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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2016
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Book Section
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Der vermessene menschliche Körper als Spiegel der Ernährungs- und Gesundheitsverhältnisse am Ende des Ersten Weltkrieges In D. Krämer, C. Pfister, & D. M. Segesser (Eds.), «Woche für Woche neue Preisaufschläge». Nahrungsmittel-, Energie- und Ressourcenkonflikte in der Schweiz des Ersten Weltkrieges (No. 6; pp. 285–305). Schwabe.
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Published Research Report
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Analyse möglicher Ursachen für die kantonalen Unterschiede in den Militärtauglichkeitsraten. Bericht zuhanden des Oberfeldarztes der Schweizer Armee University of Zurich. https://www.newsd.admin.ch/newsd/message/attachments/47682.pdf
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Working Paper
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The benefits of intervention: birth weights in Basle 1912-1920 (No. 236; Working Paper Series / Department of Economics).
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2015
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Journal Article
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Die Gesundheit junger Schweizer Männer: Monitoring-Ergebnisse der Armee-Rekrutierung Praxis, 104, 1203–1210. https://doi.org/10.1024/1661-8157/a002166
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Body height of mummified pharaohs supports historical suggestions of sibling marriages American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 157, 519–525. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22728
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2014
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Journal Article
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From left-skewness to symmetry: how body-height distribution among Swiss conscripts has changed shape since the late 19th century Annals of Human Biology, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3109/03014460.2014.942366
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The impact of physical connectedness on body height in Swiss conscripts Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 71, 313–327. https://doi.org/10.1127/0003-5548/2014/0466
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Skeletal robustness and bone strength as measured by anthropometry and ultrasonography as a function of physical activity in young adults American Journal of Human Biology, 26, 215–220. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.22504
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Final height, target height and the community Georgian Medical News, 30–34.
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Adolescent growth: genes, hormones and the peer group. Proceedings of the 20th Aschauer Soiree, held at Glücksburg castle, Germany, 15th to 17th November 2013 Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews, 11, 341–353.
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Der BMI von Schweizer Stellungspflichtigen im Jahr 2013: Weitere Stabilisierung von Übergewicht und Adipositas Schweizerische Ärztezeitung (SÄZ), 95, 1826–1828.
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Der Body Mass Index der Schweizer Stellungspflichtigen 2013 im Lichte der historischen Entwicklung Koordinierter Sanitätsdienst : Informationsschrift über den KSD in der Schweiz, 39–44. http://www.lba.admin.ch/internet/lba/de/home/themen/sanit/koordinierter0/informationsschrift.parsys.20308.downloadList.42520.DownloadFile.tmp/20142informationsschrift.pdf
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Physical connectedness and body height Anthropologia, 4–9.
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Modern diet and metabolic variance – a recipe for disaster? Nutrition Journal, 13, 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-13-15
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Lessons from history of socioeconomic improvements: a new approach to treating multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis Journal of Biosocial Science, 46, 600–620. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932013000527
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Socioeconomic, Temporal and Regional Variation in Body Mass Index among 188,537 Swiss Male Conscripts Born between 1986 and 1992 PLoS ONE, 9, e96721. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0096721
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Book Section
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Die mittlere Körperhöhe in Nidwalden als Spiegel des steigenden Lebensstandards seit dem 19. Jahrhundert In K. Nidwalden (Ed.), Geschichte des Kantons Nidwalden (pp. 39–39). Historischer Verein Nidwalden.
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Metabolic Cause of Obesity: The Role of Alanine Transaminase in Increasing BMI, Cholesterol, Blood Pressure and Blood Glucose In K. Bose & R. Chakraborty (Eds.), Health Consequences of Human Central Obesity (Public Health in the 21st Century) (pp. 1–20). Nova Science Pub Inc.
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2013
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Journal Article
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Grenzüberschreitende Zusammenarbeit mit anthropometrischen und medizinischen Daten der Rekrutierung Informationsschrift (Koordinierter Sanitätsdienst), 41–44. http://www.lba.admin.ch/internet/lba/de/home/themen/sanit/koordinierter0/informationsschrift.parsys.13592.downloadList.28831.DownloadFile.tmp/informationsschrift113.pdf
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Secular trends in tuberculosis during the second epidemiological transition: a Swiss perspective Advances in Anthropology, 03, 78–90. https://doi.org/10.4236/aa.2013.32011
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