Internationally recognised researchers

The University of Copenhagen has a number of internationally recognised researchers that cover a wide range of topics related to developing countries. A few examples of these researchers are listed hereunder.

Anette Reenberg

Professor at the Department of Geoscience and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science

Anette Reenberg is a specialist in human-environmental interactions in the West African part of Sahel, especially Burkina Faso. A main research area is land use systems in the semi-arid and arid tropics and their triple exposure to climate change, globalization and demographic pressure, with special reference to environmental degradation and adaptation to climate change.

The research is described in e.g. “Embedded flexibility in coupled human-environmental systems in the Sahel: Talking about resilience”, in “The Question of Resilience: Social implications of environmental changes”, Hastrup, K, ed., Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, 2009.

Ib Chr. Bygbjerg

Professor of International Health at the Department of International Health, Immunology & Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Professor Bygbjerg’s key research areas include global and international health, healthsystems and transition in health, the double burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases, malaria, TB, HIV, diabetes and their interactions and impact. This includes the long-term impact on mother and child health in particular.

Professor Bygbjerg is a specialist in tropical medicine and infectious diseases and is the founder of Masters in International Health. Professor Bygbjerg has been involved in capacity building and research collaboration with Tanzania and India for several years.

Finn Tarp

Professor of Development Economics at the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences. Director of the United Nations University – World Institute of Development Economics Research (UNUWIDER).

Professor Tarp is a leading international expert on issues of development strategy and foreign aid, with an interest in poverty reduction, income distribution and growth, micro- and macroeconomic policy and modelling, agricultural sector policy and planning, household and enterprise development, and economic adjustment and reform.

Professor Tarp’s field experience covers numerous countries across Africa and the developing world in general, including longer-term assignments in Swaziland, Mozambique and Vietnam.

Professor Tarp has held senior posts and advisory positions within governments and with donor organizations, and is also a member of a large number of international committees and advisory bodies, including the European Union Development Network and the African Economic Research Consortium.

Lene Jespersen

Professor in Global Food Microbiology at the Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science

Professor Jespersen is a specialist in microbial physiology, genotyping, biotechnology and the application of foodborne microorganisms, as well as dealing with health promoting microorganisms and strategies for the prevention of food-borne pathogens. One of her main research areas is in food security and the safety of African fermented foods and beverages.

Many projects are conducted in collaboration with the private sector. Professor Jespersen has 20 years of experience with capacity building and has headed several research projects, mainly in West Africa, including Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin and Mali.

Susan Reynolds Whyte

Professor at the Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences

Professor Whyte carries out anthropological research in East Africa on social efforts to secure well-being in the face of poverty, disease, disability and conflict. She has published books on the understanding and use of pharmaceuticals, including “Social Lives of Medicines”, Cambridge University Press, 2002. Susan Whyte’s most recent manuscript on this topic is “Second Chances: Living with Antiretroviral Therapy in Uganda.” For two decades she has worked with African colleagues on Enhancement of Research Capacity projects.

To find other researchers, make a search on http://research.ku.dk.