EDMARC

International Center for Research and Research Training in

Endocrine Disruption of

Male Reproduction and Child Health

NEWS and ACTIVITES

Ph.D-Cup 2026

April 2026
Former EDMaRC Ph.D-student (now postdoc) Margit Fischer is one of the five finalists in the Danish Ph.D-Cup 2026. The Ph.D-Cup is organised by Danish National television DR, in collaboration with the newspaper Information and the Lundbeck Foundation. This is the second time that an EDMaRC Ph.D-student is among the finalists. First time was in 2018, when the Cup was won by EDMaRC Ph.D Anders Rehfeld.

New funding for project aiming at improving care of patients with testicular chancer by detecting and preventing relapse

May 2026
Kristian Almstrup and Nina Mørup Nygaard, in collaboration with Professor Gedske Daugaard (Department of Oncology, Rigshospitalet), have been awarded 2.7 million DKK from the Danish Cancer Society for the project ”Improving patient care of men experiencing testicular cancer by detecting and preventing relapse”.

PhD-thesis defence

January 2026
PhD student Cecilie Skaarup Uldbjerg defended her PhD-thesis with the title "Prenatal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals and risk of testicular cancer in adulthood - a nested case-control study"

Gender InSight

February 2026
EDMaRC is part of the Gender InSight team. Gender Insight is an EU funded international network for the Investigation of biopsychoSocial Influences on Gender during (diverse) Hormonal Transitions.

2000 couples included in RUBIC

September 2025
EDMaRC researchers contribute to the Swedish-Danish collaboration ReproUnion Biobank and fertilityCohort (RUBIC), which now has 2000 couples included.

New grant

October 2025
Kristian Almstrup and his group have secured a grant of 2.3 mio DKK from the Independent Research Fund Denmark for the project ”Small RNAs that cause male infertility”.

Men with good semen quality live longer

March 2025
New study of 78,284 men followed for up to 50 years through unique Danish registry data show that men with the best semen quality on average lived almost 3 year longer than men with the lowest sperm quality. The study by EDMaRC affiliated researchers Lærke Priskorn, Niels Jørgensen, Stine Holmboe, and Laura Hansen et al. was published in Human Reproduction accompanied by an editorial commentary by Robert John Aitken.
(doi: 10.1093/humrep/deaf023)

Legacy event

May 2025
The two EDMaRC researchers Anna-Maria Andersson and Niels Jørgensen were among the presenters at the high-level event titled: “Minimising the impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals on health and environment: A scientific update following the joint congress of ESPE and ESE 2025”. The event was hosted by The European Society of Endocrinology (ESE), the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the Danish endocrine community

PhD-thesis defence

February 2025
On February 21 EDMaRC researcher Trine Koch Hueg will defend her PhD thesis "Long-term health associated with bilateral oophorectomy – a cohort study"

PhD-thesis defence

February 2025
February 28, Margit Bistrup Fischer (MD) will defend her PhD thesis "Ovarian Function in Healthy infant Girls - associations with prenatal paracetamol exposure and future ovarian activity".
Based on a study of female minipuberty, including the assessment of uterine and ovarian morphology a mature regulation of the HPG axis in early infancy was demonstrated. The thesis also presents results from the first human study primarily designed to evaluate if fetal exposure to paracetamol is associated with ovarian function postnatally, demonstrating that paracetamol exposure affects both follicle count, AMH levels and uterine size in exposed females.

Chair & vice-chair of LOC

April 2024
Our EDMaRC colleagues Anders Juul and Katharina Main are leading the local organizing committee for the first joint scientific congress of the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) planned in Copenhagen from May 10-13, 2025. The theme of the congress is "Connecting Endocrinology across the Life Course," highlighting the importance of considering the entire life cycle for disease prevention and optimizing endocrine care.

New grant: the role of EDCs for Danish men’s testicular function and fertility

November 2024
We are pleased to announce that EDMaRC researcher Niels Jørgensen and colleagues have received a grant from Independent Research Fund Denmark to investigate how men’s testicular function in early adulthood is associated with their later fertility and which role prenatal and adult exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals plays for the men’s testicular function and fertility.

New grant to study psychosocial consequences of infertility

December 2023
Infertility affects 15% of all couples with a desire to become parents, and the fear of not being able to become parents can be a great burden. Thus, we are proud that EDMaRC researcher Lærke Priskorn received a grant under the Inge Lehmann programme, Independent Research Fund Denmark, to investigate the specific psychosocial consequences of infertility and which couples are at particular risk of experiencing these, allowing us to take even better care of our infertile patients in the future.

EDMaRC in MERLON

January 2024
EDMaRC is partner in the new Research and Innovation action under the EU Horizon programme: MERLON - Merging Scientific Evidence with Regulatory Practices and Leveraging Identification of Endocrine Disruptors using New Approach Methodologies.
The project started 1. january 2024 and will last five years. The consortium is lead by Prof. Terje Svingen at Technical University of Denmark - DTU.

The Copenhagen Puberty Study III - COPUS

December 2023 update
The field work of COPUS was kicked off in February 2023 and by the end of the year we have examined 633 children and adolescents. We expect to include in total around 3000 children and adolescents from the Capital Region of Denmark over the next couple of years.

microRNAs as biomarkers of pubertal onset?

December 2023
Puberty marks the transition from childhood to adulthood and a decline in the age at pubertal onset has been observed over the past decades. No biomarkers for early detection of central puberty activation have been found so far. By receiving a grant from the Capital Region of Denmark, EDMaRC researcher Nina Mørup Nygaard has been given the opportunity to investigate microRNAs as biomarkers for pubertal onset in girls. This may give us a new method to diagnose girls with central precocious puberty.

EDMaRC in EprObes

Summer 2023
EDMaRC represents RegionH as one of the partners in the EU funded project "EprObes - Preventing lifetime obesity by early risk-factor identification, prognosis and intervention". The project, which started in 2023 and will run for five years, is coordinated by prof. Manuel Tena-Sempere from University of Cordoba.

Are small RNAs a novel class of hormones?

September 2023
Small RNAs can be secreted by specific cells into circulation and absorbed by other cells. In this way, small RNAs can potentially mediate a hormone-like effect. EDMaRC researcher Kristian Almstrup have just received funds from the Svend Andersen Foundation to unravel this question.

EDMaRC in PARC

May 2022
EDMaRC is one of two research centres representing the Capital Region of Denmark in the European Partnership on Assessment of Risk of Chemicals (PARC), which was launched May 2022. We are looking forward to collaboration both in the Danish PARC hub and with our European colleagues.

New Publications:

Prevalence of Spermatozoa in the Ejaculate of Adolescents With Klinefelter Syndrome: Implications for Fertility Counseling.

Larsen CN et al.Andrology. 2026 Aug 31 (in press).

Associations Between Sperm DNA Fragmentation and Lifestyle Factors.

Adams LHM et al Andrology. 2026 Aug 27 (in press).

CYP19A1 Variation in Healthy Children: Associations with Breast Development and Pubertal Gynecomastia.

Groendahl VLR et al. Endocr Connect. 2026 Aug 13:EC-26-0182.

Concentrations of 4-hydroxychloro-thalonil in serum from pregnant women and the association with risk of testicular germ cell cancer in their male offspring.

Uldbjerg CS et al. Environ Res. 2026 Sep 15;306(Pt 3):125323.

Prenatal antifungal exposure disrupts fetal steroidogenesis and is associated with persistent effects in children.

Mola G et al. Commun Med (Lond). 2026 Jul 31;6(1):473.

Longitudinal Circulating Procollagen-markers PRO-C1 and PRO-C2 Reflect Pubertal Growth Spurt in Healthy Adolescents.

Juel Mortensen L et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2026 May 13:dgag203. (in press)

Clinical Implications of Minipuberty.

Juul A. N Engl J Med. 2026 Mar 26;394(12):1204-1214.

In Situ Expression of miR-371a-3p and miR-373-3p in Testicular Germ Cell Tumours and Detection in Serum.

Mørup et al. Andrology. 2026 Mar 11:e70207.

Bioactive IGF-I concentrations in children on GH therapy.
Vilmann et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2026 Mar 17;111(4):1021-1030.

Impact of idiopathic short stature on children's well-being: a nationwide study of short Danish children.

Juul et al. J Endocr Soc. 2026 Feb 26;10(5):bvag038.

Predictors of spontaneous puberty - guiding of puberty induction in Turner syndrome.

Bech Baggesgaard et al. Expert Rev Endocrinol Metab. 2026 Jan;21(1):9-12.

In Situ Expression of miR-371a-3p and miR-373-3p in Testicular Germ Cell Tumours and Detection in Serum
Mørup et al. Andrology. 2026 11 mar. s. e70207 (in press)

Longitudinal assessment of growth velocity in relation to pubertal timing, IGF-I, fasting insulin and fat mass in healthy boys.

Sørensen et al. Endocr Connect. 2026 Feb 6;15(2):e250667.

Changes in circulating small non-coding RNAs after castration in a cohort of prostate cancer patients.

Main et al. Sci Rep. 2026 Feb 3;16(1):7060.

Predictors of spontaneous puberty - guiding of puberty induction in Turner syndrome.

Bech Baggesgaard et al. Expert Rev Endocrinol Metab. 2026 Jan;21(1):9-12.

Evolving Genetic Influences on Infant Growth: Linking Polygenic Scores, IGF-I, and Growth in Infancy.

Busch et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab.2026 Mar 17;111(4):e1064-e1069.

Evidence that declining human fecundity contributes to the fertility crisis.

Lindahl-Jacobsen et al. Fertil Steril. 2026 Feb;125(2):218-226.

Precocious Puberty and Risk of Psychiatric Disorders: A Nationwide Cohort Study Using Prospective Registry Data.

Hueg et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2026 Mar 17;111(4):e1088-e1096.

Bioactive IGF-I Concentrations in Children on GH Therapy.

Vilmann et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2026 Mar 17;111(4):1021-1030.

Serum steroid metabolome dynamics in infancy: alongitudinal cohort study of healthy infants.

Busch et al. Eur J Endocrinol. 2025 Sep 30;193(4):403-411.

Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances during fetal development and risk of testicular germ cell cancer in adulthood.

Uldbjerg et al. Environ Int. 2025 Sep;203:109762.

Changes in the comprehensive unassisted pregnancy rate as a possible marker of declining human fecundity.

Lindahl-Jacobsen et al. Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 4;15(1):23916.

Extensive exposure to di-n-hexyl phthalate with significant seasonal variation across infants, children and adults including pregnant women in Denmark.

Frederiksen et al. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2025 Jul;268:114614.

Human reproduction in crisis: causes unknown.

Skakkebaek et al. Lancet. 2025 Jun 14;405(10495):2121-2122.

Targeted proteomics of serum IGF-I, -II, IGFBP-2, -3, -4, -5, -6 and ALS.

Albrethsen et al. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2025 Mar 24;63(8):1528-1537.

Association between pubertal timing and bone and body composition in young adult men.

Antonio et al. Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 19;15(1):9506.

Prenatal exposure to organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls and risk of testicular germ cell cancer later in life.

Uldbjerg et al. Sci Total Environ. 2025 Mar 20;970:179054.

Semen quality and lifespan: a study of 78 284 men followed for up to 50 years.

Priskorn et al. Hum Reprod. 2025 Apr 1;40(4):730-738 (accompanied by an editorial comment)

(link to media coverage of the paper)

Serum Concentrations of Inhibin B in Healthy Females and Males Throughout Life.

Borelli-Kjær et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2024, 110(1):70-77.

Prenatal phthalate exposure and pubertal development in 16-year-old daughters: reproductive hormones and number of ovarian follicles.

Assens et al. Hum Reprod. 2024, 39(11):2501-2511

Serum DLK1 during minipuberty and pubertal transition in healthy girls and in girls with precocious puberty.

Vilmann et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2025 May 19;110(6):1570-1576

Longitudinal evaluation of fetal and infant AGD in healthy children: Association With Penile Size, Testosterone, and DHT.

Fischer et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2024, 109(12):3087-3095

Ovarian and uterine morphology in minipuberty: Associations with Reproductive Hormones. A COPANA Study of 302 girls.

Fischer et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2025 Mar 17;110(4):1015-1022