The flagship is loaded with stem cells

Ditte Caroline Andersen’s entire academic career has been based in Odense, OUH and SDU. She was educated in Odense, completed her PhD dissertation here and now heads the stem cell centre under the Research Unit for Clinical Biochemistry. And in a few years, she could very well be one of the researchers you mention when talking about the people behind a definitive medical breakthrough.

- We focus on cell and gene therapy. We are developing regenerative medicines that use cell therapy to repair organs rather than treating symptoms, as has been done in the past. The DCA group’s basic research (https://www.sdu.dk/dca) investigates and develops, among other things, the treatment options for repairing the cardiac muscle after a blood clot in the heart’s own blood supply using stem cell therapy.

- At the same time, part of our team is more clinically orientated in relation to our clinical stem cell facility at OUH(http://www.sdu.dk/en/ouh-cell-bench), where we help internal and external partners develop regenerative cell therapies for many different diseases,’ she explains.

The competitive person who gave up careers in football and medicine

As a young girl, Ditte Caroline Andersen played football at a high level, but her knees were so damaged that she thought it was time to become a doctor.

- But when one day I suddenly found myself being a patient all the time with my bad knees, I realised that I wasn’t cut out to be a doctor. Fortunately, I realised that studying cell biology is incredibly exciting, and it's deeply fascinating to work with both zebra fish cells and human cells,’ she says, adding with a smile that stem cell treatment may even help repair knees.

It may be too late for a comeback to elite football, but Ditte Caroline Andersen is happy to compare her football days and current coaching career with leading a research group.

- To me, a research group is very much like a football team. There’s no point in having 10 people who are really good at scoring goals. You need to create a balanced group of people to achieve the best chance of success. And I think we’ve created that with the 15 people that make up our DCA Group team. Everyone needs each other. We are all different and have different skills, but it works well and everything we have achieved is the result of a great team effort. That’s important for me to emphasise.

The research flagship

At the end of October, she and the rest of the research centre ‘STEMBRACE: Patients, Public, and Practitioners’ received the academic seal of approval from OUH and SDU with the appointment as the new research flagship across the two institutions and a funding of DKK 14 million.

- I am incredibly happy and honoured by the recognition of our work, as well as the visibility of our work and expertise that the appointment has brought. If the institutions hadn’t had the courage to invest in our endeavours, we would never have made it this far. The amount now gives us a good basis for further accelerating our research, explains Ditte Caroline Andersen.

With the establishment of Stembrace, the research team is expanding to include other faculties. Anthropologists, economists, philosophers, geneticists and various medical doctors are all contributing to the project, which will ultimately lead to better treatments for heart disease, intestinal complications, osteoarthritis, etc.

- We welcome experts from almost all backgrounds, which will only make us stronger, and I look forward to bringing even more views, experiences and thoughts into our work,’ she says, emphasising that patients and relatives will also be invited to participate in the work.

- At Stembrace, we want to include the perspectives and input of society, patients and relatives. What does this treatment actually mean and what is important to them as we develop the treatment? We attach great importance to this, and I believe that we should care about ethics, otherwise you put the responsibility for ethical considerations on us. That's why I’m delighted that researchers with these areas of expertise are now joining our team.

The centre is the first of its kind and tangible proof of the strengthened collaboration between SDU and OUH, triggered by the upcoming merger of the new hospital building in Odense.

The culmination of years of hard work

The work involved in getting to the level the research team is at today has required many hours of effort and a lot of adjustments, as is often the case when testing new methods and treatments.

- I recall that from the outset, we constantly asked ourselves if it were even possible that the authorities would let us produce cells via a new technology in our own laboratories that could be used for pharmaceuticals, says Ditte Caroline Andersen.

But they can and have been doing so since early 2023, when the approval, funding and the expertise of the research team made it possible to take the research to the next level. According to Ditte Caroline Andersen, this is the day she remembers most vividly as the greatest experience of her academic life.

- It was a gruelling, but also incredibly exciting trip. We have had to build so many things from scratch, as stem cell development is not a tried and tested technology. And it's amazing to do something we didn’t think was possible – and to be part of something so big that has the potential to reform the treatment of a lot of diseases and conditions.

- We’ve had no shoulders to stand on when searching for a tablet that can handle high humidity or when figuring out what type of gas to have available in the lab. So we’ve always been a bit out of our depth, and I think several of my clinical colleagues have also been wondering why we haven’t finished yet – and what we’re actually doing. But it’s such a complex and new science that we need to be patient to get it right.

Research in a bit of a shambles

If you visit the office facilities at the Research Unit for Clinical Biochemistry on J.B. Winsløws Vej these days, the moving boxes take up a lot of space. Ditte Caroline Andersen and her colleagues will also soon be moving to NYT SUND, while some of the lab facilities will remain at the current OUH until the new hospital building is taken into use at NYT OUH.

In the office, there are papers and notes everywhere. Even on the window panes are full of calculations, notes and results that are important for stem cell research.

- I thrive on chaos in my office and I love to oversee many projects. And suddenly there was no more room on the boards, and there’s no room for more boards in here, so we had make use of the windows,’ she says.

That’s why she doesn’t see the move to NYT OUH as the biggest challenge.

- We’re facing a lot of complicated logistics in the next few years before moving to NYT OUH, but fortunately, we’ll be gaining a larger and more functional laboratory, so it will be fine.

When asked about the future, the high-profile professor says she plans to continue the research that has characterised her entire career.

- I don't know if I’m aiming to be in academia forever, but this is probably where I fit best. I’m comfortable doing things at my own pace, but there are a lot of exciting opportunities as our technology develops more and more and needs to be put into practice, so other opportunities may arise. But I also just really like cells, she says with a laugh and continues: 

- And as long as my work continues to be challenging, I’m not going anywhere.