Elena Raffetti

I’m an MD specialized in Public Health and Preventive Medicine with deep expertise in public health, epidemiology and health data science. During the last 3 years, I have worked on developing an interdisciplinary research field bridging medical, natural and social sciences. I'm currently an assistant professor at Karolinska Institutet and I am leading projects that investigate how climate extremes and COVID-19 impact human health, particularly in vulnerable groups like pregnant women.

- 2021 PhD in Epidemiology
- 2016 Specialization in Public Health and Preventive Medicine
- 2011 Medical Doctor degree

I'm building up a team of early and middle-career researchers to work on the impact of extreme events on population health.

At Karolinska Institutet, I'm leading two projects looking at the climate extremes on population health considering drivers of vulnerability, adaptation and future scenarios.

I'm deputy director of the Centre for Impacts of Climate Extremes (climes) supported by the Swedish Research Council, coordinated by Uppsala University in collaboration with RISE and Lund University. I'm focusing on the health impacts theme of the centre.

I'm currently in a secondment at the University of Cambridge, Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care. I'm leading a project to develop a population-wide pregnancy cohort in England and examine the role of COVID-19 infection/vaccination on adverse pregnancy outcomes. This project also considers environmental factors as possible effect modifiers and vulnerable subgroups such as pregnant women with pre-existing heart disease.