My research can revolutionize the treatment of motion sickness

The research may contribute to …

… changing perceptions of the cause of dizziness and, consequently, treatment options. There are many jobs in our society where, even if you experience severe dizziness, you are not allowed to take motion sickness medication because the medication dulls your senses. This is not an option, for example, if you work as a pilot, police officer, or ambulance driver. So, if it turns out that you can significantly reduce your dizziness by activating your abdominal muscles, it will benefit many people.

I get new ideas for solutions when I …

… brainstorm with my colleagues. I always get the best ideas when I think out loud and bounce my ideas off others.

It’s been a good day at work when … 

… all my colleagues are at work at the same time as me. I thrive best in a working environment where there is room to think big and where you dare to throw almost anything up in the air, knowing it will land again. And you really can do that at TUH (Technical University Hospital – a partnership between the Capital Region and DTU, ed.).

I switch off from work when …

… I’m with my children. I have a two-and-a-half-year-old and a five-year-old, and when I’m with them, I’m 100 percent a dad. I also switch off from work when I play music, and I’m part of a revue called Neurorevyen, which I perform a couple of times a year. It’s super nerdy, and we only perform for other neurologists because they’re the only ones who laugh at all the inside jokes about, say, the brainstem.

I became a PhD student at TUH because …

… as I said, I’ve always known that I get my best ideas when I can share my thoughts with others, and when one of my academic role models, Måns Magnusson, joined TUH and told me about it, I realised that was where I wanted to do my research. And it was absolutely the right decision.

As a new student, I was surprised by …

… just how much you’re allowed to do if you dare to reach out to all the clever minds who know something about what you’re researching. I’ve written to pretty much every professor who researches the gut, and I’ve received good and useful replies in return, which is brilliant. But it takes time and a lot of inner drive to do something like that. My supervisor has sometimes compared me to a Labrador, because, as he says, “I point you in a direction, and off you run.” And that’s certainly also because I’m incredibly curious.

In the future, I’d like to work on…

…continuing to help people with vertigo, whether that’s by developing technology, medicine, or something else entirely that can make their lives easier. Right now, I’m working across disciplines – namely, ear, nose, and throat and neurology – and I really thrive in that, so I’d like to continue doing so. Something good happens when I meet people from other disciplines. They think differently, and it’s in the meeting of disciplines that the best ideas often arise.