Henrik Munch Roager

Henrik Munch Roager

Associate Professor

ORCID: 0000-0002-2504-8313

Scopus Author ID: 57192066846

Henrik Munch Roager is an Associate Professor and Head of the Microbiome & Metabolomics research group at Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, at University of Copenhagen. Henrik holds a PhD from the Technical University of Denmark in intestinal metabolomics (2016). Henrik's research focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which the gut microbiota contributes to food digestion and health by combining the fields of metabolomics, gut microbiota and human nutrition. He is a recipient of the American Society of Nutrition E.L.R. Stokstad Award (2022), the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) Drummond Early Career Scientist Award (2019), and received a prestigious Sapere Aude: DFF-Starting Grant (2020) to establish his own group at University of Copenhagen. Henrik Roager has published >30 papers including corresponding and first authorships in high ranking journals such as Nature Microbiology (2), Gut (3), and Nature Communications (2). 

Master Thesis Opportunities

We are looking for highly motivated masters students (with an interest in microbiology/chemistry/nutrition/bioinformatics) to perform their thesis or project work in our group. Please reach out to us and hear more.  

Primary fields of research

Our vision is to understand the mechanisms by which the gut microbiota contributes to food digestion and health, and to accelerate this knowledge toward personalised nutrition strategies and novel food products for improvement of health and wellbeing.

Our research focuses on understanding how our diet shapes the gut microbiome, how gut microbes digest our food and how the resulting small diet-derived molecules (metabolites) interact with our physiology in health and disease. We conduct human dietary intervention studies and cohort studies and profile the metabolome (collection of all small molecules) in stool, blood and urine using targeted and untargeted liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) based metabolomics. Furthermore, we collaborate with leading microbiome researchers around Europe and experts in immunology and intestinal host receptors to elucidate host-microbial cross-talk.

Introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EBCUKyp2F8

Current research projects:
  • Diet-derived gut microbial metabolites to modulate gut motility in infants (MOTILITY)
  • Towards Personalized Dietary Recommendations Based on the Interaction between Diet, Microbiome and Abiotic Conditions in the Gut (PRIMA)

Possible conflicts of interest

Scientific Expert on 'Microbiome Signature Project', Medicon Valley Alliance
Consultant for Clinical Microbiomics A/S, SNIPR Biome

Selected publications

  1. Published

    Advancing human gut microbiota research by considering gut transit time

    Procházková, Nicola, Falony, G., Dragsted, Lars Ove, Licht, T. R., Raes, J. & Roager, Henrik Munch, 2023, In: Gut. 72, 1, p. 180-191 12 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

  2. Published

    Bifidobacterium species associated with breastfeeding produce aromatic lactic acids in the infant gut

    Laursen, M. F., Sakanaka, M., von Burg, N., Mörbe, U., Andersen, D., Moll, J. M., Pekmez, C. T., Rivollier, A., Michaelsen, Kim F., Mølgaard, Christian, Lind, M. V., Dragsted, Lars Ove, Katayama, T., Frandsen, H. L., Vinggaard, A. M., Bahl, M. I., Brix, Susanne, Agace, W., Licht, T. R. & Roager, Henrik Munch, 2021, In: Nature Microbiology. 6, 11, p. 1367-1382 16 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

  3. Published

    Mediterranean diet intervention in overweight and obese subjects lowers plasma cholesterol and causes changes in the gut microbiome and metabolome independently of energy intake

    Meslier, V., Laiola, M., Roager, Henrik Munch, De Filippis, F., Roume, H., Quinquis, B., Giacco, R., Mennella, I., Ferracane, R., Pons, N., Pasolli, E., Rivellese, A., Dragsted, Lars Ove, Vitaglione, P., Ehrlich, S. D. & Ercolini, D., 2020, In: Gut. 69, 7, p. 1258-1268 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

  4. Published

    Microbial tryptophan catabolites in health and disease

    Roager, Henrik Munch & Licht, T. R., 2018, In: Nature Communications. 9, 10 p., 3294.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Review › peer-review

  5. Published

    A low-gluten diet induces changes in the intestinal microbiome of healthy Danish adults

    Hansen, L. B. S., Roager, Henrik Munch, Søndertoft, N. B., Gøbel, R. J., Kristensen, M. B., Vallès-Colomer, M., Vieira-Silva, S., Ibrügger, S., Lind, M. V., Mærkedahl, R. B., Bahl, M. I., Madsen, M. L., Havelund, J., Falony, G., Tetens, Inge , Nielsen, T., Allin, K. H., Frandsen, H. L., Hartmann, Bolette, Holst, Jens Juul, Sparholt, M. H., Holck, J., Blennow, Andreas, Moll, J. M., Meyer, A. S., Hoppe, C., Poulsen, J. H., Carvalho, V., Sagnelli, D., Dalgaard, M. D., Christensen, A. F., Lydolph, M., Ross, A. B., Villas-Bôas, S. G., Brix, S., Sicheritz-Pontén, T., Buschard, K., Linneberg, Allan René, Rumessen, J. J., Ekstrøm, Claus Thorn, Ritz, C., Kristiansen, Karsten, Nielsen, H. B., drb459, drb459, Færgeman, N. J., Raes, J., Frøkiær, Hanne, Hansen, Torben, Lauritzen, Lotte, Gupta, R., Licht, T. R. & Pedersen, Oluf Borbye, 2018, In: Nature Communications. 9, 13 p., 4630.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

  6. Published

    Whole grain-rich diet reduces body weight and systemic low-grade inflammation without inducing major changes of the gut microbiome: a randomised cross-over trial

    Roager, Henrik Munch, Vogt, J. K., Kristensen, M. B., Hansen, L. B. S., Ibrügger, S., Mærkedahl, R. B., Bahl, M. I., Lind, M. V., Nielsen, R. L., Frøkiær, Hanne, Gøbel, R. J., Landberg, R., Ross, A. B., Brix, S., Holck, J., Meyer, A. S., Sparholt, M. H., Christensen, A. F., Carvalho, V., Hartmann, Bolette, Holst, Jens Juul, Rumessen, J. J., Linneberg, Allan René, Sicheritz-Pontén, T., Dalgaard, M. D., Blennow, Andreas, Frandsen, H. L., Villas-Bôas, S., Kristiansen, Karsten, drb459, drb459, Hansen, Torben, Ekstrøm, Claus Thorn, Ritz, C., Nielsen, H. B., Pedersen, Oluf Borbye, Gupta, R., Lauritzen, Lotte & Licht, T. R., Jan 2019, In: Gut. 68, 1, p. 83-93 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

  7. Published

    Colonic transit time is related to bacterial metabolism and mucosal turnover in the gut

    Roager, Henrik Munch, Hansen, L. B. S., Bahl, M. I., Frandsen, H. L., Carvalho, V., Gøbel, R. J., Dalgaard, M. D., Plichta, D. R., Sparholt, M. H., drb459, drb459, Hansen, Torben, Sicheritz-Ponten, T., Nielsen, H. B., Pedersen, Oluf Borbye, Lauritzen, Lotte, Kristensen, M. B., Gupta, R. & Licht, T. R., 2016, In: Nature Microbiology. 1, 9, 9 p., 16093.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

ID: 188939154