Stine Kjær Urhøj
Assistant Professor
Section of Epidemiology
Bartholinsgade 6Q, 2. sal
1356 København K
Current affiliations
Academic Research Staff
Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen
October 2021 – present
Conducting research on the health and well-being of children and pregnant women within a perinatal and child epidemiological framework.
Main projects:
1) SCOPE I+II (Scandinavian studies of Covid-19 in pregnancy)
The SCOPE project, funded by Nordforsk, studies the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their newborns in three key areas:
- Assessing the likelihood of COVID-19 infection among pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women of reproductive age, including assessing the risk of severe disease and hospitalizations.
- Investigating the potential risks of COVID-19 during pregnancy, including pregnancy complications and fetal loss.
- Examining the effects of maternal COVID-19 on the health of the child, both short-term and long-term.
2) Project on social inequalities in child health.
This research focuses on understanding the drivers of health inequalities in childhood and their long-term impact. The project addresses important health conditions during early life, childhood, and young adulthood, with an initial focus on child mortality and mental health disorders. The goal is to quantify the potential impact of policies on reducing inequalities in child health and identify the best approaches and timing for interventions. The research is part of a larger international project led by David Taylor-Robinson at the Liverpool University aiming to inform international policy decisions.
Other key responsibilities:
Chairing the Department of Public Health's large data infrastructure, known as the Public Health Database, which is utilized by over 180 researchers. This responsibility includes overseeing a secretariat consisting of 4-5 individuals.
Affiliated Researcher
Statistics Denmark
October 2020 – Current
As the project leader for the PREGDK project, I am responsible for overseeing the construction of a comprehensive dataset encompassing all pregnancies in Denmark from 1980 onwards, utilizing national registers as the primary data source. This involves implementing a series of expert-provided and data-driven rules to accurately assign data points to specific pregnancies. Additionally, a vital aspect of the project entails assessing the validity of the data and conducting comparative analyses with other birth- and pregnancy datasets.
Other professional experiences
Postdoc
Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen
September 2017 – October 2021 (part time since August 2018)
Investigating the health of people in the Nordic countries in a life course perspective.
Projects:
1) Contingent life courses (C-LIFE): Tracing Health and Welfare in the Nordic Countries.
2) Welfare state life courses: Social inequalities in the co-evolution of employment, health and critical life events (WELLIFE).
3) Completion of the Danish contribution to The European Perinatal Health Report 2015 (www.europeristat.com), a collection of valid and reliable indicators that can be used for monitoring and evaluating perinatal health in the EU.
Other key responsibilities:
I held the responsibility of managing a substantial registry database (DanChase) belonging to our research group. This encompassed various tasks, including database maintenance, ensuring regular updates, and introducing new researchers to the legal protocols and guidelines governing data usage.
Postdoc
Department of Pediatrics, Kolding Hospital
December 2018 – October 2022 (part time)
As a key contributor to the EUROlinkCAT project, an EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme funded project, I played a vital role in establishing the Danish database by linking EUROCAT data to Danish register data. My responsibilities included setting up and analyzing data from all participating registries and countries within specific work packages, while also contributing to the dissemination of research outcomes through writing scientific publications. The primary objective of the project was to investigate the health and educational outcomes of children with congenital anomalies during the first 10 years of their lives.
Subject consultant
Evidence, Education & Emergency Services, Danish Health Authority
April 2018 – December 2019 (part time)
As a part-time consultant, I led the epidemiological aspect of a health technology assessment (HTA) on expanding the HPV vaccination programme to include boys in Denmark. Responsibilities included: describing HPV epidemiology, reviewing vaccine effectiveness and safety studies, conducting risk assessments, grading evidence quality, and writing report chapters.
Through these responsibilities, I played an integral role in providing evidence-based insights to inform policy decisions regarding the potential expansion of HPV vaccination to boys in Denmark.
PhD fellow
Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen
January 2014 – September 2017 (including maternity leave)
Investigating the impact of the father’s age at conception on the viability and health of the offspring in population-based register studies using Danish nation-wide register data.
Projects:
1) Advanced paternal age and risk of under-five mortality
2) Advanced paternal age and the risk of congenital malformations of the musculoskeletal system in offspring
3) Advanced paternal age and childhood cancer rate
4) Advanced paternal age and stillbirth rate
5) Investigation of the dependency structure (cluster structure) among full siblings and half siblings in the Danish register information
Other key responsibilities:
I held the responsibility of managing a substantial registry database (DanChase) belonging to our research group. This encompassed various tasks, including database maintenance, ensuring regular updates, and introducing new researchers to the legal protocols and guidelines governing data usage.
Visiting Researcher
The Danish Cancer Society Research Center
August 2015 - November 2015
Investigating the association between the father's age at conception and the rate of childhood cancer in offspring in a population-based register study using Danish nation-wide register data.
Research Assistant
Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen
April 2013 - December 2013 (research assistant)
2012-April 2013 (student assistant)
Completion of the Danish contribution to The European Perinatal Health Report 2010 incl. data analysis of reproductive and perinatal conditions (www.europeristat.com)
Student Assistant
Section of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen
2007-2012
Ad hoc work
Intern
DANIDA, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Spring 2009
Project: The Wired Mothers project.
Project aim: to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity by improving contact (primarily by the use of mobile phones) between the pregnant women and health professionals at the local health clinics
Education
PhD
ID: 45243348
Most downloads
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261
downloads
Advanced paternal age and stillbirth rate: a nationwide register-based cohort study of 944,031 pregnancies in Denmark
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Published -
245
downloads
Fever in pregnancy and the risk of congenital malformations: A cohort study
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Published -
104
downloads
A gold mine, but still no Klondike: Nordic register data in health inequalities research
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Published