Jesper Qualmann Svejstrup

Svejstrup was appointed a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 2003, a fellow of the Royal Society in 2009, a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) in 2018, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 2016. He was member of both the Danish Independent Research Fund Denmark 2015-2020, and presently serves on the scientific council of the European Research Council.

During his doctoral studies, Svejstrup investigated the molecular mechanism of DNA Topoisomerases, enzymes that eliminate DNA's overwinding or underwinding. During this time, he discovered suicide substrates' for DNA topoisomerase I, which led to the discovery that the anti-tumor drug camptothecin blocks the enzyme's re-ligation reaction. After completing his doctorate in 1993, he went to Stanford University to join the group led by Roger D. Kornberg as a Postdoc. Here, Svejstrup studied the general transcription factor TFIIH and the Mediator complex. In 1996, Svejstrup relocated to the United Kingdom to start his research group at Clare Hall laboratories, supported by the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, which later became Cancer Research UK. In 2016, his laboratory moved to the Francis Crick Institute in London.

Jesper Qualmann Svejstrup (born 28 March 1963) is a Danish biochemist and molecular biologist who specialises in the study of gene transcription and its interface with other DNA-related processes, such as DNA repair, recombination, and replication. He serves as member of the European research Research Council.

Jesper Qualmann Svejstrup was born on 28 March 1963, in Aarhus, Denmark. Both his parents were building engineers. After completing his school education, he went to Aarhus university and graduated in 1989 with a degree in biology, followed by a PhD in molecular biology at the same university.