Christina Hultman

Christina Hultman

Professor Emeritus/Emerita | Docent
Telephone: +46852482475
Visiting address: Nobels väg 12a, 17165 Solna
Postal address: C8 Medicinsk epidemiologi och biostatistik, C8 Administration, 171 77 Stockholm
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About me

  • I have over 35 years of experience as a clinician in psychiatric inpatient care, and longitudinal case-control studies in schizophrenia. In 2009, I was appointed Professor of Pshychiatric Epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet.

    Higher education degree:
    1979 Psych.D./M.Sc, Psychology

    Doctoral degree:
    1996 Ph.D. Uppsala University
  • Clinical Psychology/Psychiatry
  • Thesis: Obstetric complications, Electrodermal Activity and Psychosocial Factors within a Stress-Vulnerability Model of Schizophrenia. Supervisor: Professor Arne Öhman, Karolinska Institutet (KI)

    Postdoctoral positions:
    2002-2004 Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, KI, Stockholm
    1996-2001 Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Ulleråker, Uppsala University
    1996-2001 Postdoc collaboration Institute of Psychiatry, London

    Docent level:
    2002 Assistant professor in Psychological Medicine, Uppsala University

    Specialist certification:
    1996 Specialist in Clinical Psychology
    1996 Specialist in Clinical Research
    1996 Licenced Psychotherapist

    Academic honours, awards and prizes:
    2011 ERA Outstanding Research, Karolinska Institutet’s Review
    2007 Invited lecturer, Medical Research Unit, Perth, Australia
    2006 Invited lecturer, Medical Research Council, London
    2004 Invited author, the Lancet
    2002 Invited lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, Utrecht, Netherlands
    2002 Invited lecturer, Institute of Psychiatry, London
    2002 Award, Nordic Association of Psychiatric Epidemiology
    2001 Scholarship, NorFa/Nordforsk
    2000 Award, Swedish Society for Schizophrenia Research
    1999 Scholarship, FRN/SFR, Swedish Social Science Research
    1999 Award, Rudbeck Award Uppsala University
    1998 Invited lecturer, Symposium Institute of Psychiatry, London

    Commissions of Trust:
    2012- Academy of Finland, Scientific Board Member
    2010- Hjärnfonden, Funding for Brain Research, Scientific Board Member
    2010- Norwegian Program Council for Psychiatric Research, Board Member
    2009-2010 Vinnova, Sweden’s Innovation Agency, Reviewer
    2009-2010 Treasurer, International Federation of Psychiatric Epidemiology (IFPE)
    2008-2016 Faculty opponent for PhD theses in University of Trondheim, University of Oslo, University of Bergen, Uppsala University, Aarhus University, University of Copenhagen
    2007-2012 Board member, International Federation of Psychiatric Epidemiology
    2006- Mentorship Women Doctorate students KI
    2005-2010 Board member, Centre of excellence for schizophrenia research
    2005 Mentorship high school students Tensta gymnasium/KI collaboration
    2005-2009 President, Nordic Association of Psychiatric Epidemiology (NAPE)
    2004-2005 Junior Faculty Ambassador, KI
    2004-2020 Ethical committee, Stockholm, appointed by the Swedish government
    2004 Responsible for Nordic Association of Psychiatric Epidemiology conference
    2004 Responsible for Karolinska Institutet Minisymposium, Stockholm
    2002-2015 Board member, Swedish Society for Research on Schizophrenia
    2002-2012 Board member, Nordic Association of Psychiatric Epidemiology (NAPE)

Research

  • The focus of my research has mainly been early origins of psychological and mental disorders, testing the association between pre- and perinatal effects with development of psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, affective psychosis, reactive psychosis, post-partum psychosis, anorexia nervosa, ADHD and autism) and high-risk paradigms with children at high risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In samples of twins, siblings, half-siblings, family pairs and high-risk offspring I have studied fetal environmental hazards, maternal life style/social disadvantage, paternal age effects and genetic liability using designs that permits simultaneously evaluation of maternal and paternal genetic and environmental influences. During 2008 through 2016, I was responsible for DNA collection of 5, 500 patients with schizophrenia, 5, 000 bipolar patients, 1300 cases with infantile autism and their parents and grandparents, 380 schizophrenia and bipolar twin pairs and 7, 500 healthy controls on a population basis.

    Other initiatives include collaboration with KI basic lab facilities in Huddinge to test hypothesis on aberrant cell function in schizophrenia
  • long-term effects of psychological trauma and genetic risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder. I have considerable collaborative experience with leading international child- and adult psychiatric research groups and of integration of the work of large teams.

    My deep knowledge of the Swedish National Registers has been valuable in establishing epidemiological psychiatry as one of the basic sciences to support molecular studies in psychiatry. I have extensive experience of leading clinical and academic departments and thorough experience of coordination and leading very large nation-wide projects.

    Selection of peer-reviewed original publications:
    1. De Rubeis S, He X, Goldberg AP, Poultney CS, Samocha K, Cicek AE, et al. Synaptic, transcriptional and chromatin genes disrupted in autism. Nature. 2014
  • 515(7526):209-15.
    2. Genovese G, Kähler AK, Handsaker RE, Lindberg J, Rose SA, Bakhoum SF, et al. Clonal hematopoiesis and blood-cancer risk inferred from blood DNA sequence. New England Journal of Medicine. 2014
  • 371(26):2477-87.
    3. Hultman CM, Geddes J, Sparén P, Takei N, Murray RM, Cnattingius S. PapersPrenatal and perinatal risk factors for schizophrenia, affective psychosis, and reactive psychosis of early onset: case-control studyPrenatal and perinatal risk factors for early onset schizophrenia, affective psychosis, and reactive psychosis. Bmj. 1999
  • 318(7181):421-6.
    4. Hultman CM, Sparén P, Cnattingius S. Perinatal risk factors for infantile autism. Epidemiology. 2002
  • 13(4):417-23.
    5.Lek M, Karczewski KJ, Minikel EV, Samocha KE, Banks E, Fennell T, et al. Analysis of protein-coding genetic variation in 60, 706 humans. Nature. 2016
  • 536(7616):285-91.
    6. Lichtenstein P, Yip BH, Björk C, Pawitan Y, Cannon TD, Sullivan PF, et al. Common genetic determinants of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in Swedish families: a population-based study. The Lancet. 2009
  • 373(9659):234-9.
    7. Purcell SM, Moran JL, Fromer M, Ruderfer D, Solovieff N, Roussos P, et al. A polygenic burden of rare disruptive mutations in schizophrenia. Nature. 2014
  • 506(7487):185-90.
    8. Purcell SM, Wray NR, Stone JL, Visscher PM, O'donovan MC, Sullivan PF, et al. Common polygenic variation contributes to risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Nature. 2009
  • 460(7256):748-52.
    9. Ripke S, O'Dushlaine C, Chambert K, Moran JL, Kähler AK, Akterin S, et al. Genome-wide association analysis identifies 13 new risk loci for schizophrenia. Nature genetics. 2013
  • 45(10):1150-9.
    10. Stone JL, O’Donovan MC, Gurling H, Kirov GK, Blackwood DH, Corvin A, et al. Rare chromosomal deletions and duplications increase risk of schizophrenia. Nature. 2008
  • 455(7210):237-41.

Teaching

  • Doctorates, main supervisor:
    Viktoria Johansson, Psychiatrist, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, KI, “Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in Twins with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder”, 2015
    Sven Sandin, Biostatistician, Maudsley Hospital at Kings’s College, London, UK. ‘Maternal effects in autism’, 2014
    Emma Frans, Biomedical engineer, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, KI, “High paternal age and risk of psychiatric disorders in offspring”, 2013
    Anna Svensson, KTH Bioengineer, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, KI, “Family studies of schizophrenia and pregnancy outcomes”, 2009.
    Erik Wennström, Psychologist, Dept of Neuroscience, Ulleråker, Uppsala, “The Camberwell Assessment of Need as an outcome measure in community mental health care”, 2008.
    James MacCabe, Psychiatrist, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychological Medicine, London, “Educational achievement in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder”, 2007.
    Gabriella Stålberg, Psychologist, Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Ulleråker “Early risk factors and family relations in schizophrenia”. Licentiate thesis, 2004/ Doctorate thesis 2013

    Postdocs:
    Anna Kähler, Institute of Psychiatry, University of Oslo, and Department of Medical Genetics, Oslo University Hospital, Norway, 2010-2014
    Jacqueline Borg, Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 2008-2012
    Elin Dianna Gunnarsdottir, University of Akureyri, Iceland, 2008-2009
    Unnur Valdimarsdottir, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2005-2008
    Carola Åberg, Stockholm University 2005-2006

Articles

All other publications

Employments

  • Professor Emeritus/Emerita, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 2023-2024

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Uppsala Universitet, 2002

Supervisor

  • Emma Nilsson, Genetic epidemiological studies of adverse pregnancy outcome and the role of schizophrenia

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