Heritage Prize

Hagedorn Prize

The Hagedorn Prize recognises excellent research or development efforts within internal medicine in Denmark. The Prize is awarded jointly by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Danish Society for Internal Medicine.

Recognising excellent research

The Hagedorn Prize was established by the Danish Society for Internal Medicine in 1966 to recognise the contribution to medical science made by Hans Christian Hagedorn (1888-1971).

Hagedorn was one of Denmark’s leading researchers in the treatment of diabetes. In 1917, he helped develop the first practical method for determining the concentration of blood glucose, and in 1922 he began collaborating with physiologist August Krogh and chemist August Kongsted on developing insulin – a partnership that was the starting point of the creation of Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium (1923) and the Nordisk Insulin Foundation (1926), known today as Novo Nordisk A/S and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

The Prize is accompanied by DKK 1.5 million, of which DKK 1.25 million is a research grant and the rest a personal award.

The Prize recipient is selected by the Board of the Danish Society for Internal Medicine based on recommendations from the Society’s members. The Prize is conferred at the Society’s annual conference and includes the Hagedorn Medal.