Honorary prize to Professor of Machine Learning for Life Sciences

The brain is a fascinatingly abstract and complex organ, and researchers are constantly finding new knowledge about networking in the human main computer. At DTU Compute, Professor Morten Mørup from the section Cognitive Systems researches how machine learning can extract as much knowledge as possible from life science data, especially data from brain scans. It is research that can provide a better understanding of the healthy brain and potentially also diseases of the brain and lead to improved quality of life.

His research is now recognized by the award of the Ingeborg og Leo Dannins Legat for Videnskabelig Forskning. The honorary prize is 350,000 kroner, and it will be awarded at an online event on March 26, 2021.

"It is a very great honour, and I am incredibly grateful to receive the honorary prize. The prize will be used to research machine learning methods that can integrate data from different measurement modalities in order to get a more complete picture and promote our understanding of how patterns are related across measurement modalities,” says Morten Mørup.

Last year, Morten Mørup was appointed professor of Machine Learning for the Life Sciences. He develops and applies advanced mathematical and statistical models that can effectively characterize the structure of complex networks and patterns in large amounts of data primarily from brain scans.

In addition to his own research, Morten Mørup is the study leader for the bachelor's program 'Artificial Intelligence and Data', and he teaches machine learning. It is precisely the combination of life science research and teaching activities that makes Morten an obvious recipient of this year's award, the foundation says.

“We want to support newly appointed professors who have made a particularly positive impression, and we have chosen Morten this year for his contribution to research into an important and relevant area; analysis of brain scan data. At the same time, it has been important that Morten is a skilled and active teacher.”

The honorary prize of DKK 350,000 contains both a personal honorary award and financial support for Morten Mørup's research.

The two winners from last year, Professor Marie Münster from DTU Management and Professor Nanna MacAulay from the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen, will also participate in the event Friday 26 March 2021. Their reception last year had to be cancelled due to Corona restrictions.

Click on the play icon below and hear Morten Mørup telling about his work.