“I read the email several times to see if it was really true”

As a biology student, Kristine Bohmann worked as a tour guide at Knuthenborg Safaripark. While standing by the giraffes in a savannah-like landscape she realised for the first time that she had a passion for sharing the amazing world of science with others.

“I was feeding the giraffes and talking about the animal’s long tongue, which is black to protect it from the sun. Being able to open the audience’s eyes to the amazing world of animals was a great feeling,” Kristine Bohmann says.

Of course, it is a huge pat on the back. The fact that the previous winners are huge communication talents and that someone counts me among them is just amazing

Since then she has built a career as a scientist focussing on research dissemination at the University of Copenhagen’s Globe Institute, where she is associate professor. Now, her long-standing effort to communicate research has won her the Ministry of Higher Education and Science’s Research Dissemination Prize 2024.

The Ministry of Higher Education and Science writes:

“Her dissemination of complex, technical research is characterised by great creativity, commitment and clarity, making it comprehensible and readily accessible to others.”

Kristine Bohmann was in her office reading emails when she got the news.

“When I got the email saying that I had won the prize I was ecstatic. It was this yeah feeling, but I was also in awe. Because looking at the previous winners makes you hold your head a bit higher,” she says and adds:

“I have to be honest – I read the email several times to see if it was really true.”

The previous winners of the prize include several researchers from SUND: Professor Eske Willerslev, Clinical Professor Bente Klarlund and Professor Oluf Borbye Pedersen.

“Of course, it is a huge pat on the back. The fact that the previous winners are huge communication talents and that someone counts me among them is just amazing,” Kristine Bohmann says.

Be apart of the award ceremony in Politikens Hus the 18th of April at 15.30.

Seeds from Bilka and a DNA vacuum

As a child living in Næstved, Kristine Bohmann was fascinated by nature.

“I made my mum take me to the fruit and vegetable section in the local Bilka supermarket so that I could buy exotic fruits, extract the seeds and plant them in my windowsill.”

She managed to make peanuts flower and the top of a pineapple sprout roots.

The same creativity and energy characterises Kristine Bohmann’s research. In their nomination of her for the prize, her colleagues describe her unique approach as follows:

“Demonstrating that plastic boxes from the local DIY retailer and computer fans can be vital components of a scientific breakthrough, Kristine speaks to our inner Gyro Gearloose.”

The plastic boxes and computer fans are part of Kristine Bohmann and colleagues’ new invention, a DNA vacuum designed to extract animal DNA from the air and thus monitor biodiversity change. Kristine has presented the invention in Danish media and at the science festival Bloom.

“What I love about communicating research is giving the audience insight into research processes, introducing them to the people behind the scenes and making science more explicit and relevant,” she says.

And this ability to make research more readily accessible is one of the characteristics her colleagues emphasise in the nomination:

“Few researchers are able to make complex, technical DNA research interesting and get media all over the world to listen. Kristine is one of those few people who can do that.”

Personally, Kristine Bohmann finds that it helps her in her research.

“The people I meet ask questions or make comments. And because they often come from very different backgrounds, they can inspire you or make you wonder about something, and I find that extremely useful.”

Also, Kristine Bohmann stresses the importance of research dissemination in general, as it breathes life into science, as it were.

“Every day, researchers all over the world publish thousands of articles. But if all that knowledge is going to become useful to society or inspire and fascinate us, it has to be ‘translated’ and communicated to relevant target groups. This prize makes me want to make an even greater effort to communicate my research to the public.”

Contact

Associate Professor Kristine Bohmann
+4535333141
kbohmann@sund.ku.dk