Researcher wins award for sharp and informative Instagram videos

28,000 people follow Anton Pottegård on Instagram, where he puts on his researcher hat and explains complex new research findings in fast-paced 60-second videos.

The topics cover a wide range – from ADHD treatment, Wegovy side effects and deprescribing to hormone guidelines, generic medicines and the opioid crisis – and likes and comments keep pouring in on Anton’s channels.

By day, he is Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Southern Denmark, where his research focuses on medicine use, medicine shortages, treatment effects and public health.

And Anton is the enthusiastic type. New knowledge is fuel for him, and his enthusiasm is clear whenever he appears in your Instagram feed.

He makes complex knowledge easy to understand, helping ensure that new research does not simply end up in an academic publication but actually makes its way into the real world.

“If I publish a new research article but do not make an extra effort to tell people about it, surprisingly few people actually discover it,” Anton says, continuing:

“Sometimes we generate new knowledge and simply leave it at that. And that is crazy, because it takes a long time to generate this knowledge. We can forget to reap the real benefits.”

“If I publish a new research article but do not make an extra effort to tell people about it, surprisingly few people actually discover it.”

A few years ago, Anton began taking a less traditional approach to communicating new research. He did not want to speak only to other researchers, but to anyone and everyone using social media.

And the concept works. A wide range of people – researchers, healthcare professionals, patients and other “ordinary” Danes – are following along.

“This way, I get much more feedback on my studies, including from my peers, than I did when I simply published the results and left it at that,” Anton says.

“Everyone benefits from more dialogue”

Anton’s many followers are not the only ones who think he is onto something. The Danish Minister for Research agrees.

This week, Anton won the Research Communication Award, which has been presented since 2004 and comes with a prize of DKK 200,000.

The award recognises researchers who have made an exceptional effort to communicate their research to the wider public – and Anton has done exactly that.

He receives the award for his particular ability to make specialist knowledge accessible and engaging. Not only for researchers and healthcare professionals, but especially for decision-makers and members of the public who might otherwise rarely read scientific articles.

“With his lively and clearly knowledgeable approach, Anton Pottegård manages to cut through the noise and the sea of opinions with knowledge and facts. It is incredibly important for our society and democratic debate that researchers are also able to reach ordinary Danes,” says Christina Egelund, Minister for Higher Education and Science, in a press release. She continues:

“It takes courage and great commitment to enter debates about issues such as medicines and medicine use, where discussions can become heated and misinformation is widespread. Everyone benefits when we have more dialogue based on credible, research-based knowledge.”

“It means a lot, because communicating in this way is also very personal.”

For Anton, the award is recognition that researchers should feel free to experiment with different formats. They should be willing to take some chances when sharing new knowledge with the world.

“We are pushing the boundaries of traditional research communication, and the award helps show that this is okay. We are allowed to do that,” Anton says, continuing:

“I am not saying that everything we do hits the mark. There are definitely some swings and misses along the way. But the award validates that what we are doing is worthwhile.”

“And it means a lot, because communicating in this way is also very personal.”

A win-win situation

First and foremost, the unconventional videos help people learn something new and give scientific articles a completely new and different kind of life.

But Anton stresses that the social media videos also help him learn.

“The more dialogue I have, the better I understand the real world, and the more I realise what research is actually needed,” he says.

The distance between Anton the researcher and the people he hopes his research can benefit has become much shorter.

“It is a two-way benefit, and that is incredibly important. That calibration gives us a new and much better compass for deciding what to prioritise,” Anton says, continuing:

“If someone has a problem, they now know where to find us and ask their questions. And we can provide much more relevant answers.”

There is no doubt that Anton has found an approach that works with his research communication on social media – and Pharmadanmark congratulates him on winning the Research Communication Award.