Rikke Lund

Our purpose is to study social inequalities in health and aging in a life course perspective, and to explore the pathways through and interactions with psychosocial, psychological and biological factors. We want to inform policy makers on intervention possibilities aiming at reducing social inequality in health among middle-aged and older adults. 

Mackey Group

Skeletal Muscle Innervation and Regeneration
Led by Clinical Professor Abigail Mackey

Our main goal is to understand the nature of the interdependent relationship between skeletal muscle fibres and 1) nerves and 2) extracellular matrix, and how this relationship is altered by different types of exercise, throughout life, with the overall purpose of improving healthspan. Skeletal muscle produces the forces required for movement of the human body. To perform this function, each muscle fibre is dependent on neural input to initiate contraction and a strong attachment to the skeleton for force transmission. An overall aim of our group is to understand how these two components of physical function are affected during the ageing process, and how physical activity can help to slow some of the decline.

Mortensen Group

Psychological development and aging 
Led by Professor Erik Lykke Mortensen

The purpose of this group is to describe development and change in psychological characteristics over the life-course and to identify early- and later-life biological, psychological, and social determinants of development and change in psychological characteristic. Essentially, we believe that individual differences among older and elderly people can only be fully understood by including a life course perspective.

Møllegaard Group

Genetic and Social Influences on Life Quality in Healthy Aging 
Led by Assistant Professor Stine Møllegaard

The primary goal of our group is to examine the effects of family environments and genetic predispositions in healthy aging. Our research combines insights from a number of scientific disciplines such as demography, sociology, public health, genetics, and statistics. We wish to improve the scientific understanding of the relationship between social environments and genetic predispositions for health problems associated with, for example, smoking, alcohol, obesity, cognitive ability, and mental wellbeing.

Piovesan Group

Behavioural Insights
Led by Professor Marco Piovesan

The primary goal of our group is to study everyday decisions that influence long-term well-being. We design and test experimentally policies based on behavioral insights that help to promote healthy aging. We collaborate with governments, institutions and non-profits to study decision making in natural environments.

Rasmussen Group

Molecular Aging
Led by Professor Lene Juel Rasmussen

The Rasmussen Group explores the interaction between the hallmarks of aging: genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication. The Rasmussen Group seeks to understand the interconnectedness between the hallmarks of aging and their relative contributions to aging. Our goal is to identify pharmaceutical targets to improve human health during aging.

Scheibye-Knudsen Group

DNA-Repair
Led by Associate Professor Morten Scheibye-Knudsen

In the Scheibye-Knudsen lab we try to understand the cellular and organismal consequences of DNA damage with the aim of developing interventions. We have discovered that DNA damage leads to changes in certain metabolites and that replenishment of these molecules may alter the rate of aging in model organisms. These findings suggest that normal aging and age-associated diseases may be malleable to similar interventions. The hope is to develop interventions that will allow everyone to live healthier, happier and more productive lives.

Vrangbæk Group

Aging, Health Economy and Retirement Policies
Led by Professor Karsten Vrangbæk

The Vrangbæk group investigates policies to address these issues with a particular emphasis on retirement policies and the relationship between policies and actual retirement trends. We investigate patterns of retirement and we develop models to understand these patterns. We are particularly interested in the social and motivational factors for retirement transitions, and we utilize extensive registry data and cohort survey data to analyze the relationships between social and health related life situations and retirement. We collaborate with Nordic and international researchers to compare policies and retirement trends within the Nordic region and across Europe.

Xlab

Exercise and Metabolism in Xlab
Led by Professor Jørn Wulff Helge, Professor Flemming Dela, and Associate Professor Steen Larsen

Our research is based on Human Exercise Physiology & Metabolism - in Health and Disease. Our goal is to fully understand the mechanisms behind at all levels; from whole body to intracellular. Our group performs human studies to unravel the effects of exercise and physical training on metabolic health, and cardiovascular regulation in different populations. We design and run clinical and lifestyle interventions. 

To maximize impact, CEHA has always prioritized research communication, stakeholder relations, and public
engagement. Accordingly, CEHA liaised with the health and care sectors, municipalities, patient and interest
organizations, and policy makers through collaborations, public debates, research dissemination in the form of press
releases and events, networks, councils, think tanks, and strategic meetings. CEHA’s excellence in aging research
has been translated into social and clinical practice through intervention studies, outreach and
communication, training, and collaboration.

Through the years, CEHA build a framework for pathways to impact that captures the various ways we have worked to maximize our impact and outreach. 

In addition to contributing to various expert panels, academic conferences, and think tanks, we have also participated in non-academic activities, such as talks and presentations at public and private hospitals, societies, associations, organizations, as well as for the general public, such as participating at Copenhagen Culture Night, Folkeuniversitet, Bloom Festival, and Folkemødet at Bornholm. We also worked to be present in the media through interviews and appearances in radio, newspapers, TV, and magazines. 

Selected projects with significant outreach dimensions:

From Work Life to Retirement (FATS)

Every year, approximately 40,000 Danish citizens retire from the active workforce. While some enjoy the newfound freedom and quickly fill their days with various activities, many find the transition difficult. A weakened sense of identity and direction, often combined with a decreased physical and social activity, causes their health and well-being to suffer. To address this, CEHA researchers within the fields of the humanities and health sciences, together with Aarhus, Vejle, and Vordingborg municipalities, were engaged in a comprehensive outreach and intervention project to develop scalable formats that support seniors in preparing for and maintaining a healthy, meaningful pensioner life. The outcome was a series of evidence-based recommendations and concepts, which, it is hoped, can be replicated in other Danish municipalities and impact the national retirement agenda.

The target group was seniors with little or no education. In the project’s lifespan, approximately 4000 citizens were enrolled (e.g., as senior ambassadors, test persons, volunteers, or participants in activities). Through co-creation and involvement, the project defined and tested formats for peer mentoring and local activities involving exercise, social events, volunteer work, and activities at the seniors’ (former) workplaces. 

This project was a collaboration with Aarhus, Vejle, and Vordingborg municipalities plus trade unions and companies with many employees in the target group.

Keep the Brain Healthy (Hold Hjernen Frisk)

The purpose was to give more seniors a longer, more active and healthier life. The project inspired seniors on their way to retirement - physically, mentally, and socially.

Keep Your Brain Healthy was an activity and dissemination project. Keep Your Brain Healthy translated research-based knowledge of healthy aging into concrete activities. Seniors on their way to retirement are in transition, changing their habits and living conditions, and research shows that physical activity, mental stimulation and social interaction keep the brain healthy.

Keep Your Brain Healthy was headed by DGI and was supported by the Nordea-fonden. Center for Healthy Aging participated in the project as knowledge and communication partner from 2017-2018. 

Webpage: Hold Hjernen Frisk - Projekter med DGI

Health, Wellbeing, and Social Relations at Taastrupgaard (STRIT)

Taastrupgaard is one of Denmark’s most ethnically diverse and deprived social housing areas, and it has a large share of senior residents—some dealing with cultural differences, low trust in authorities, and language barriers, on top of physical aging. The area also has designated senior housing. STRIT was an observational and interventional study that sought to improve health, well-being, and social relations among the middle-aged and older residents while the area’s built environment was undergoing structural changes. Interventions designed for and by residents at Taastrupgaard could eventually benefit similar housing areas and seniors from ethnic backgrounds other than Danish.

The project began in 2018 with financial support from Nordea-fonden, Ensomme Gamles Værn, Helsefonden and Velliv.

LifeStat

The LIFESTAT project was completed in 2017. LIFESTAT was an interdisciplinary project that used methods and knowledge from the health sciences, humanities and social sciences to analyse the impact of statin use on health, lifestyle and well-being in a large cohort of Danish citizens.

The starting point for the study was that 600,000 Danes take statins to maintain good health and prevent cardiovascular disease by counteracting high blood cholesterol. Almost 40% of these people are in "primary prevention" and are treated pharmacologically for this risk factor alone. They rarely feel the risk of disease or the effect of the medication. On the other hand, some people notice the side effects - especially muscle pain, which limits physical activity, which would otherwise counteract the risk of disease.

LIFESTAT brought together scientists from Department of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Department of Public Health from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Anthropology from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Department of Media, Cognition and Communication from the Faculty of Humanities.

Webpage: LifeStat

CopenAge

Many elderly patients are chronically ill, have several competing disorders and often complex clinical issues and courses of treatment. It is therefore crucial to ensure the best possible treatment before, during and after hospitalisation and to increase coherence across sectors. At the same time, it is important to ensure that treatment is evidence-based and rooted in clinical research. With CopenAge, we consolidated and strengthened clinical aging research on Zealand in a collaboration between the geriatric departments in the Capital Region of Denmark and Region Zealand and our other partners.

Webpage: CopenAge

SynsExpo

What happens to your vision as you get older? And what can you do to still be able to do the things you want if you get poor vision? The Velux Foundation's Vision Experimentarium, SynsExpo and online platform www.raadomsyn.dk, which researchers from CEHA have helped develop, provide answers to this. In spring and summer 2022, SynsExpo was on a national tour with an experience space: a kitchen focused on color contrasts, a living room focused on magnification, and a reading area focused on lighting. In each room there was information and the opportunity to try vision compensating aids. Vision consultants were also available with guidance. The purpose of the project has been to give especially seniors and their relatives inspiration for a good life, even though eyesight is challenged. Behind SynsExpo and Råd om Syn stood a partnership that represents a broad knowledge of the vision and elderly area, including Syncentralen in Vordingborg, CSU-Slagelse, IBOS, Øjenforeningen, Faglige Seniorer, Optikerforeningen, VIVE and Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen. The project was financed by the Velux Foundation and was run by the Danish Committee for Health Education.

EIT Health

EIT Health is a private-public collaboration with the goal to promote entrepreneurship and develop innovations in healthy living and active aging, providing the EU with new opportunities and resources. This will be achieved by delivering products, services and concepts designed to improve quality of life and contribute to the sustainability of healthcare across the EU. 

IARU

The International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), is a prestigious alliance that includes the University of Copenhagen. IARU was a valuable networking opportunity for Center for Healthy Aging, who arranged meetings and workshops and utilized IARU as a mechanism for enhancing collaboration and future research activities, mainly through the IARU Aging, Longevity and Health initiative. The close association between Center for Healthy Aging and IARU was a cornerstone in the efforts to internationalize the center.

CEREHA

CEREHA is the most important aging research initiative in the Galilee region of Northern Israel. The main objective of CEREHA is to become internationally known research institute, which is capable of initiating and performing excellent interrelated studies in environment, health and aging. CEHA became a member in 2013.

MARRIAGE

The Initial Training Network (ITN) MARRIAGE is a EU funded network of eight European Aging Research Institutes including Center for Healthy Aging (since 2014) and four companies, coordinated by the European Research Institute for the Biology on Ageing in Groningen (ERIBA). The Training Network will create a pan-European Network focused on aging research. The overall objective is to provide state-of-the-art training in study of the biology of aging. 

Alliance for Healthy Aging

The Alliance for Healthy Aging (AHA) works to foster research collaborations, act as a springboard for new research grants and directions, and accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries to clinical practice. AHA was co-founded in 2009 by the Mayo Clinic Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging (USA) and several research institutions from the Netherlands. CEHA joined in 2019.

Tohoku University

Center for Healthy Aging collaborated with the Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer IDAC, Tohoku University, Japan. The objective is to promote and improve academic exchange between the two institutions.

MouseAge

Center of Healthy Aging was part of a European network, MouseAge, which is being developed for preclinical testing of interventions in mouse models of age and age-related diseases.

Aging research continues at University of Copenhagen's Collaborative Aging Research Initiative (UCPH-CARI)