Dean of Aarhus University to join the Danish Medicines Agency as new Director General

26 May 2021

The Ministry of Health has appointed Lars Bo Nielsen, Dean at Aarhus University, as Director General of the Danish Medicines Agency. Lars Bo Nielsen is a qualified doctor and has extensive leadership experience within both the health and science areas.

It is an experienced leader with comprehensive knowledge of the health services, medical research and life science who will be joining the Danish Medicines Agency as Director General on 15 August 2021.

“Lars Bo Nielsen is a dedicated and competent chief executive who brings extensive experience from the research community and the health services. Making sure that the Danes have access to effective and safe medicines and medical devices is a core task of the Danish health service, and this has most recently been made very clear by the authorisation of the COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic. With his vast experience and integrity, he has exactly the professional capacity needed to perform this vital task for the health services and the public’s health, and I look forward to working with him very much,” said Magnus Heunicke, Minister of Health.

Billede af Lars Bo Nielsen, direktør for Lægemiddelstyrelsen

Above: Lars Bo Nielsen, new Director General of the Danish Medicines Agency
(Photo: Lars Kruse/Aarhus University)

Doctor with long experience in personalised medicine, health data and life science

Lars Bo Nielsen is a qualified doctor and has extensive leadership experience within the health and science areas.

He joins the agency after four years as dean and professor at Aarhus University where he has contributed to local and national development of personalised medicine, worked with the safe use of health data in science and developed the life science area.

He has also headed international research and development collaborations some of which in European university settings.

He has gained his experience in the pharmaceutical area in positions as doctor and researcher in cardiovascular diseases and other areas and as consultant doctor and head of department within clinical biochemistry.


Lars Bo Nielsen


Lars Bo Nielsen is 56 years old. He qualified as a doctor from the University of Copenhagen in 1992, completed his PhD in 1996, and got his DMSc in 2000 from the same place. In 2004, he completed his specialisation in clinical biochemistry.

Since 2005, he has been consultant doctor and from 2010 head of department of clinical biochemistry at Rigshospitalet and professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen.

From 2017, he has been dean and professor at HEALTH at Aarhus University.

Lars Bo Nielsen lives in Aarhus with his wife and has two adult children aged 25 and 29.

Announcement by the Ministry of Health (in Danish): Ministry of Health has appointed Lars Bo Nielsen as Director General of the Danish Medicines Agency (sum.dk)