I am an Adjunct Professor and Research Group Leader at the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich. I have a multidisciplinary background in environmental, economic and social history, as well as in evolutionary medicine, (historical) epidemiology, (historical) anthropometry and (historical) demography. My research focuses on population health over time, particularly the interactions between human health and environmental change in Switzerland and beyond over the past two centuries. The latest trends and monitoring of important health issues are also part of my work. By combining historical and epidemiological approaches, my research group provides critical context to contemporary health and societal challenges.
Research group, projects & news
See my group's separate webpage
Other Affiliations and Memberships
- EU COST Action "The Great Leap. Multidisciplinary approaches to health inequalities, 1800-2022" (Working Group Leader)
- IUSSP Panel "Epidemics & Contagious Diseases: The Legacy of the Past" (Panel Member)
- Crisis Competence Center, UZH (Member)
- Initiative Geisteswissenschaften, UZH (Member)
- Epidemiology & Biostatistics PhD Program UZH (Member)
- Center for Military & Disaster Medicine, Swiss Armed Forces (Member of the Scientific Board)
- Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP) (Member)
- Institute of History, University of Bern (Research Affiliate & Lecturer)
- Digital Society Initiative (DSI), University of Zurich (Member)
- Swiss School of Public Health SSPH+ (Faculty Member)
Publications
See also Google Scholar Profile
ZORA Publication List
Publications
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2024
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Conference or Workshop item
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From Past Pandemics to Future Health Crises: A Systematic Design Framework for Building a Healthier Future In: DTRS14 The role of design in shaping sustainable futures, Eskilstuna, Sweden, 11 June 2024 - 13 June 2024. Mälardalens universitet, 383-395.
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Scientific Publication in Electronic Form
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Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses – Recognised in the 1940s, but then forgotten? https://smw.ch: SMW Supporting Association.
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2023
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Journal Article
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Challenges and best practices for digital unstructured data enrichment in health research: A systematic narrative review PLOS Digital Health, 2(10):e0000347.
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Letting the Past Speak to the Present (and the Future) American Journal of Public Health, 113(10):1040-1042.
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Associations between 3D surface scanner derived anthropometric measurements and body composition in a cross-sectional study European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 77(10):972-981.
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Health of neonates born in the maternity hospital in Bern, Switzerland, 1880–1900 and 1914–1922 PLoS ONE, 18(8):e0289157.
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From pandemic to endemic: Spatial-temporal patterns of influenza-like illness incidence in a Swiss canton, 1918-1924 Economics and Human Biology, 50:101271.
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Reinfections and Cross-Protection in the 1918/19 Influenza Pandemic: Revisiting a Survey Among Male and Female Factory Workers International Journal of Public Health, 68:1605777.
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Health and lifespan of Swiss men born in an alpine region in 1905–1907 The History of the Family, 28(2):339-359.
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Die Influenza-Pandemie 1918/19 in Bern und ihre Auswirkungen am Lehrerseminar Muristalden Berner Zeitschrift für Geschichte, 02(23):37-53.
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Working Paper
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The ups and downs of birth rate in Switzerland 2020 to 2023 in a historical context medRxiv 23299432, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
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Sociodemographic and regional differences in neonatal and infant mortality in Switzerland: The Swiss National Cohort medRxiv 23295765, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
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Height loss in adulthood is associated with health outcomes in later life in men and women enrolled in the 1946 UK Birth Cohort (NSHD) medRxiv 23298098, University of Zurich.
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2022
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Journal Article
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Body mass index in young men in Switzerland after the national shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a cross-sectional monitoring study at the population level since 2010 European Journal of Public Health, 32(6):955-961.
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The role of body height as a co-factor of excess weight in Switzerland American Journal of Human Biology, 34(8):e23754.
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