Torben Sølbeck Rasmussen

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I work as an assistant professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen, where I specialize in developing bacteriophage-based therapies for treating gut-related diseases. With a recently awarded early-career grant (6 million DKK), I am currently working on starting my own research in this area.

Mulige interessekonflikter

- I have received travel grants from the following funder: Otto Mønsted Foundation (10,000 DKK), Oticon Foundation (9,500 DKK), Engineer Valdemar Selmer Trane and Mrs. Elisa Trane Foundation (5,000 DKK), DTU Travel Grant (3,000 DKK), Lundbeck Travel Stipends (12,000 DKK), Valdemar Selmer Trane and Mrs. Elisa Trane Foundation (6,000 DKK), Augustinus Fonden (14,000 DKK), Knud Højgaards Fond (13,000 DKK), Borgervennen (10,000 DKK)

Interesseområder

I'm especially interested to increase the understanding of how the complex interactions between the gut microbiota and the mammalian host influences physical parameters. It is generally accepted that imbalances in the gut microbiota are associated to various diseases.
So in my research I have had a special focus on how bacteriophages (phages, viruses that infect bacteria) harbor the potential as a therapeutic tool to reshape an unhealthy gut microbiota into a healthy gut microbiota that is beneficial for the host. In general, I believe that phages ability to infect and kill specific bacteria have an unused potential to solve several challenges within the medical as well as food sciences, of which is the area of research that I desire to explore even more. 

Aktuel forskning

Our gut microbiome consists primarily of bacteria and bacterial viruses (bacteriophages). An imbalance in the gut microbiome is linked to various diseases such as colorectal cancer, obesity, depression, and inflammatory bowel disease. Treating these conditions by restoring the balance in the gut microbiome, often through fecal transplantation (transfer of feces from a healthy donor to a patient), has been attempted, but widespread use is unlikely due to varying effectiveness and the risk of infections. However, recent studies indicate that bacteriophages play a crucial role in the success of fecal transplantation. PhageX is based on the bold hypothesis that treatment with bacteriophages can not only be more effective than fecal transplantation, but can also be transformed into a reproducible bacteriophage therapy, ensuring a low risk of infection from harmful microbes in the donor.

https://dff.dk/en/apply/supported-research/research-leaders/research-leader-2023/torben-solbeck-rasmussen