Elisabete Vainio

Elisabete Vainio

Professor
Telephone: +46852482510
Visiting address: Nobels väg 12a, 17165 Solna
Postal address: C8 Medicinsk epidemiologi och biostatistik, C8 MEB Weiderpass, 171 77 Stockholm
Part of:

About me

  • My research interest is mainly on etiological factors in female cancers. In the project "Women's Lifestyle and Health" we try to identify potentially modifiable risk factors for cancers of the breast, ovarian, endometrium, colorectum and skin, as well as for cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, stroke) and overall mortality. I am also interested in factors affecting cancer survival. I coordinate the Ugandan collaboration on infections diseases and cancer, where we are studying the role of infectious agents such as HIV, human papilloma viruses (HPV), and EBV in the etiology of cancer of the cervix uteri, conjunctiva, and Burkitts Lymphoma, hormones and cancer, cancer research in developing countries.

    From 1 January 2019, I am working as director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the Cancer Research Institute of the World Health Organization (WHO) for a five-year term.

    Education
    MD, Federal University Pelotas, Brazil, 1992 (medicine)
    MSc, Federal University Pelotas, Brazil, 1994 (epidemiology)
    Post doc, IARC, Lyon, 1994-1995
    PhD, Karolinska Institutet, 1999 (cancer epidemiology)
    Post doc, Karolinska Institutet, 1999-2000 (cancer epidemiology)

Research

  • Research projects
    - Women's lifestyle and health
    - Prognosis for ovarian cancer
    - Pregnancy estrogens, diet, and markers of possible breast cancer risk
    - Infectious diseases and cancer in Uganda
    - Nordic Occupational Cancer Study (NOCCA)
    - Finnish Health in Teens Study (FIN-HIT)
    - National follow-up of the HPV vaccination program, 2009-2012

    Ongoing supervision

    PhD Thesis main supervisor
    - Trude Andreassen, University of Oslo and Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo, Norway; started 2015

    PhD Thesis – co-supervisor
    - Marisa da Silva, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; starts 2015-November
    - Yingjun Li, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou Province, Peoples Republic of China; visiting PhD student at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; started 2014
    - Anderson Garcez, University of the Sinos Valey, RS, Brazil; visiting PhD student at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; started 2014
    Rejane Figueiredo, Faculty of Public Health, University of São Paulo, Brazil; visiting PhD student at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; started 2014
    - Reza Ghiasvand, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; started 2013

    Post-doctoral fellows - main supervisor
    - Idlir Licaj, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; started 2014
    Kristin Benjaminsen Borch, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; started 2013

    Mentorship
    - Sabina Simola, Folkhälsan, Helsinki, Finland

    Completed supervision

    PhD Thesis main supervisor
    - Kristin Benjaminsen Borch, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway; Defended, 2010-2013
    - Michael Odida, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden and Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Defended, 2005-2010
    - Jackson Orem, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden and Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Defended, 2005-2014
    - Twaha Mutyaba, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden and Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Defended, 2005-2009
    - Charles Ateenyi Agaba, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden and Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Defended, 2005-2009
    - Cecily Banura, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden and Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Defended, 2005-2009
    - Sara Wedrén, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Defended, 1998-2004

    PhD Thesis – co-supervisor
    - Eivind Bjerkaas, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Defended 2010-2014
    - Ranjan Parajuli, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Defended, 2010-2014
    - Fatima Azerkan, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Defended, 2009-2013
    - Alexandra Ekman, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Defended, 2003-2006

    Post-doctoral fellows - main supervisor
    - Nina Roswall, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Danmark and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2014-2015
    - Hana Taha, Karolinska Institutet, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Stockholm, Sweden, 2013-2014
    - Jin Kyoung Oh, visiting postdoc fellow at Karolinska Institutet, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Stockholm, Sweden, 2013-2014
    - Ulf Eriksson, Karolinska Institutet, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Stockholm, Sweden, 2013
    - Elisabeth Couto, Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo, Norway, 2011-2012
    - Agnes Fournier, Université Paris XI, Paris, France, 2009
    - Maria Hedelin, Samfundet Folkhälsan, Helsinki, Finland and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2006-2012
    - Ling Yang, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2006-2009
    - Marie Löf, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2004-2010

    Post-doctoral fellows - co-supervisor
    - Ming Lu, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2004-2008

Articles

All other publications

Employments

  • Professor, Medical Epidemiology, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 2011-

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2000
  • Doctor Of Philosophy, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 1999

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