Márta Radó
Assistant Professor
E-mail: marta.rado@ki.se
Telephone: +46852487423
Visiting address: Nobels väg 12a, 17165 Solna
Postal address: C8 Medicinsk epidemiologi och biostatistik, C8 MEB Lichtenstein, 171 77 Stockholm
About me
- I am an an assistant professor with a background on social epidemiology, social network analysis, and causal inference. I was a postdoctoral researcher at Erasmus Medical Center (the Netherlands) and Linköping University (Sweden) and worked at Corvinus University of Budapest and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Hungary).
Research
- My research focuses on understanding population health and health inequalities using complex methods, such as program evaluation methods, genetically informative family design, and social network analysis methods, based on linked administrative data and surveys. More specifically, my current projects aims: (1) to tackle inequalities in birth outcomes and health behaviors by disentangling the role of social networks, (2) to find ways to tease out environmental determinants of fertility and health beyond genetic ones, and (3) to evaluate how policy interventions can improve health and decrease health inequalities globally.
Teaching
- 1. Teaching:
I have seven years of experience teaching statistics and programming. This year, I'm co-teaching a causal inference course for PhD students with Arvid Sjölander and Biostatistics 1 for master students with Zheng Chang. During my PhD and master's studies, I also taught Statistics and Methodology courses for both master's and bachelor's students.
2. Supervision:
PhD students:
- Aleksandra Kanina, PhD thesis on prenatal and early life exposure to stress and risks of autism and ADHD (Co-supervisor, expected defence: 2025)
- Balram Rai, PhD thesis on Small area analysis in epidemiology, with applications to mental health and socio-economic status (Co-supervisor, expected defence: 2026)
- Angelo Giosuè Mezzoiuso, PhD thesis on Fertility treatment and maternal health (Co-supervisor, expected defence: 2026)
Master students:
-Olivia Sage Bannon, Study on the global association between tobacco taxes and socioeconomic inequalities in child health (Main supervisor, defense: 2023 June, currently employed at Imperial College London)
-Lidija Marija Smertinaite, Master thesis on democratization and child health inequalities (Main supervisor, expected defense: 2024)
-Lilla Habsz, Master thesis on Oppositional culture among Roma students using a longitudinal network analysis [Master thesis, article published, she received the 2nd prize at the Hungarian National Competition of Students and the excellent master thesis prize from the Hungarian Economical Association]
Highschool student:
-Adam Tiszay, project about social media and polarization using an agent-based model
[Currently, he studies at Cambridge University (Mathematics Department), he received the best presentation award for this project at the annual RECENS intern conference]
3. International experience:
I was also a member of the steering committee of the International Max Planck Research School, i.e. an international population health doctoral program that aims to integrate data science, medicine, and social science to study population health. I was the coordinator of the internship program at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, RECENS (Description: Developing an internship program, advertising the call, interviewing, selecting, and managing 10-30 interns each semester)
4. Certificates:
I have completed Introductory Doctoral Supervision course and am currently following courses on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
Articles
- Journal article: LANCET PUBLIC HEALTH. 2025;10(5):e380-e390Bannon OS; Been JV; Harper S; Laverty AA; Millett C; van Lenthe FJ; Filippidis F; Rado MK
- Article: ACTA PAEDIATRICA. 2024;113(9):2081-2090Dallagiacoma G; Rado MK; Odone A; Alfven T; Rhedin SA
- Article: PLOS ONE. 2024;19(8):e0308254Rai B; Nordstrom T; Lantz A; Lund RL; Kuja-Halkola R; Rado M; Oberg S; Hao S; Du X; Clements M
- Article: TOBACCO CONTROL. 2024;33(4):489-496Parnham JC; Vrinten C; Rado MK; Bottle A; Filippidis FT; Laverty AA
- Article: THORAX. 2024;79(7):662-669Hopkinson NS; Vrinten C; Parnham JC; Rado MK; Filippidis F; Vamos EP; Laverty AA
- Article: ADDICTION. 2024;119(3):488-498Rado MK; Kisfalusi D; Laverty AA; van Lenthe FJ; Been JV; Takacs K
- Article: LANCET. 2023;402:s91Vrinten C; Parnham JC; Rado MK; Filippidis FT; Vamos E; Laverty AA
- Article: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. 2023;33(5):857-863Vrinten C; Parnham JC; Rado MK; Filippidis FT; Creese H; Hopkinson NS; Laverty AA
- Journal article: LANCET. 2022;400(10358):1100Laverty AA; Millett C; Been JV; Filippidis FT; Radó MK
- Article: LANCET PUBLIC HEALTH. 2022;7(7):e616-e625Radó MK; van Lenthe FJ; Laverty AA; Filippidis FT; Millett C; Sheikh A; Been JV
- Article: PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH. 2022;2(3):e0000042Rado MK; Laverty AA; Hone T; Chang K; Jawad M; Millett C; Been JV; Filippidis FT
- Journal article: TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CESSATION. 2022;8:07-6Breunis LJ; Versteylen M; Rado MK; Dereci N; Boderie NW; de Kroon MLA; Been JV
- Journal article: NICOTINE & TOBACCO RESEARCH. 2021;23(12):2075-2083Breunis LJ; Bebek M; Dereci N; de Kroon MLA; Rado MK; Been JV
- Journal article: LANCET PUBLIC HEALTH. 2021;6(8):E566-E578Rado MK; Molenberg FJM; Westenberg LEH; Sheikh A; Millett C; Burdorf A; van Lenthe FJ; Been JV
- Journal article: SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE. 2021;279:114003Groeniger JO; Rado MK; van Lenthe FJ
- Journal article: BMJ OPEN. 2020;10(10):e038234Rado MK; Molenberg FJM; Sheikh A; Millett C; Bramer WM; Burdorf A; van Lenthe FJ; Been JV
- Journal article: ECLINICALMEDICINE. 2020;27:100560Rado MK; van Lenthe FJ; Sheikh A; Been JV
- Journal article: JOURNAL OF THE ECONOMICS OF AGEING. 2020;17:100178Rado M; Boissonneault M
- Journal article: BMJ OPEN. 2020;10(9):e037799Boderie NW; van Kippersluis JLW; Ceallaigh DTO; Rado MK; Burdorf A; van Lenthe FJ; Been JV
- Journal article: JOURNAL OF HAPPINESS STUDIES. 2020;21(6):2069-2094Rado MK
- Journal article: JASSS-THE JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL SOCIETIES AND SOCIAL SIMULATION. 2019;22(4)Rado M; Takacs K
- Journal article: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES. 2018;42(1):16-26Neulinger A; Rado M
- Show more
All other publications
- Preprint: MEDRXIV. 2023Hopkinson NS; Vrinten C; Parnham JC; Radó MK; Filippidis FT; Vamos E; Laverty AA
Grants
- Tackling the spread of cigarettes and alternative nicotine products in social networksSwedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare1 January 2024 - 31 December 2026Research problem and specific questions: The increasing use of social media and alternative nicotine products, i.e., e-cigarettes and Swedish snus, poses new threats to stall the progress of tobacco control. Vast research shows how smoking spreads in social networks, but it remains unclear how alternative nicotine products and online interactions affect this spread. Understanding the social network mechanisms underlying nicotine product use is crucial for the design of effective policies. Novel policies for adolescents are needed to prevent nicotine product use at the age when this is typically initiated, even by those who would otherwise never use cigarettes. This project will be the first to identify the network mechanisms of how various nicotine products spread among adolescents and then design a policy intervention to tackle these. We will answer (1) how different nicotine products spread and if alternative nicotine products renormalize cigarettes, (2) how cigarette use spreads online and offline, and (3) what the possible consequences of network-based interventions are, accounting for various nicotine products and online interactions. Data and method: We will collect unique complete social network data of 600 adolescents in Swedish school classes over two waves with information on online and offline social networks and nicotine product use and link this to Swedish registers. We will employ social network analysis methods: (1) exponential random graph models and stochastic-actor-oriented models to investigate the popularity and spread of nicotine products in online and offline social networks and (2) empirically calibrated agent-based models to investigate possible interventions. Societal relevance and utilization: The tobacco industry increasingly employs online campaigns and alternative nicotine products to recruit a new generation of users, but public health interventions lag behind in their response. We aim to provide information on how to prioritize policy implementation to further reduce nicotine product prevalence and inequalities in nicotine product use and help to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 10. Plan for project realization: This three-year-long project will be approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. The main costs are for researchers’ salaries. The research group consists of sociologists and public health experts with solid experience in collecting and analyzing longitudinal network data and child health behaviors.
- Does it take a village? The role of social networks in socioeconomic fertility differentialsStiftelsen Riksbankens Jubileumsfond1 January 2024 - 31 December 2026In recent years, higher socioeconomic groups started to have more children than lower socioeconomic groups in Sweden and in many other developed countries. Previous research focusing on individuals as independent units had limited power in explaining this polarization in fertility. We will thus use a social network perspective to understand the role of segregated social networks in the fertility behavior of different socioeconomic groups. Using longitudinal population-level social networks consisting of multiple types of relationships (i.e. neighbors, family, and workmates), we will answer (1) how fertility behavior spreads in the social networks for different socioeconomic groups, (2) how use of assisted reproductive techniques spreads in the social networks for the different socioeconomic group, and (3) how family support in someone’s social network influences fertility among different socioeconomic groups. Data will be obtained from several Swedish registers. Quasi-experimental methods (i.e., instrumental variable and small unit analysis) will be applied to distinguish whether people influence each other’s fertility behavior or simply select their relationship based on pre-existing similarities (e.g., fertility intentions). The project will be the first to investigate the role of social networks in forming socioeconomic fertility differentials based on population-level network data, contributing to the understanding of evolving socioeconomic inequalities.
- The puzzles of smoking inequalities and social network dynamics among adolescentsSwedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare1 April 2022 - 31 March 2024
- Separated from each other? Social network interventionSasakawa Young Leader Fellowship1 January 2019 - 30 November 2019
- Tobacco control and child healthDutch Heart Foundation, Lung Foundation Netherlands, Dutch Cancer Society, Dutch Diabetes Research Foundation and the Netherlands Thrombosis Foundation1 January 2019 - 30 November 2021
- The impacts of demographic life events on subjective well-beingResearch Excellent Fellowship, Awarded by Hungarian National Bank and Corvinus University of Budapest1 January 2015 - 30 November 2016
- Bad neighbours?ERSTE Foundation Fellowship for Social Research1 January 2014 - 31 December 2016
Employments
- Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 2023-2028
- Junior Researcher, demography, Hungarian Demographic Research Institute, 2017-2018
- Junior Researcher, Junior Researcher, Hungarian Academy Computational Social Science - Research Center for Educational, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2015-2018
Degrees and Education
- PhD in Sociology [Summa Cum Laude distinction], Sociology, Tracking the effects of life events on subjective well-being, Corvinus University of Budapest, 2019
- MSc in Survey Statistics, Statistics, Eötvös Loránd University, 2013
Visiting research fellowships
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Linköping University, Investigating health inequalities and socioeconomic fertility differential using social network methods (principal investigator, secured grant independently), 2022-2022
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Erasmus MC, Health policy evaluation using systematic review, microsimulations, and quasi-experimental methods (e.g. synthetic control method and longitudinal data analysis), 2018-2021