Olivia Biermann
Affiliated to Teaching/Tutoring | Docent
E-mail: olivia.biermann@ki.se
Visiting address: Tomtebodavägen 18A, 17177 Stockholm
Postal address: K9 Global folkhälsa, K9 GPH Alfvén, 171 77 Stockholm
About me
I am an Associate Professor of Global Health with a PhD in Medical Science from Karolinska Institutet. I have professional experience with organizations including the World Health Organization, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and United for Global Mental Health. My work focuses on conducting research that is relevant and useful for informing health decision-making, as well as strengthening capacity for both the generation and use of research evidence. In 2018, I was named an Emerging Voice for Global Health. I am affiliated with the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet.
Previously, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institutet (2021-2024), focusing on the political economy of adolescent mental health and well-being. During that time, I served as a Lancet Commissioner, co-leading a workstream on the topic as part of the second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. During my PhD at Karolinska Institutet (2017-2021), I was also a Fellow at the Boston University-Rockefeller Foundation Commission on Health Determinants, Data, and Decision-making.Prior to my academic activities, I worked for three years as a full-time consultant in knowledge translation and evidence-informed policy-making at the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (2014-2017) where I provided technical support to the Evidence-informed Policy Network (EVIPNet) Europe. I worked and studied in Bangladesh, Ecuador, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Nicaragua, South Africa, Uganda and Vietnam. In addition, I served as President of the non-governmental organization Foundation Human Nature, supporting community-based rural health and development work in Ecuador, Ghana, Nepal and Rwanda.
Research
Within the field of health policy and systems research, I conduct qualitative and mixed-methods research, as well as reviews. I am particularly interested in the gaps between evidence and policy, and policy and implementation.
My PhD thesis was entitled "Global policy to local implementation: experiences from active tuberculosis case-finding in high-burden countries" and is available for download here: https://openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/handle/10616/47542. The work was part of the Horizon 2020-funded IMPACT TB.
Teaching
- I teach health systems and policy in the following programmes:
* Master's Programme in Global Health, Karolinska Institutet
* Master's Programme in Health Economics, Policy and Management, Karolinska Institutet
* Master's Programme in Public Health, Lund University
Articles
- Article: PUBLIC HEALTH. 2025;249:105985Ambe-Cohen R; Bernal-Serrano D; Biermann O; Shawar YR; Aranda-Remon Z
- Article: BMJ OPEN. 2025;15(8):e103199Lundeberg EE; Biermann O; Kuhlin J; Kulane A; Annerstedt KS; Forsman LD
- Article: BMC PUBLIC HEALTH. 2025;25(1):1509Biermann O; Claeson M; Derko M; Mikaelsdotter C; Nordenstam A; Peterson SS
- Article: BMC MEDICAL EDUCATION. 2025;25(1):434Niemi M; Alvesson HM; Hellden D; Biermann O; Henje E; Nordenstedt H; Sundberg CJ; Alfven T
- Article: SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY. 2024;59(4):585-598Abdalla SM; Koya SF; Rosenberg SBB; Stovall IBB; Biermann O; Zeinali Z; Cohen GHH; Ettman CKK; Galea S
- Article: GLOBAL HEALTH ACTION. 2023;16(1):2190649Amorós Molina Á; Helldén D; Alfvén T; Niemi M; Leander K; Nordenstedt H; Rehn C; Ndejjo R; Wanyenze R; Biermann O
- Article: GLOBAL HEALTH ACTION. 2023;16(1):2173853Biermann O; Nordenstam A; Muwonge T; Kabiri L; Ndeezi G; Alfven T
- Article: PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH. 2022;2(12):e0001205Jarde A; Siqueira N; Afaq S; Naz F; Irfan M; Tufail P; Aslam F; Todowede O; Rakhshanda S; Khalid H; Lin Y; Bierman O; Elsony A; Elsey H; Siddiqi N; Siddiqi K
- Article: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. 2022;32(6):976-981Winters M; Biermann O; Bohlin G; Bergman M; Brouneus F; Zeebari Z; Nordenstedt H
- Article: BMJ OPEN. 2021;11(10):e049900Dixit K; Biermann O; Rai B; Aryal TP; Mishra G; Teixeira de Siqueira-Filha N; Paudel PR; Pandit RN; Sah MK; Majhi G; Levy J; van Rest J; Gurung SC; Dhital R; Lonnroth K; Squire SB; Caws M; Sidney K; Wingfield T
- Article: JOURNAL OF URBAN HEALTH-BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. 2021;98(SUPPL 1):15-30Mwoka M; Biermann O; Ettman CK; Abdalla SM; Ambuko J; Pearson M; Rashid SF; Zeinali Z; Galea S; Valladares LM; Mberu B
- Article: JOURNAL OF URBAN HEALTH-BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. 2021;98(SUPPL 1):4-14Biermann O; Mwoka M; Ettman CK; Abdalla SM; Shawky S; Ambuko J; Pearson M; Zeinali Z; Galea S; Mberu B; Valladares LM
- Article: IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE. 2021;16(1):54Biermann O; Tran PB; Forse RJ; Vo LNQ; Codlin AJ; Viney K; Caws M; Lonnroth K
- Article: BMC HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH. 2021;21(1):295Biermann O; Dixit K; Rai B; Caws M; Lonnroth K; Viney K
- Article: PLOS ONE. 2021;16(3):e0247568Biermann O; Kluppelberg R; Lonnroth K; Viney K; Caws M; Atkins S
- Article: REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. 2021;18(1):20Pokhrel D; Bhattarai S; Emgard M; von Schickfus M; Forsberg BC; Biermann O
- Article: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. 2020;30(5):854-855Bekker M; Ivankovic D; Biermann O
- Article: BMJ OPEN. 2020;10(6):e036285Biermann O; Atkins S; Lonnroth K; Caws M; Viney K
- Journal article: WELLCOME OPEN RESEARCH. 2020;5:19Dixit K; Rai B; Aryal TP; Mishra G; de Siqueira-Filha NT; Paudel PR; Levy JW; van Rest J; Gurung SC; Dhital R; Biermann O; Viney K; Lonnroth K; Squire SB; Caws M; Wingfield T
- Article: WELLCOME OPEN RESEARCH. 2020;5:19Dixit K; Rai B; Prasad Aryal T; Mishra G; Teixeira de Siqueira-Filha N; Raj Paudel P; Levy JW; van Rest J; Chandra Gurung S; Dhital R; Biermann O; Viney K; Lonnroth K; Squire SB; Caws M; Wingfield T
- Article: TROPICAL MEDICINE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE. 2018;4(1):E3-3Oh KH; Rahevar K; Nishikiori N; Viney K; Choi H; Biermann O; Kim HJ; Nou C; Kim S; Zhu G; Zhang H; Xu C; Bounmala S; Senchanthixay M; Purevdorj E; Khaltar U-O; Paguirigan R; Amoguis H; Vu XP; Dang XK
- Article: HEALTH RESEARCH POLICY AND SYSTEMS. 2018;16(1):50Mihalicza P; Leys M; Borbas I; Szigeti S; Biermann O; Kuchenmuller T
- Journal article: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH GOVERNANCE. 2018;23(2):120-133Biermann O; Kuchenmüller T; Panisset U; Leys M
- Article: GLOBAL HEALTH ACTION. 2016;9:32237-11Biermann O; Eckhardt M; Carlfjord S; Falk M; Forsberg BC
- Article: BMC RESEARCH NOTES. 2016;9:151Leppänen A; Biermann O; Sundberg CJ; Tomson T
- Article: BUNDESGESUNDHEITSBLATT-GESUNDHEITSFORSCHUNG-GESUNDHEITSSCHUTZ. 2015;58(1):16-22Rutberg H; Eckhardt M; Biermann O
- Show more
All other publications
- Review: BMC GLOBAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH. 2025;3(1):100Nordenstam A; Hellden D; Ekman A-T; Blennow M; Ndeezi G; Biermann O; Alfven T
- Review: LANCET. 2025;405(10493):1945-2022Baird S; Choonara S; Azzopardi PS; Banati P; Bessant J; Biermann O; Capon A; Claeson M; Collins PY; De Wet-Billings N; Dogra S; Dong Y; Francis KL; Gebrekristos L; Groves AK; Hay SI; Imbago-Jacome D; Jenkins AP; Kabiru C; Kennedy EC; Li L; Lu C; Ma J; Mcgovern T; Mensa-Kwao A; Mojola SA; Nagata JM; Olumide A; Omigbodun O; O'Sullivan M; Prost A; Requejo JH; Shawar YR; Shiffman J; Silverman A; Song Y; Swartz S; Tamambang R; Urdal H; Ward JL; Patton GC; Sawyer SM; Ezeh A; Viner RM
- Editorial: LANCET GLOBAL HEALTH. 2025;13(3):e403-e404Biermann O; Schleiff M; Romao DMM; Mikaelsdotter C; Alfven T; Wanyenze RK; Peterson SS; Kuchenmueller T
- Corrigendum: PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH. 2023;3(7):e0002186Jarde A; Siqueira N; Afaq S; Naz F; Irfan M; Tufail P; Aslam F; Todowede O; Rakhshanda S; Khalid H; Lin Y; Biermann O; Elsony A; Elsey H; Siddiqi N; Siddiqi K
- Letter: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TUBERCULOSIS AND LUNG DISEASE. 2022;26(12):1194-1196Biermann O; Wingfield T; Thapa B; Babajide O; Zeinali Z; Torres I; Abdalla SM; Galea S
- Review: COCHRANE DATABASE OF SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS. 2022;3(3):CD010890van't Hoog A; Viney K; Biermann O; Yang B; Leeflang MMG; Langendam MW
- Review: JOURNAL OF URBAN HEALTH-BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. 2021;98(SUPPL 1):69-78Biermann O; Koya SF; Corkish C; Abdalla SM; Galea S
- Doctoral thesis: 2021Biermann O
- Review: PLOS ONE. 2020;15(10):e0240696Biermann O; Phuong BT; Viney K; Caws M; Lonnroth K; Annerstedt KS
- Review: HEALTH RESEARCH POLICY AND SYSTEMS. 2020;18(1):93Scarlett J; Forsberg BC; Biermann O; Kuchenmueller T; El-Khatib Z
- Editorial: BMJ GLOBAL HEALTH. 2020;5(7):e003015"Together we move a mountain": celebrating a decade of the Emerging Voices for Global Health networkSrinivas PN; Henriksson DK; Gordeev V; Decoster K; Topp SM; Abimbola S
- Editorial: BMJ GLOBAL HEALTH. 2020;5(6):e002504Tran PB; Hensing G; Wingfield T; Atkins S; Sidney Annerstedt K; Kazibwe J; Tomeny E; Biermann O; Thorpe J; Forse R; Lonnroth K
- Review: BMJ OPEN. 2019;9(12):e031284Biermann O; Lonnroth K; Caws M; Viney K
- Editorial: BMJ GLOBAL HEALTH. 2019;4(3):e001746Storeng KT; Abimbola S; Balabanova D; Mccoy D; Ridde V; Filippi V; Roalkvam S; Akello G; Parker M; Palmer J; Abejirinde I; Abimbola S; Adebiyi B; Affun-Adegbulu C; Ahlgren JA; Ahmad A; Akello G; Al-Awlaqi S; Aloys Z; Amul GG; Arthur J; Asaduzzaman M; Asgedom AA; Assarag B; Atchessi N; Atkins S; Badejo O; Baeroe K; Molleh B; Balabanova D; Bazzano A; Behague DP; Beisel U; Belaid L; Bernays S; Bhuiyan S; Biermann O; Birungi H; Blanchet K; Blystad A; Bodson O; Bonnet E; Bose S; Bozorgmehr K; Brear M; Burgess R; Byskov J; Carillon S; Cavallaro FL; Chabeda S; Chandler C; Chapman R; Chikuse FF; Chinwe JI; Cislaghi B; Closser S; Colvin CJ; Cresswell J; da Cunha Saddi F; Daire J; Dalglish S; de Brouwere V; de Sardan J-PO; Delvaux T; Desgrees du Lou A; Diallo BA; Diarra A; Dixon J; Doherty T; Dumont A; Eboreime E; Engelbrecht B; Erikson S; Faye A; Filippi V; Fischer S; Fournet F; Fox AM; Francis JM; Gautier L; George A; Gilson L; Gimbel S; Glenn J; Gopinathan U; Gordeev VS; Gradmann C; Graham JE; Gram L; Greco G; Grepin K; Guichard A; Gupta PT; Guzman V; Haaland MES; Haggblom A; Hagopian A; Hammarberg K; Handschumacher P; Hann K; Hasselberg M; Hawkes S; Howard N; Hurtig A-K; Hussain S; Hutchinson E; Idoteyin E; Infanti JJ; Irwin R; Islam S; Joarder T; John P; Johnson E; Johri M; Justice J; Kabore C; Kadio K; Kamwa M; Kelly AH; Kenworthy N; Kittelsen S; Kloster MO; Kocsis E; Koon A; Kumar P; Lal A; Lange I; Lanthorn H; Lees S; Lexchin J; Lie AL; Limenih G; Litwin-Davies I; Lodda CC; Lonnroth K; Manton J; Manzi A; Manzoor M; Marchal B; Marten R; Matsui M; Mbewe A; Mc Sween-Cadieux E; McGoey L; McNeill D; Mendenhall E; Mendez CA; Mirzoev T; Mohammed S; Moland KM; Molyneux S; Mumtaz Z; Murray SF; Nambiar D; Nelson E; Nieto-Sanchez C; Norheim OF; Nouvet E; Obare F; Okungu V; Onarheim KH; Ostebo MT; Ouattara F; Ozawa S; Pai M; Paina L; Palmer J; Parashar R; Parker M; Paul E; Peeters K; Pennetier C; Penn-Kekana L; Peters D; Pfeiffer J; Pot H; Prashanth NS; Preston R; Puyvallee ADB; Rahmalia A; Reid-Henry S; Ridde V; Roalkvam S; Rodriguez DC; Ronse M; Sacks E; Samb OM; Sanders D; Sarkar N; Sarriot E; Scheel IB; Schwarz T; Scott K; Seeley J; Seward N; Shannon G; Shearer J; Shelley K; Sherr K; Shiffman J; Simard F; Singh NS; Soors W; Springer RA; Storeng KT; Strong A; Sundby J; Taylor S; Tetui M; Topp SM; Tsofa B; Turcotte-Tremblay A-M; Undie C-C; Van Belle S; Van Heteren G; van Rensburg AJ; Sriram V; Venkatapuram S; Wagenaar BH; Wallace L; Walugembe DR; Wariri O; Whiteside AOBE; Yakob B; Zakayo S; Zitti T; Zwi A
- Book chapter: THE PALGRAVE INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF HEALTHCARE POLICY AND GOVERNANCE. 2015;p.Tomson GR; Biermann O
- Book chapter: THE PALGRAVE INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF HEALTHCARE POLICY AND GOVERNANCE. 2015;p. 171-187Tomson G; Biermann O
Employments
- Affiliated to Teaching/Tutoring, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 2024-2027
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 2021-2024
Degrees and Education
- Docent, Global Health, Karolinska Institutet, 2026
- Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 2021