Jens Juul Holst is professor of medical physiology at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. He is also senior group leader at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen.

Holst’s scientific work has focused on the regulatory peptides of the pancreas and the gut and their importance in the regulation of the functions of the GI-tract and metabolism, with particular focus on blood glucose and appetite regulation, obesity and diabetes. A particular emphasis has been on the role of the incretin hormones of the gut (GLP-1 and GIP). Holst’s great scientific achievements include the discovery of GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) a gut hormone regulating insulin secretion and appetite and food intake and his subsequent both basic and translational research in this field.

With an H-index of 166 (WoS, August 2025), he is among the most cited European scientists in his field. He has authored more than 1900 publications (about 1802 listed in PubMed) that have received more than 119,061 citations in Web of Science as of August 2025. According to PubMed he has 105 new titles in 2024 and 2025.

Photo by Povl Lystrup Thomsen, the University of Copenhagen