Knowledge of languages

Native in Danish

English spoken and written 

CV

Current affiliation

Associate Professor, MD, PhD, DMSc                                                                                                                     University of Copenhagen, Department of Public Health, Section of Social Medicine                         Phone: +45 35 32 79 92 E-mail: [email protected]

Academic education and degrees

2016               DmSc (dr.med.) Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Dissertation title: Social relations and health with a special focus on life course and stressful social relations

2001               PhD in Social Epidemiology Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen Denmark. Dissertation title: Social relations and health with special reference to change in social relations and change in health

1996               Medical Doctor (MD), Faculty of Health University of Copenhagen Denmark

Employment

2005-              Associate Professor in Social Medicine and Social Epidemiology. Department of Social Medicine, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen

2001-05           Assistant Professor in Social Epidemiology. Department of Social Medicine, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen       

Leadership

Research

2017- PI of Sundhed, Trivsel og Relationer i Taastrupgaard (STRIT) Health, Wellbeing and Relations in a community under development.

2015- Member of leader group of Danish Aging Research Center, 2014- Member of theme 2 steering group, Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen

2013- Research group leader of Copenhagen Lifecourse Epidemiology in Aging Reserach (CLEAR)

2013- PI of Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) 2013- Member of expert panel on Loneliness, Mary Foundation 2013- Research leader of The Gerontology Research Group, Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen

2013- PI of the Public Health part of ‘Social Fabric’ funded by University of Copenhagen, investigating how health behaviour, loneliness and sleep patterns spread through social networks 2011-13 Leading the research group of Psychosocial epidemiology together with associate professor Naja Hulvej Rod 2010-13 Leading a research project on mechanisms between psychosocial stressors and heart disease with Associate Professor Naja Hulvej Rod (sub project of CAMB) 2009-11 Leading a research network on social relations and health at Section of Social Medicine, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen

2008-13 Primary co-PI of Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) with main responsibilities for the biobank (blood samples), the questionnaire data and the establishment of a merged and documented data base.

2008- PI of Danish Longitudinal Study on Work Unemployment and Health in collaboration with Associate Professor Ulla Christensen

2007- Member of the steering committee of CAMB

2000- Member of the steering committee of Project Metropolit       

Administrative

2010-13 Vice head of the Section of Social Medicine

Publications

94 papers in peer-reviewed journals, 3 chapters in textbooks, editor of a text book in Medical Sociology

International collaboration

Professor Johan Fritzell Aging Research Center, Stockholm, Marijke Veenstra Research director Dept. of Ageing research and housing studies, NOVA Oslo. Professor Carlos Mendes de Leon Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA Professor Ivan Bautmans, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Gerontology, Vrije Universitet, Brussel, Belgium. Professor John Cacioppo, University of Chicago ( in the expert panel of Loneliness Mary Foundation) and Associate professor Mathias Lasgaard, University of Southern Denmark.

Research networks

2010-11 Member of Network for research in heart disease and women, The Danish Heart Association. PI Professor Gorm Boje Jensen. 2009-11 Research network on social relations. PI Associate Professor Rikke Lund 2009- Member of theme 3 ’Body and Life’ Center for Healthy Aging PI Professor Kirsten Avlund/professor Erik Lykke Mortensen since 2015 Theme 2 ‘Life course and aging’ 2007- Participates in networks around the theme in International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) on Ageing, Longevity and Health

Professional posts

2007- Member of the study board at Medical School (BSc and MSc in Medicine) University of Copenhagen 2009- Member of the Master programme committee, MSc in Medicine, University of Copenhagen 2007- Member of teaching committee, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen 2007-09           Member of Bachelor programme committee, BSc in Public Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen 2007-10              Deputy member of The Academy Council, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen 1996-99 Member of the PhD programme study board, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen

Scientific Associations

2011- 2017 Danish Society of Survey Based Research (member of executive committee) 2009-11  Danish Society of Gerontology (member of executive committee) 1997-99               Danish Society of Behavioral Medicine (member of executive committee)

Referee and reviewer activity

Evaluations of PhD theses

Chair of assessment committees for: Pernille Envold Bidstrups PhD thesis Nov. 2008, Birgit Marie Nielsens PhD thesis June 2010, Helle Hare-Bruun PhD thesis November 2010 all Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen. Assessor of PhD thesis by Sandra Elnegaard, University of Southern Denmark. 

Reviewer for scientific journals

Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, American Journal of Epidemiology, Annals of Epidemiology, Population Studies, Social Science and Medicine, Journals of Gerontology, Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, Acta Oncologica, European Journal of Public Health

Supervision of scholarship holders and PhD-students

Scholarship holders

I am supervising and have supervised the following scholarship holders: Lene Snabe Nielsen ‘Face and content validation of a Danish instrument measuring social relations’ 2010-11. Gunhild Tideman 2010-11 Negative aspects of social relations and heart rate variability. Anne Mette Bender 2010-11 Negative aspects of social relations and heart rate variability. Jolene Lee Masters Pedersen 2010 Psychosocial stressors and the metabolic syndrome. Sidse Olsen Research year student 2012 (social relations and mortality). Signe Hovmand Research year student 2013 (social relations and inflammation). Mette Hauge 2014 (self-reported health and inflammation). Jelena Laban 2015 (Loneliness and physical capability).

PhD students

I have supervised five completed PhD projects: Margit Kriegbaum (Faculty supervisor) (Graduated April 2011), Charlotte Juul Nilsson (Main supervisor) (Graduated May 2011),Tine Poulsen (Faculty supervisor Graudated august 2013), Anette Ekmann (Faculty supervisor graduated Fall 2012) Jolene Lee Masters Pedersen (main supervisor, graduated April 2015). I am currently supervising 8 PhD student’s Gitte Lindved Petersen (main supervisor) and Agnete Dissing (main supervisor)  Else Foverskov (main supervisor) Terese Sara Høj Jørgensen (faculty supervisor)  Sasmita Kusumatuti ( faculty supervisor) Anne Sophie Bech Mikkelsen (faculty supervisor) Anne Sophie Weddell-Neergaard ( faculty supervisor) Hanna Birkbak (co-supervisor).

Education programme development, teaching and supervision

The past 10 years I have been teaching at two pregraduate programmes (MSc Medicine and Msc Public Health), At the Master of Public Health programme as well as at PhD courses at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen. I teach approximately 600 hours per year at courses in social epidemiology, medical sociology, living conditions and health, epidemiology, life course and health/aging. I have since 2007 been member of the Study Board for BSc and Msc in Medicine at University of Copenhagen. Around 40% of my working time is occupied by teaching, supervision and education programme development.

Education programme development

Through my memberships of the study board at medical school, the master programme committee at medical school, the bachelor programme committee for Public Health Science and the teaching committee at the Institute of Public Health I am very actively involved in continous education programme development.

Teaching experience

Course leaderships

2016- Course leader of Statistics, Epidemiology and Medical Sociology (SEMS) MSc Medicine

2013- Course leader elective course ‘Life course, health and aging’ 10 ECTS BSc and MSc Public Health 2013-16 Course leader ‘Medical sociology’ MSc Medicine 2003-11Course leader of ‘Social epidemiology and Public Health’, BSc Public Health Science 2009 Course leader of PhD course and elective course MSc Public Health Science ‘Life course influences on health changes in adult life’ in collaboration with Professor Kirsten Avlund 2011 Course of elective course MSc Public Health Science 5 ECTS ‘Life course influences on health epidemiological theories and methods and sociological theories’ University of Copenhagen

Teaching

2009-              Lectures and class teaching course on ‘Life course influences on health changes in adult life’, PhD course and elective course MSc Public Health Science 2005- Lectures and class teaching at the course on ‘Medical Sociology’, MSc in Medicine 2002- Lectures at course on ‘Living conditions and health’, Master of Public Health 1996-2003 Teaching research methods in medical sociology and epidemiology, BSc in Medicine 2011, 2013, 2015 Lectures on Life course epidemiology and health and aging at Advanced PhD course in social epidemiology

Supervision

I have supervised more than 30 first year projects at BSc in Public Health Science and more than 10 bachelor assignments at BSc in Public Health Science and Medicine. I have supervised and concluded more than 15 master theses in medicine and public health. Have supervised and concluded 6 Master of Public health theses at University of Copenhagen

Recent grants

June 2017 PI of application of 8.8 DKK from the Nordea Foundation for Health, Wellbeing and Relations in a community undergoing development (STRIT)

March 2015 Co-applicant 40 mio NOK for Social inequalities in Aging a Nordic collaborative project financed by NordForsk. 4.7 mio. NOK of these are placed at Section of Social Medicine, University of Copenhagen

April 2013 Co-applicant 150 mio. DKK for Centre for Healthy Aging II, University of Copenhagen from the Nordea Denmark Foundation

January 2013 2.9 mio. DKK from University of Copenhagen 2016 fund grant for Research assistant and PhD-project: ‘Social Fabric’ studying how newly developing social networks act in the spread of health behaviors and loneliness. Latent homophily or infectious patterns?

July 2012 6.3 mio DKK (co-applicant) for the establishment of Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank as a permanent infrasturcture from the Velux Foundation

Fall 2012, 3 months salary for Charlotte Juul Nilsson for study of the association between social relations and low grade inflammation. Insitute of Public Health strategic fund at the Department of Public Health

Fall 2010, 1.5 mio DKK from Faculty of Health Sciences (500.000 DKK) and Center for Healthy Aging (1 mio.) PhD grant for Jolene Lee Masters Pedersen, Master of Public Health Science. Project on Mechanisms of psychosocial and biological factors acting over a life course and low grade inflammation (mediation and interaction).

Fall 2010, 60.000 DKK  for scholarship holder Lene Snabe for project on Face and content validation of a Danish measure of social relations. Center for Healthy Aging.

Spring 2009 co-applicant with Associate Professor Naja Hulvej Rod received 400.000 DKK from The Danish Heart Association (Hjerteforeningen) and 280.000 DKK from Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen for project on Psychosocial factors and cardiovascular disease – understanding the  mechanisms for women and men.

November 2008 Co-applicant 150 mio. DKK for Centre for Healthy Aging the part belonging to Theme 3 Body and Life, University of Copenhagen from the Nordea Denmark Foundation

May 2008 Co-applicant 8.7 mio. For establishment and data collection Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank. From the Velux Foundation

December 2007 Co-applicant 10 mio. For establishment and data collection Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank DKK from the Velux Foundation

Fall 2007 1.4 mio. DKK from Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen PhD grant for Charlotte Juul Nilssons MD. Project on Functional decline during the transition to old age: the role of social relations, socioeconomic status, gender and age.

November 2007 1.14 mio. DKK. PhD grant for Margit Kriegbaum. Project on the influence of accumulated broken partnerships and job losses on health from the Danish Research Council

Primary fields of research

My research is focused on social inequalities in aging with a life course perspective. Specifically we have a major interest in studying how socioeconomic factors across the life course is associated with midlife cognitive and physical performance as well as inflammatory levels. We use large cohorts studies for these analyses primarily Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB).

My research focuses primarily on the correlation between social relations and health and aging, with special interest in understanding the biological, behavioral and psychological mechanisms for explaining these relations. My second major interest is how social and psychosocial factors over the life course affect health and early ageing with a specific focus on social inequalities in aging.

Recently I have initiated a study on development in health, wellbeing and relations in a socially disadvantaged community undergoing large structural changes during the comming 3-4 years.

In my research I have further focused on validating measures for social relations using qualitative as well as quantitative analytical methods.

I am PI of the project Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) http://www.camb.dk/  and of Health, Wellbeing and Relations in a community undergoing large strutural changes.  I am affiliated Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen as part time researcher

Current research

My current research is focused on social inequalities in aging with a life course perpspective. We have a specific focus on how changes in socio-economic factors across the life course influences cognitive and physical functioning as well as inflammatory levels in midlife. We are studying these associations in our large cohort study population Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) and in collaboration with a number of national and international researchers.

Further my current research addresses the relation between negative aspects of social relations and health as well as aging later in life.

In the project Health, Wellbeing and Social relations in a neighborhood undergoing large structural changes (STRIT), we investigate development in health, wellbeing and social relations among the residents before, during and after the strutural changes take place. Furthermore, we develop cocreated interventions with the same focus points.

In 2013 we initiated the project Social Fabric in collaboration with a number of Faculties at University of Copenhagen and Danish Technical University. We will collect data on social networks and behavior such as alcohol intake, smoking behavior, drug and medicine use as well as sleep patterns by mobilphones and survey data. The project offers an unique opportunity to study how behaviors spread through social networks among 1000 freshmen at DTU followed for 12-24 months with montly follow-up for information on behaviors, an full time information on social networks recorded by mobilphones.

Teaching

I am head of the course in Statistics, Epidemiology and Medical Sociology at MSc Medicine and course leader of elective course in Lifecourse epidemiology MSc in Public Health Science. I supervise bachelor- and masterprojects  on the BSc and MSC Public Health as well as  BSc and MSc in Medicine.

I teach medical sociology and an elective course in gerontology and supervise bachelor and master theses at the Master of Science in Medicine programme.

I teach on the course on Social Epidemiology and Public health BSc Public Health programme, and supervise master theses on the master of public health programme

I am member of the board of studies for the medical education and member of the master committee of this same board. In addition I am member of the teaching committee at the Department of Public Health.