Jens Nielsen

Jens Nielsen obtained his high school degree from Horsens Statsskole in 1981, and his MSc in chemical engineering (1986) and PhD in biochemical engineering (1989) from the Danish Technical University (DTU).{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} Following his studies, he established an independent research group at DTU and was appointed full professor there in 1998.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} He was Fulbright visiting professor at MIT in 1995–1996.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} At DTU, he founded and directed the Center for Microbial Biotechnology.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In 2008, he was recruited as professor and director at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, where he built a research group of more than sixty people.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} At Chalmers, he established the Area of Advance Life Science Engineering,[http://www.chalmers.se/en/areas-of-advance/lifescience Area of Advance Life Science Engineering] a cross-departmental strategic research initiative, and was founding head of the Department of Biology and Biological Engineering,[http://www.chalmers.se/en/departments/bio Department of Biology and Biological Engineering] which now both encompass about 200 people.

Nielsen has published over 850 research papers,{{cite web |url=https://scholar.google.se/citations?user=1Wvwvv0AAAAJ&hl=sv |title=Jens Nielsen – Google Scholar Citations }} co-authored more than forty books, and is the holder of more than fifty patents.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} He was identified by Thomson Reuters/Clarivate as a highly cited researcher in 2015–2023,{{Cite web |url=http://hcr.stateofinnovation.com/ |title=Highly Cited Researchers list |access-date=2 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115092422/http://hcr.stateofinnovation.com/ |archive-date=15 November 2017 |url-status=dead }} and according to Google Scholar, he is the most cited researcher in metabolic engineering, industrial biotechnology, and among the top five in synthetic biology.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} He is co-author of several textbooks, and his textbook on bioreaction engineering principles{{cite book | url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-1-4419-9688-6 | doi=10.1007/978-1-4419-9688-6 | title=Bioreaction Engineering Principles | date=2011 | last1=Villadsen | first1=John | last2=Nielsen | first2=Jens | last3=Lidén | first3=Gunnar | isbn=978-1-4419-9687-9 }} has been published in three editions. His textbook on metabolic engineering{{cite book|author1=George Stephanopoulos|author2=Aristos A. Aristidou|author3=Jens Nielsen|title=Metabolic Engineering: Principles and Methodologies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mGzkso4NVQC|date=17 October 1998|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-08-053628-6}} has been translated into Chinese and Japanese.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In 2019, Nielsen was recruited as CEO of BioInnovation Institute (BII), an initiative by the Novo Nordisk Foundation to support innovation and translation of science for use in society.{{cite web | title=Jens Nielsen becomes Director of the BioInnovation Institute | website=Novo Nordisk Fonden | date=3 August 2022 | url=https://novonordiskfonden.dk/en/news/professor-jens-nielsen-bliver-direktoer-for-bioinnovation-institute/ | access-date=18 July 2024}}

Nielsen has been studying and engineering metabolism for close to thirty years. His work has produced natural rare molecules, antibiotics, and biofuels. He also studies metabolism in humans, with specific interest in metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and various cancers.

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Nielsen has worked on studying and improving various industrial biotechnological processes. Initially, he worked on physiological characterization of the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum that is used for penicillin production. This resulted in continued work, together with the Dutch company DSM, on development of a novel process for production of adipoyl-7-ADCA, a precursor for cephalexin. He also worked on characterization of other fermentation processes used for antibiotics production, and through the use of his experimental and modelling techniques, he assisted several companies with improving their production processes. Nielsen has also worked on improving fermentation processes used for production of industrial enzymes, both using fungi and bacteria.

In connection with his work on improving classical and new fermentation processes, Nielsen developed a number of experimental and computational tools that today are the foundation for metabolic engineering—the directed genetic modification of cells with the objective of improving the phenotype.{{cite journal |vauthors=Nielsen J, Keasling JD |title=Engineering Cellular Metabolism |journal=Cell |volume=164 |issue=6 |pages=1185–97 |year=2016 |pmid=26967285 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2016.02.004 |s2cid=17253851 |url=https://orbit.dtu.dk/files/123537793/Engineering_Cellular_Metabolism.pdf|doi-access=free }} He was the first to use gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) as an experimental tool for measurement of C13-labelled metabolites, with the objective to perform flux analysis.{{cite journal |vauthors=Christensen B, Nielsen J |title=Isotopomer analysis using GC-MS |journal=Metab. Eng. |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=282–90 |year=1999 |pmid=10937821 |doi=10.1006/mben.1999.0117 }} Through metabolic engineering, Nielsen has developed and improved a number of biotechnological processes, such as improving ethanol production by yeast and reducing glycerol formation as a by-product;{{cite journal |vauthors=Nissen TL, Kielland-Brandt MC, Nielsen J, Villadsen J |title=Optimization of ethanol production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by metabolic engineering of the ammonium assimilation |journal=Metab. Eng. |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=69–77 |year=2000 |pmid=10935936 |doi=10.1006/mben.1999.0140 }} improving the temperature tolerance of yeast, which has enabled ethanol production at elevated temperatures and thereby reduced costs;{{cite journal |vauthors=Caspeta L, Chen Y, Ghiaci P, Feizi A, Buskov S, Hallström BM, Petranovic D, Nielsen J |title=Biofuels. Altered sterol composition renders yeast thermotolerant |journal=Science |volume=346 |issue=6205 |pages=75–8 |year=2014 |pmid=25278608 |doi=10.1126/science.1258137 |s2cid=206560414 }} production of a range of different chemicals using engineered yeast, such as resveratrol,{{cite journal |vauthors=Li M, Kildegaard KR, Chen Y, Rodriguez A, Borodina I, Nielsen J |title=De novo production of resveratrol from glucose or ethanol by engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae |journal=Metab. Eng. |volume=32 |pages=1–11 |year=2015 |pmid=26344106 |doi=10.1016/j.ymben.2015.08.007 |doi-access=free }} 3-hydroxypropionic acid,{{cite journal|last1=Chen|first1=Yun|last2=Bao|first2=Jichen|last3=Kim|first3=Il-Kwon|last4=Siewers|first4=Verena|last5=Nielsen|first5=Jens|title=Coupled incremental precursor and co-factor supply improves 3-hydroxypropionic acid production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae|journal=Metabolic Engineering|volume=22|year=2014|pages=104–109|issn=1096-7176|doi=10.1016/j.ymben.2014.01.005|pmid=24502850}} human haemoglobin,{{cite journal|last1=Liu|first1=Lifang|last2=Martínez|first2=José L.|last3=Liu|first3=Zihe|last4=Petranovic|first4=Dina|last5=Nielsen|first5=Jens|title=Balanced globin protein expression and heme biosynthesis improve production of human hemoglobin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae|journal=Metabolic Engineering|volume=21|year=2014|pages=9–16|issn=1096-7176|doi=10.1016/j.ymben.2013.10.010|pmid=24188961|url=https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/193303}} fatty acid ethyl esters,{{cite journal |vauthors=Shi S, Valle-Rodríguez JO, Khoomrung S, Siewers V, Nielsen J |title=Functional expression and characterization of five wax ester synthases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and their utility for biodiesel production |journal=Biotechnol Biofuels |volume=5 |pages=7 |year=2012 |issue=1 |pmid=22364438 |pmc=3309958 |doi=10.1186/1754-6834-5-7 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2012BB......5....7S }} short-chain fatty acids, alkanes,{{cite journal|last1=Zhou|first1=Yongjin J.|last2=Buijs|first2=Nicolaas A.|last3=Zhu|first3=Zhiwei|last4=Gómez|first4=Diego Orol|last5=Boonsombuti|first5=Akarin|last6=Siewers|first6=Verena|last7=Nielsen|first7=Jens|title=Harnessing Yeast Peroxisomes for Biosynthesis of Fatty-Acid-Derived Biofuels and Chemicals with Relieved Side-Pathway Competition|journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|volume=138|issue=47|year=2016|pages=15368–15377|issn=0002-7863|doi=10.1021/jacs.6b07394|pmid=27753483|s2cid=10248013}} fatty alcohols,{{cite journal|last1=Zhou|first1=Yongjin J.|last2=Buijs|first2=Nicolaas A.|last3=Zhu|first3=Zhiwei|last4=Qin|first4=Jiufu|last5=Siewers|first5=Verena|last6=Nielsen|first6=Jens|title=Production of fatty acid-derived oleochemicals and biofuels by synthetic yeast cell factories|journal=Nature Communications|volume=7|year=2016|pages=11709|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/ncomms11709|pmid=27222209|pmc=4894961|bibcode=2016NatCo...711709Z}} santalene,{{cite journal |vauthors=Scalcinati G, Partow S, Siewers V, Schalk M, Daviet L, Nielsen J |title=Combined metabolic engineering of precursor and co-factor supply to increase α-santalene production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae |journal=Microb. Cell Fact. |volume=11 |pages=117 |year=2012 |pmid=22938570 |pmc=3527295 |doi=10.1186/1475-2859-11-117 |doi-access=free }} farnesene,{{cite journal |vauthors=Tippmann S, Scalcinati G, Siewers V, Nielsen J |title=Production of farnesene and santalene by Saccharomyces cerevisiae using fed-batch cultivations with RQ-controlled feed |journal=Biotechnol. Bioeng. |volume=113 |issue=1 |pages=72–81 |year=2016 |pmid=26108688 |doi=10.1002/bit.25683 |s2cid=32745738 }} coumaric acid,{{cite journal |vauthors=Rodriguez A, Kildegaard KR, Li M, Borodina I, Nielsen J |title=Establishment of a yeast platform strain for production of p-coumaric acid through metabolic engineering of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis |journal=Metab. Eng. |volume=31 |pages=181–8 |year=2015 |pmid=26292030 |doi=10.1016/j.ymben.2015.08.003 |doi-access=free }} ornithine,{{cite journal|last1=Qin|first1=Jiufu|last2=Zhou|first2=Yongjin J.|last3=Krivoruchko|first3=Anastasia|last4=Huang|first4=Mingtao|last5=Liu|first5=Lifang|last6=Khoomrung|first6=Sakda|last7=Siewers|first7=Verena|last8=Jiang|first8=Bo|last9=Nielsen|first9=Jens|title=Modular pathway rewiring of Saccharomyces cerevisiae enables high-level production of L-ornithine|journal=Nature Communications|volume=6|year=2015|pages=8224|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/ncomms9224|pmid=26345617|pmc=4569842|bibcode=2015NatCo...6.8224Q}} and spermidine.

Nielsen has pioneered the development of systems biology tools for industrial microorganisms. He has developed genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) for many important industrial microorganisms, including yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Lactococcus lactis, Streptomyces coelicolor, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Pichia pastoris.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} He has also developed a number of tools for performing integrative omics analysis,{{clarify|date=November 2022}} and he was the first to demonstrate how transcriptome data could be integrated in the context of GEMs in order to gain insight into co-regulation.{{cite journal|last1=Patil|first1=K. R.|last2=Nielsen|first2=J.|title=Uncovering transcriptional regulation of metabolism by using metabolic network topology|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=102|issue=8|year=2005|pages=2685–2689|issn=0027-8424|doi=10.1073/pnas.0406811102|pmid=15710883|pmc=549453|bibcode=2005PNAS..102.2685P|doi-access=free}} Nielsen has also developed methods for performing quantitative metabolome analysis of many microorganisms as well as being involved in genome-sequencing of several key industrial microorganisms.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

Using his systems biology toolbox developed for microorganisms, Nielsen initiated work on human metabolism. In connection with this, he developed a comprehensive genome-scale metabolic model for human cells and was the first to use a human GEM to illustrate the metabolic heterogeneity of cancer metabolism.{{cite journal |vauthors=Gatto F, Nookaew I, Nielsen J |title=Chromosome 3p loss of heterozygosity is associated with a unique metabolic network in clear cell renal carcinoma |journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |volume=111 |issue=9 |pages=E866–75 |year=2014 |pmid=24550497 |pmc=3948310 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1319196111 |bibcode=2014PNAS..111E.866G |doi-access=free }} His work on human metabolism has involved studies of different diseases, such as obesity,{{cite journal |vauthors=Mardinoglu A, Agren R, Kampf C, Asplund A, Nookaew I, Jacobson P, Walley AJ, Froguel P, Carlsson LM, Uhlen M, Nielsen J |title=Integration of clinical data with a genome-scale metabolic model of the human adipocyte |journal=Mol. Syst. Biol. |volume=9 |pages=649 |year=2013 |pmid=23511207 |pmc=3619940 |doi=10.1038/msb.2013.5 }} NAFLD and NASH,{{cite journal|last1=Mardinoglu|first1=Adil|last2=Agren|first2=Rasmus|last3=Kampf|first3=Caroline|last4=Asplund|first4=Anna|last5=Uhlen|first5=Mathias|last6=Nielsen|first6=Jens|title=Genome-scale metabolic modelling of hepatocytes reveals serine deficiency in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease|journal=Nature Communications|volume=5|pages=3083|year=2014|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/ncomms4083|pmid=24419221|bibcode=2014NatCo...5.3083M|doi-access=free}} and hepatocellular carcinoma.{{cite journal |vauthors=Agren R, Mardinoglu A, Asplund A, Kampf C, Uhlen M, Nielsen J |title=Identification of anticancer drugs for hepatocellular carcinoma through personalized genome-scale metabolic modeling |journal=Mol. Syst. Biol. |volume=10 |issue= 3|pages=721 |year=2014 |pmid=24646661 |pmc=4017677 |doi= 10.1002/msb.145122}} Nielsen further used human GEMs to identify that combined measurements of several glycosaminoglycans can be used as a strong biomarker for clear cell renal cell carcinoma,{{cite journal |vauthors=Gatto F, Volpi N, Nilsson H, Nookaew I, Maruzzo M, Roma A, Johansson ME, Stierner U, Lundstam S, Basso U, Nielsen J |title=Glycosaminoglycan Profiling in Patients' Plasma and Urine Predicts the Occurrence of Metastatic Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma |journal=Cell Rep |volume=15 |issue=8 |pages=1822–36 |year=2016 |pmid=27184840 |doi=10.1016/j.celrep.2016.04.056 |doi-access=free |hdl=11380/1110792 |hdl-access=free }} probably the first systems biomarker.

Nielsen has used his systems biology competence to study the metabolism of the gut microbiota. He was involved in early studies on using metagenome sequencing for characterization of the gut microbiota and demonstrating that variations are associated with cardiovascular disease{{cite journal |vauthors=Karlsson FH, Fåk F, Nookaew I, Tremaroli V, Fagerberg B, Petranovic D, Bäckhed F, Nielsen J |title=Symptomatic atherosclerosis is associated with an altered gut metagenome |journal=Nat Commun |volume=3 |pages=1245 |year=2012 |pmid=23212374 |pmc=3538954 |doi=10.1038/ncomms2266 |bibcode=2012NatCo...3.1245K }} and type 2 diabetes.{{cite journal |vauthors=Karlsson FH, Tremaroli V, Nookaew I, Bergström G, Behre CJ, Fagerberg B, Nielsen J, Bäckhed F |title=Gut metagenome in European women with normal, impaired and diabetic glucose control |journal=Nature |volume=498 |issue=7452 |pages=99–103 |year=2013 |pmid=23719380 |doi=10.1038/nature12198 |bibcode=2013Natur.498...99K |s2cid=4387028 }} He also used his advanced metabolic modelling skills to gain further functional insight into how the gut microbiota impacts changes in plasma metabolomics in response to dietary changes.{{cite journal |vauthors=Shoaie S, Ghaffari P, Kovatcheva-Datchary P, Mardinoglu A, Sen P, Pujos-Guillot E, de Wouters T, Juste C, Rizkalla S, Chilloux J, Hoyles L, Nicholson JK, Dore J, Dumas ME, Clement K, Bäckhed F, Nielsen J |title=Quantifying Diet-Induced Metabolic Changes of the Human Gut Microbiome |journal=Cell Metab. |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=320–31 |year=2015 |pmid=26244934 |doi=10.1016/j.cmet.2015.07.001 |doi-access=free |hdl=10044/1/28222 |hdl-access=free }}

{{BLP unreferenced section|date=February 2022}}

• Direktør Gorm Petersen's Mindelegat, Denmark (1989)
• Ulrik Brinch og Hustru Marie Brinch's legat, Denmark (1994)
• STVFs Jubilæumspris, Statens Teknisk Videnskabelige Forskningsråd, Denmark (1996)
• Aksel Tovborg Jensens Legat, Bjerrum-Brøndsted-Lang Lecture, Carlsberg Foundation, Denmark (2001)
• Villum Kann Rasmussen's Årslegat, Villum Kann Rasmussen Fonden, Denmark (2002)
• Merck Award for Metabolic Engineering, USA (2004)
• Amgen Biochemical Engineering Award, USA (2011)
• Nature Award for Mentoring, Nature Publishing Group, UK (2012)
• Charles D. Scott Award 2012, Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, USA (2012)
• Norblad-Exstrand Medalj, Swedish Chemical Society, Sweden (2013)
• Novozymes Prize, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Denmark (2016)
• Gaden Award, American Chemical Society, USA (2016)
• Gold Medal, Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Sweden (2017)
• Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Ministers Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation, Fuels, and Smart Mobility Initiative, Israel (2017)
• ENI Award, Italy (2017)
• James E. Bailey Award, American Institute for Chemical Engineering, USA (2019)
• Arvid Carlssons Award, Sahlgrenska Science Park, Sweden (2019)
• Emil Chr. Hansen's Gold Medal for Microbiological Research, Denmark (2019)
• Gregory Stephanopoulos Award for Metabolic Engineering, IMES, USA (2020)
• The Chinese Government Friendship Award, China (2021)
• Julius Thomsen Gold Medal for Technical Chemistry, DTU (2023){{cite web | last=Billie | first=Nasrin Sharif | title=DTU paid tribute to extraordinary efforts | website=DTU | date=4 May 2023 | url=https://www.dtu.dk/english/newsarchive/2023/05/dtu-paid-tribute-to-the-extraordinary-effort | access-date=19 July 2024}}
• Chalmers Medal, Chalmers (2023){{cite web | last=Krång | first=Erik | title=First Vice President and bioscientist receive the Chalmers Medal | website=Chalmers tekniska högskola | date=1 March 2023 | url=https://www.chalmers.se/en/current/news/first-vice-president-and-bioscientist-receive-the-chalmers-medal/ | access-date=19 July 2024}}
• China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award, China (2024){{cite web | title=Prof. Jens Nielsen won the 2023 International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of the People's Republic of China | website=北京化工大学英文网 | date=26 June 2024 | url=https://english.buct.edu.cn/2024/0703/c9113a196321/page.htm | access-date=19 July 2024}}

{{BLP sources section|date=November 2022}}

• Member of the Academy of Technical Sciences, Denmark (1997)
• Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Sweden (2010)
• Member of the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters, Denmark (2010)
• Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Engineering, USA (2010)[http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=02172010 US National Academy of Engineering]
• College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, USA (2011)
• Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, USA (2012){{Cite web |url=http://academy.asm.org/index.php/fellows-info/fellows-elected-in-2012/332-jens-nielsen |title=American Academy of Microbiology |access-date=7 March 2013 |archive-date=22 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130422041511/http://academy.asm.org/index.php/fellows-info/fellows-elected-in-2012/332-jens-nielsen |url-status=dead }}
• Member of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg, Sweden (2012)
• Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Sweden (2014)
• Foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (2019)
• Foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences (2019){{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/2019-nas-election.html|title=2019 NAS Election|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|date=30 April 2019}}
• Member of the National Academy of Medicine (2023){{cite news |title=National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 New Members |url=https://nam.edu/national-academy-of-medicine-elects-100-new-members-2023/ |access-date=9 October 2023 |work=National Academy of Medicine |date=9 October 2023}}

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• Fulbright Fellow, USA (1995)
• Sunner Memorial Lecture, Lund University, Sweden (2002)
• Hough Memorial Lecture, Birmingham University, UK (2004)
• Wallenberg Scholar, Sweden (2010)
• Honorary Professor, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China (2014)
• William Chalmers Lecture, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden (2014)
• Zhang Dayu Lectureship, Dalian Institute for Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China (2015)
• Ridder af Dannebrog (Knight of the order of Dannebrog), Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (2019)
• Honorary Professor, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China (2019)
• Honorary Professor, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
• Peiyang Lectureship, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
• Honorary Professor, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.sysbio.se Sysbio] official website

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Jens}}

Category:Danish bioengineers

Category:Living people

Category:Academic staff of the Chalmers University of Technology

Category:Technical University of Denmark alumni

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering

Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences

Category:Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences

Category:Foreign associates of the National Academy of Engineering

Category:Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering

Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine

Category:20th-century Danish engineers

Category:21st-century Danish engineers