PIG-PARADIGM professor awarded for transforming animal health standards

By Shaila Sigsgaard

Professor Henrik Elvang Jensen, a leading Danish veterinarian and professor of veterinary pathology at the University of Copenhagen, has been awarded the inaugural Award for Outstanding Research in Veterinary Medicine. The prestigious honor, established by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in partnership with Agria, recognizes Jensen’s decades-long contributions to animal health and welfare. His pioneering work spans veterinary forensic science—strengthening animal protection in judicial systems—to developing internationally applied diagnostic methods for fungal infections, a growing threat to both animals and humans. He has also shaped practical guidelines that have reduced painful conditions in farm animals, such as shoulder ulcers in sows. With a prize sum of one million SEK, the award is among the largest in its field and will be presented in Uppsala on November 26.

This recognition highlights the expertise Elvang Jensen brings to PIG-PARADIGM, where he serves as main supervisor for Ph.D. candidate Cecilie Brandt Becker. Her research dives into pathological changes in pigs’ intestines—work that is central to understanding post-weaning diarrhea and reducing antibiotic use. Under Elvang Jensen’s guidance, Becker is helping uncover the complexity behind clinical symptoms and how factors like microbiota and genetics influence pig robustness.

“Pathology is central to understanding the complexity behind clinical manifestations,” Elvang Jensen explains. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that what we often label simply as diarrhea may be far more nuanced. We need to integrate pathology with insights from microbiota, genetics, and nutrition to truly grasp what’s happening in these animals.”

For Elvang Jensen, PIG-PARADIGM represents an exciting opportunity to tackle one of the most challenging issues in modern pig production: identifying robust versus non-robust pigs. “This is a huge, multidisciplinary project,” he says. “There’s groundbreaking work happening in microbiome research, nutrition, and data integration. It’s both challenging and inspiring to collaborate across so many fields to address such a complex problem”.

With strong engagement from young researchers and dynamic knowledge-sharing through numerous meetings and presentations, Elvang Jensen sees PIG-PARADIGM as a model for future research collaborations. “The scale and diversity of expertise in this project are exactly what’s needed to make progress,” he concludes.