Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics

Speaker​ Minghuan Hu (Centre for Quantum Mathematics)Abstract: ​Given a toric surface, we count rational nodal curves passing through fixed points on the toric boundary, which can be realized as a log Gromov-Witten invariant. Following the idea of Yau-Zaslow, this count coincides with the Euler number of the moduli space of a family of compactified Jacobians. Using homological mirror symmetry, we identify this space with the moduli space of constructible sheaves microsupported in a Legendrian link. We then show that this moduli space admits a stratification called ``ruling decomposition'', and thereby computes its Euler number using combinatorial data. We conjecture that the ruling decomposition also recovers higher-genus invariants. This is a joint work with Tom Graber and Eric Zaslow.

The Future of Health Depends on RehabilitationRehabilitation has long been under-prioritized in health systems, even as the global demand for these services rises sharply and far outpaces what is currently offered. Funding models often fail to support rehabilitation adequately, despite its essential role in universal health coverage, healthy aging, and equitable care. The WHO’s resolution on Strengthening Rehabilitation in Health Systems, the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative, and the World Rehabilitation Alliance (WRA) signal a global shift toward addressing this urgent gap. Dr. Côté will examine how health services and policy research can shape responsive policies, drawing on the work of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Rehabilitation and Musculoskeletal Health at the Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research. He will also highlight why generating robust data on the value of rehabilitation, its impact on population health, work productivity, and quality of life for aging adults is critical to support governments in making informed investments in integrated, sustainable rehabilitation services.About Pierre CôtéPierre Côté is a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ontario Tech University. Côté is an epidemiologist who holds the Hann-Kelly Family Chair in Disability and Rehabilitation Research. From 2013-2023, he held the prestigious Canada Research Chair in Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation. Côté is the founding Director of the Institute for Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (IDRR), a leading international research hub which aims to improve the functioning and quality of life of people with disability or in need of rehabilitation. He is the inaugural Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on Rehabilitation and Musculoskeletal Health. Professor Côté currently serves Lead of The Cochrane Rehabilitation Methodological Group. Dr. Côté holds appointments at international universities. He is a Professor of Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto; Adjunct Professor of Disability Prevention at Southern Denmark University; Honorary Professor of Physiotherapy at MGM Institute of Health Sciences, India, and Visiting Professor of Health Promotion Sciences at Sophiahemment University, Sweden.  Throughout his career, Côté has published more than 420 peer-reviewed papers. His current Scopus h-index is 71. Throughout his career, Professor Côté has supervised more than 50 master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral trainees.This event is hosted and organized by DIAS Chair Jan Hartvigsen

Speaker:​ Ludwig Zweng (Technische Universität München)Abstract: ​TBA

Climate Thursdays are a series of online lectures – free of charge.

Speaker: ​Anna-Laura Sattelberger (Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences)Abstract:​Holonomic functions are omnipresent in the sciences. These are functions that are solutions to sufficiently large systems of linear partial differential equations with polynomial coefficients. As such, they can be tackled by algebraic analysis: holonomic functions can be encoded by left ideals in the Weyl algebra, encoding annihilating differential operators. Examples include A-hypergeometric functions, Feynman integrals as well as some probability distributions, just to name a few. In this talk, I explain how to modify and read fundamental properties of holonomic functions in terms of algebro-geometric methods.​The second part of the talk is based on joint work with Carlos Rodriguez. Motivated from the theory of Hilbert schemes of points, we transfer the concept of border bases from zero-dimensional ideals in polynomial rings to the rational Weyl algebra in order to encode holonomic ideals. As an application, we visit differential equations behind a Feynman integral in dimensional regularization.​ ​​

Speaker: ​Sanjay Moudgalya (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research)Abstract: TBA

Speaker: ​Aleksandar Ivanov (University of Vienna)​Abstract: The orbifold construction is a procedure that constructs new QFTs from old ones given a particular algebraic input. I will review aspects of the construction in the most well-understood case of TQFTs, where we think of the construction as gauging discrete symmetries, and then I will present a framework that algorithmically generates the required algebraic data called bistellar data. The benefit of the framework is that it gives an immediate description of the algebraic data in any dimension, as well as a description of bistellar bimodules and all further higher cells, which should describe the symmetries of the new theory.

Experts worry that support and tolerance for political violence and violent extremist actors is on the rise in the United States.  Is this true?  If so, what might explain why more Americans view political violence to be acceptable? Finally, what can be done to stem the tide of support for political violence in the U.S. and perhaps elsewhere.  In this lecture I present some of my findings over several years of public opinion research on political violence in the United StatesJames A. Piazza is a Liberal Arts professor of Political Science whose research focuses on terrorism, political violence, and violent extremism in the United States. He holds a Ph.D. in Politics from New York University, an M.A. in Middle East Studies from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. in Political Science from Loyola University Chicago. Piazza’s work examines how democratic processes, demographic change, and extremist ideologies shape patterns of political violence. His research has been published in leading journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Security Studies, and Political Research Quarterly, and he is widely recognized for his comparative studies of left‑wing, right‑wing, and Islamist extremism.

Speaker: ​Guglielmo Lockhart (University of Bonn)​Abstract: TBA

Meet the critically acclaimed British author Zadie Smith at SDU on Monday, October 5, for a discussion about her writing and a reading from selected works.

The Wilder Garden has soon been part of SDU for a year, and we’d like to mark the occasion with you.

About the lectureThe role of predation in the microbial world is like that in the macroscopic world: it makes energy flow to form food webs, regulates prey population, and is a source of biodiversity. However, mechanistically, predation operates very differently since in the microbial world viscosity impedes predator-prey contact, there is no vision to facilitate prey (and predator) perception, and observed behaviours are often counterintuitive. I will demonstrate how planktonic predators, from few micron-sized nanoflagellates to mm-sized copepods, have overcome the impeding effect of viscosity by a fascinating diversity of adaptations, and how microbial predators have balanced the fundamental problem of eating without themselves being eaten. I will show how this trade-off has driven an evolutionary arms race between diatoms and copepods with important consequences for the biological carbon pump. Finally, I will describe how the functional diversity of foraging in flagellates provides a new lens through which to explore early eukaryotic evolution. The presentation will be light on physics and rich in videos and animations.About the speakerThomas Kiørboe is a professor of Biological Oceanography at DTU Aqua. He has been the founder and leader of VKR centre of excellence Centre for Ocean Life (2012-2024) (www.oceanlifecentre.dk) and leader of a Research network (Trait-based plankton ecology, 1993-2013) supported by the Danish Research Council, and head of section at DTU Aqua (2008-13). His research interests span plankton ecology and biogeography, small-scale biological-physical interactions, microbial ecology, trait-based ecology, marine snow, and early eukaryotic evolution. He has been a visiting professor at MIT, UC Berkeley, and CSIC in Spain, and an adjunct professor at SDU (2006-2010). He is an Elected Fellow of Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters and The Danish Academy for Technical Sciences, and the recipient of multiple national and international awards and accolades, including the AG Huntsman award and the Carlberg Foundation research prize.The event is organized by Donald Canfield

About the lecture:Humans have introduced a huge array of novel chemical and material pollutants into the Earth system, and continue to do so at an ever-increasing scale.  Humanity’s pollution disrupts Earth system processes, and the stream of novel pollutants flowing into Earth’s environment poses a constant threat of new planetary-scale impacts.  This lecture provides a summary of nearly 15 years of evolution of ideas about how to confront risks and threats from planetary-scale pollution on Earth, and about a new initiative to extend those principles to protection of the moon, Mars and other celestial bodies where humans explore, visit, and may eventually colonize.About Matthew MacLeodMatthew MacLeod is Professor of Environmental Science at Stockholm University, Sweden, and Deputy Dean of Earth and Environmental Science.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and is currently Sweden’s “Designated Expert” on Persistent Organic Pollutants for the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Victoria (Canada), and Master’s and PHD degrees from Trent University (Canada). Prior to moving to Sweden in 2010 he was a post-doctoral researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA) (2002-04) and a Research Group Leader at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland (2004-10). Professor MacLeod uses mathematical models and data analysis to study the factors that control human and environmental exposure to environmental contaminants, and the links between the three dimensions of the “triple planetary crisis” of pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss. The goal of his research is to build a quantitative understanding of humanity’s impacts on the Earth system, and to develop practical tools and guidance to support rational decision-making.The event is organized by DIAS Chair Zhanyun Wang

About the lecture:The concert and lecture will present 300 years of musical history through compositionsfrom the vast and rich piano repertoire. Masterpieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven,Franz Liszt, and Claude Debussy will be performed and analysed to deepen both ourunderstanding and emotional perception of the music. Birch’s Astronomic Piano Pieces willtake the audience on a journey into space, thereby demonstrating a highly interesting, innovative,and unorthodox approach to music-making.All aspects of this remarkable instrument and its many possibilities will be explored — notonly the music itself, but also the piano’s technical development in relation to broader politicaland cultural movements throughout history.About the speaker:SVEN BIRCH was born in Denmark and studied piano at the DJM in Aarhus, where he graduated with a soloist diploma. Thanks to numerous scholarships, he was able to continue his studies in Vienna with Prof. Alexander Jenner. In addition, he attended masterclasses with renowned pianists such as Tatiana Nikolayeva, Conrad Hansen, John Lill, and Peter Feuchtwanger.As a sought-after pianist, Birch possesses an extensive repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary music. He is active as a soloist, chamber musician, accompanist, and composer, and has performed throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Among his major projects is the performance of the complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas.Since 1992, Professor Sven Birch has been teaching at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz. From 1996 to 2004, he also taught at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.He is a member of the George Crumb Trio Linz and the Georgiadis-Birch flute and piano duo. He regularly conducts concerts and projects, and he serves as the conductor and artistic director of the ensemble Lézard aux Plumes in Linz.He is frequently invited to give masterclasses and workshops (Sibelius Academy Helsinki, Chopin Academy Warsaw, Royal Academy Manchester, as well as universities in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Riga, Tallinn, Aarhus, Rome, Milan, and Seville) and has produced numerous CD, television, and radio recordings.The event is organized by Anne-Marie Mai & Andreas Birch

About the lectureAging is often presented as one of the greatest scientific challenges of our time. Yet understanding why some individuals remain healthy well into old age while others develop disease requires insights from many disciplines, including genetics, epidemiology, medicine, statistics, demography, and the social sciences.In this lecture, Sara Hägg will explore how modern aging research has evolved from gerontology and geriatrics to understanding the biological processes that drive healthy aging. Drawing on examples from large population studies and molecular aging research, she will discuss how biological age can be measured, what these measures can and cannot tell us, and how they are shaping current efforts to improve healthspan.The lecture will also reflect on the opportunities and challenges of interdisciplinary research, highlighting how scientific breakthroughs often emerge at the intersection of fields and why collaboration is essential for addressing complex questions about aging, health, and longevity.About the speakerSara Hägg is Associate Professor of Molecular Epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet and an internationally recognized researcher in the biology of human aging. She leads a research group that investigates why people age differently and how genetic, molecular, environmental, and lifestyle factors shape trajectories of health and disease across the lifespan.Her research combines epidemiology, genetics, biostatistics, omics and bioinformatics to identify biomarkers of biological aging and to understand their relationship with age-related diseases, functional decline, and mortality. Using large population-based cohorts and advanced causal inference methods, she studies mechanisms of healthy aging and evaluates potential interventions aimed at extending healthspan rather than simply lifespan.Sara serves as Principal Investigator for several major national and international research projects funded by organizations including the Swedish Research Council and the U.S. National Institute on Aging. Her work has contributed to the development and evaluation of biological age measures that are increasingly used in research and precision medicine.Beyond academia, Sara is a highly sought-after science communicator and public speaker. She frequently appears in newspapers, television, radio, podcasts, and public debates, where she provides evidence-based perspectives on aging, longevity, and preventive health, helping bridge the gap between scientific discovery and public understanding.The event is organized by Moustapha Kassem

The impact of AI-powered clinical assistants on clinical practice and healthcare experiencesAbout the ConferenceArtificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbots, automation tools, and patient-facing robots, powered by large language models (LLMs), are rapidly becoming integral to modern healthcare, both in the Danish healthcare system and globally.Clinicians increasingly use these technologies for information-seeking, documentation through ambient voice systems and digital scribes, clinical decision support, communication, and patient interaction. Patient-facing robots are emerging in hospitals, clinics, and home-care settings to assist with, e.g., rehabilitation, medication adherence, and emotional support. As these assistants begin to complement or replace tasks traditionally performed by humans, they transform both the delivery of care and the experience of providing and receiving it.National and international research projects are emerging, exploring these transformations, and new interdisciplinary networks are forming.The purpose of this conference is to bring together researchers and clinicians for knowledge-exchange, constructive dialogue and networking.Date12th of November 2026 - 10:00 to 17:30 followed by a conference reception.VenueUniversity of Southern Denmark, Odense Campus, DIAS auditorium.The conference is hosted and co-funded by the Danish Institute of Advanced Studies (DIAS), University of Southern Denmark (Research Unit of General Practice and Department of Business and Management) and Odense University Hospital.The cross-disciplinary research network Caring for People and Technologies at the University of Southern Denmark organizes the conference (Associate Professor Elisabeth Assing Hvidt, Professor Dorthe Brogård Kristensen, Assistant Professor Line Maria Simonsen, Post Doc Kathrine Rayce, Associate Professor Elena Shulzhenko and special consultant Henriette List).

Professor Tore Rem, University of OsloAbout the eventTore Rem will present the work currently undertaken by the large interdisciplinary research initiative UiO:Democracy (University of Oslo), which has been in existence since 2023. He will talk about why and how UiO:Democracy came about, what the 12 research groups do, and how the initiative functions as a laboratory for interdisciplinarity. Rem will also share ways in which the initiative has led to new forms of engagement between research and society, and how it has created popular arenas for discussing the contemporary challenges of democracy.About the speakerTore Rem (b. 1967) is director of UiO:Democracy and Professor of literatures in English at the University of Oslo. He has published extensively on British and Scandinavian 19th- and 20th-century literature, book history, world literature, and life writing, and is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.  The event is hosted by Anne Marie Mai

The future of food may be buried in the past Climate change is reshaping the conditions under which our food is grown. But long before the present crisis, ecosystems and species were already adapting to environmental disruption. On 16 December, DIAS Chair and internationally renowned DNA researcher Professor Eske Willerslev takes us into AEGIS: the ambitious new research initiative using ancient environmental DNA to understand how past ecosystems responded to change - and how those insights may help build more resilient crops and food systems for the future. Drawing on the project’s first research questions and findings, Willerslev will explore what sediments, genomes and deep environmental history can teach us about climate resilience, biodiversity and global food security. He will also reflect on the challenge of building a major new research centre across disciplines, methods and institutions. The event will be followed by a panel conversation with DIAS Chairs and an open discussion with the audience. About Eske Willerslev Professor Eske Willerslev is a world renowned evolutionary geneticist and pioneer in ancient DNA research. He is Director of the Centre for Ancient Environmental Genomics (CAEG) and leads the international AEGIS programme at the University of Copenhagen, while also serving as Professor at the University of Cambridge. His groundbreaking work has reshaped our understanding of human origins, past ecosystems, and how lessons from ancient DNA can help address future challenges related to climate, biodiversity, and food security. This event is organised by Sten Rynning, DIAS Director & Eske Willerslev, DIAS Chair *Registration: Please register here by 14 December 2026*