Program Overview

Public Health and Epidemiology - PhD Graduate Programme

The Graduate programme in Public Health and Epidemiology (PHE) covers a comprehensive area consisting of population-based epidemiology, clinical epidemiology, social medicine, environmental medicine, industrial medicine, research in prevention and health promotion, and health services research.

Programme Overview

The areas carry a great deal of overlap and are central to our understanding of the occurrence and causes of diseases (both the surrounding environment and the individual factors), understanding of patient courses, the health services’ organisation and the effect of different strategies of prevention and health promotion.
The many disciplines within the PHE programme have a common methodological basis in epidemiology and in biostatistics. PHE also attracts researchers from several clinical and theoretical institutes, as the research may comprise patient cohorts, genes, biomarkers and physiological processes in the search of causes for development of especially chronic diseases.
Public health research makes up a substantial part of the translational research.
PHE performs series of PhD courses within epidemiology and public health and often works together with the Graduate programme in Biostatistics and Bioinformatics.
The courses do not only apply to members of PHE, but also to a large number of other PhD students.

Programme Structure

PHE is anchored in the Department of Public Health at University of Copenhagen.
PHE is part of the national network of Graduate programmes in public health (GRASPH) comprising Aalborg University, Aarhus University, University of Southern Denmark and University of Copenhagen. The main purpose of the network is to organize a summer school.

Activities

• Welcome meeting: You will be invited to a welcome meeting within approx. the first quarter following your enrolment.
• Lectures and Seminars: Apart from focusing on your own area of research, being a PhD student also provide you with an important opportunity to familiarize yourself with public health research in general.
• PhD courses: We have no mandatory courses in the programme.
• GRASPH Summer School: The graduate programme in Public Health & Epidemiology is part of a national network for research training in public health, GRASPH.
• Winter School: The Winter School is an annual overnight seminar offered to PhD students enrolled in the Public health & Epidemiology programme.

Financial Support

• Internationalization and financial support for staying abroad: Staying abroad can help you build up an international network and open your eyes to new venues of research.
• Financial support for costs involved in attending NorDoc courses: This activity is being phased out by the end of 2024.
• Financial support for writing retreats: Individual writing retreats are being phased out by the end of 2024.

Steering Group

The steering group consists of:

• Katrine Strandberg-Larsen, professor and head of the graduate program, Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health
• Wietse Tol, professor, Section of Global Health, Department of Public Health
• Helene Charlotte Wiese Rytgaard, Section of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health
• Jan Wohlfahrt, Chief epidemiologist, Danish Cancer Society
• Merete Osler, clinical professor, Department of Public Health
• Berit Heitmann, clinical professor, Section of General Practice, Department of Public Health
• Jennifer Baker, senior researcher, Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Capital Region
• Reiner Rugulies, professor, National Research Centre for the Working Environment
• Carsten Hjorthøj, senior researcher, Capital Region, Region Hovedstadens Psykiatri, Psykiatrisk Center København
• Nana Follmann Hempler, Director of unit for Research and analysis, Scleroseforeningen
• Christina Frost-Hartwig, PhD coordinator, Dept. of Public Health
• Neil Alexandre Scheidwasser, PhD student, Section of Epidemiology, Dept. of Public Health
• Silvia Pavan, PhD student, University of Copenhagen and Deakin University
• Signe Ulfbeck, PhD student, Bispebjerg Hospital Frederiksberg
• Dustin Andersen Patel, PhD student, Department of Public Health
• Ida Pedersen Halvorsen, PhD student, Frederiksberg Hospital
• Marie Birkvig Raft, PhD student, Frederiksberg Hospital

PhD Defences

• 28 Nov. 2025, 14:00-17:00: PhD defence: Andreas Bartholdy
• 1 Dec. 2025, 14:00-17:00: PhD defence: Hafsah Nabi
• 8 Dec. 2025, 10:30-13:30: PhD defence: Suchismita Goswami
• 11 Dec. 2025, 14:00-17:00: PhD defence: Kylie Hinde