Martin R Jakobsen received his master’s degree in Chemistry and Molecular Biology from Aarhus University in 2004, followed by a PhD in Medicine at Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University in 2008. His PhD work centered on exploring drug resistance in HIV patients that underwent antiretroviral therapy. Following this, Martin conducted his postdoctoral studies at MacFarlane Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia addressing mechanisms for HIV infection of T-cells and Macrophages. In 2011, he returned to Aarhus University working together with internationally renowned Professor Søren R Paludan to uncover how HIV was sensed by the innate immune system in macrophages. This work formed the basis for becoming an independent group leader, establishing his own laboratory in 2013.  

Martin Jakobsen’s has over the years established a research program that centers on understanding how the immune system contributes to host defense and disease development ranging from viral infections, to inflammatory conditions and cancer.  

Martin has received several awards for his work and has obtained funding from competitive national funding sources. In 2018 he received the Anders Jahre Award for young researchers (University of Oslo) as well as becoming a Lundbeck Foundation fellow. In 2020, he was appointed as one of the first Distinguished Innovator’s by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.  

Today, Martin is currently professor in Infection and Immunology at Aarhus University and affiliated to Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital. He co-chair Aarhus University Translational Cancer Network and plays an active role in various innovation and entrepreneurship activities in Denmark. Finally, he holds two positions as Scientific Founder and Board member in the Biotech companies STipe Therapeutics (from 2018) and UNIKUM Therapeutics (from 2020).