Evening Consultation: From Animal to Human

Evening Consultation on Genetics - Humans and Animals: Thursday 29 October 2026, 19:00–21:00, Medicinsk Museion, Copenhagen. Tickets cost 95–145 kr.

Human or animal - where exactly is the boundary? We humans share a long evolutionary history with the rest of the animal kingdom, and despite apparent differences, the biological kinship remains clear. This evening consultation explores the genetic relationship between humans and animals: which diseases and conditions do we share, why do different species suffer from the same ailments, and how can a small, colourful fish contribute to medical breakthroughs?

Abdi Hedayat, head of collections and conservation at the Medical Museum, spent 23 years at the Natural History Museum before moving into the human world - but the question is, how different are we really? He brings both zoological and human specimens that reveal diseases recurring in animals and humans alike, including a Tyrannosaurus with toothache, a condition that can tell us something about ourselves.

Genetic kinship with animals is crucial for research into and understanding of human health and disease. You don't need to resemble a human to share its genes: the zebrafish, one of the most widely used laboratory animals in medical research, shares up to 80% of its genetic material with us. Pia Rengtved Lundegaard, lecturer in biomedicine with a background in molecular biology and genetics, researches heart disease in humans and uses zebrafish to understand which genetic factors affect heart function. She explains what the small fish has in common with humans and how it helps us understand the development, function and diseases of the human heart.

Speakers: Abdi Hedayat, conservator and head of collections and conservation at the Medical Museum, and Pia Rengtved Lundegaard, lecturer in biomedicine at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

Evening Consultations at the Medical Museum, autumn 2026: This season explores what animals can teach us about the body, health and medicine. We look into researchers' laboratories and examine how everything from ants to large marine mammals can provide new insights into humanity.