Associate professor and in global health and physician with a special interest in behavior change and misconceptions in infectious disease outbreaks (especially Ebola). Also Non-communicable diseases!
Helena Nordenstedt
Project coordinator
Associate professor and in global health and physician with a special interest in behavior change and misconceptions in infectious disease outbreaks (especially Ebola). Also Non-communicable diseases!
About me
Physician (internal medicine)
Associate professor and teacher in Global health
Research description
Research Area
After defending my doctoral thesis in 2007, "Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Etiological factors", I continued to study epidemiology of esophageal, stomach and liver cancer globally.
Since 2013 the focus of my research has changed to Global health, still with an epidemiological basis.
Currently I have two main research areas:
1. Studying the effects of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa (2014-15), and how such an outbreak can best be countered, especially from a behavioral point of view. Funded by a grant from The Swedish Research Council.
2. Epidemiology and prevention of cardiovascular diseases in Uganda, with a focus on people living with HIV. Funded by a grant from The Swedish Research Council.
Teaching portfolio
In the late 1990s Professor Hans Rosling started a a 5-week elective undergraduate course in Global health, with ca 70-80 students each semester, who spend 2 weeks of the course in a low- or lower-middle income country like Uganda, Tanzania, Vietnam and Laos. I have been the course leader for this course since 2013.
Since 2016 I am also responsible for the 2-week Non-Communicable Diseases, Injuries and Disasters course, which is part of the Master of Global Health at KI.
In 2016 I coordinated a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in Global health together with Hans Rosling and other colleagues. We had more than 20,000 participants from all over the world registering for this course on the EdX platform.
Education
Medical degree at the Karolinska Institutet in 2007. Defended a PhD thesis in surgery on causes of gastroesophageal reflux disease with Professor Jesper Lagergren as main supervisor. After medical internship to become a licensed physician (AT) I spent 6 months in 2009-2010 at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA as a postdoc under the supervision of Professor Hashem El-Serag.
Academic honours, awards and prizes
SIGHT Fellowship 2017-2019 - Global Health Leadership Program