Bio- and Genome
Bank Denmark

25-09-2025 kl. 09:05

We are pleased to announce the new chairmanship of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Danish RheumaBiobank.

The Secretariat extends its sincere thanks and warmest congratulations to the outgoing Chair, Claus Henrik Nielsen, for his dedicated efforts and commitment to the Advisory Board over the years.

RBGB received several highly qualified applications for the position of Chair.
We are pleased to welcome Salome Kristensen, who has been appointed as the new Chair of the Advisory Board, and Henrik Christian Bidstrup Leffers, who has been appointed to the newly established position of Vice-Chair.

The Secretariat warmly congratulates Salome and Henrik and looks forward to a productive collaboration. Below is further information about the new chairmanship:

Salome Kristensen is a Consultant in Rheumatology, PhD, and Associate Professor at Aalborg University Hospital. She has many years of experience in clinical research within inflammatory rheumatic diseases and is particularly engaged in patient-centered research projects. Her work focuses on the development and implementation of personalized medicine in rheumatology, including the use of biobank data to identify biomarkers and target treatment. Salome has recently assumed the role of Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Danish RheumaBiobank and looks forward to strengthening the biobank’s role in future precision medicine for patients with rheumatic diseases.

Henrik Christian Bidstrup Leffers er speciallæge i reumatologi og ph.d. ved Afdeling for Rygkirurgi, Led- og Bindevævssygdomme, Rigshospitalet. Han har mange års erfaring med kliniske studier, biobankbaseret forskning og registeranalyser, særligt inden for biomarkører og sygdomsmekanismer ved inflammatoriske led- og bindevævssygdomme.
Henrik Christian Bidstrup Leffers is a Consultant in Rheumatology and PhD at the Department of Spine Surgery and Joint and Connective Tissue Disorders, Rigshospitalet. He has many years of experience with clinical studies, biobank-based research, and registry analyses, particularly within biomarkers and disease mechanisms in inflammatory joint and connective tissue diseases. Henrik’s research focuses, among other areas, on systemic autoimmune diseases, especially systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with a particular interest in disease classification, immunogenetics, and the interaction between genetic and environmental risk factors.
He is an active member of the DANBIO Steering Committee and has participated in several national research projects, including SLEGEIST and the Danish Blood Donor Study. In addition, he contributes to international research initiatives.