Knut Lönnroth

Knut Lönnroth

Professor
Telephone: +46852483312
Mobile phone: +46704301236
Visiting address: Widerströmska huset Tomtebodavägen 18 A, plan 3, 17165 Solna
Postal address: K9 Global folkhälsa, K9 GPH Alfvén Lönnroth, 171 77 Stockholm
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About me

  • I have combined appointment as professor of Social Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and senior consultant at the Centre for Epidemiology and Community Health, Region Stockholm. I am a medical doctor specialized in Social Medicine and have a MSc in clinical epidemiology and a PhD in Social Medicine and Public Health.

    I am also group leader for the Social medicine, infectious diseases and migration research group at the Department of Global Public Health.

    I worked for 13 years for the Global TB Programme at the World Health Organization, where I coordinated global policy development on social determinants, screening, management of comorbidities, and social interventions to improve TB detection, adherence and financial risk protection. I also led the development of a new global TB indictor for the assessment of the economic impact of TB for patients and effected households.

    Education
    - Medical specialization in Social Medicine, Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, 2003
    - Doctor of Medicine (PhD in Social Medicine and Public Health). Göteborg University and Nordic School of Public Health, Sweden, 2000.
    - Registered Physician (MBBS equivalent), Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, 1997.
    - Master of Medical Science (Clinical Epidemiology), University of Newcastle, Australia, 1995.
    - University Medical Degree, March 1992, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

    Academic honours, awards and prizes
    - Elected Fellow of European Respiratory Society (FERS), 2016, for “excellence in contributions to research, education and clinical leadership in respiratory medicine”
    - Award for “Highly Commended Book” in the public health category of the 2014 British Medical Association Medical Book Awards, for the WHO guideline “Systematic screening for active tuberculosis - Principles and recommendations. WHO/HTM/TB.2013.04. Geneva: WHO” (Lead author and guideline coordinator).
    - Award for the “Best book” in the Public Health category in the British Medical Association Book Awards 2011 for the WHO publication "Equity, social determinants and public health programmes" (Contributed the chapter on tuberculosis).
    - Award for the second most cited paper among papers published in Social Science and Medicine in the years 2009-2014: Lönnroth K, Jaramillo E, Williams BG, Dye C, Raviglione M. Drivers of tuberculosis epidemics: The role of risk factors and social determinants. Social Science and Medicine 2009; 68 :2240–2246
    - Most cited paper among all papers published in the International Journal of TB and Lung Disease 2013-15: Lönnroth K, Corbett E, Golub J, Godfrey-Faussett P, Uplekar M, Weil D, Raviglione M. Systematic screening for active tuberculosis: justification, definitions and key considerations. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2013; 17: 289–298

Research

  • The past 25 years I have conducted extensive epidemiological, health systems and social science research with a major focus on tuberculosis. Presently, my research focuses mainly on social interventions for improved tuberculosis care and prevention, systematic screening for tuberculosis and migration and health. I coordinate the health and social protection action research and knowledge sharing network (SPARKS).

    Some current research projects

    E-Detect: A research consortium for the early detection and integrated management of tuberculosis in Europe.
    IMPACT-TB: Implementation, evaluation and scale up proven active tuberculosis case finding and social support interventions in Nepal and Vietnam.
    TB-Sequel: A multi-country cohort study designed to determine the short- and long-term medical, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis.
    ISTE – Interdisciplinary Strategies for TB Elimination in Sweden.
    For more information on these projects see the Social medicine, infectious diseases and migration group.

Teaching

  • I am responsible for the social medicine teaching for medical students in the last semester of the medical programme. I lecture in different courses within the Master of Public Health and Master in Global Health programmes, and supervise and examine master theses.

Articles

All other publications

Grants

Employments

  • Professor, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 2024-
  • Chief Medical Officer, Government of Åland, 2020-
  • Medical officer, Global Tuberculosis Programme, World Health Organization, 2003-2017

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Göteborgs Universitet, 2006
  • Master of Clinical Epidemiology, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Newcastle Australia, 1996
  • University Medical Degree, Karolinska Institutet, 1992

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