Yasmina Molero

Yasmina Molero

Adjunct Lecturer | Docent
Visiting address: Norra Stationsgatan 69, 11364 Stockholm
Postal address: K8 Klinisk neurovetenskap, K8 CPF Jayaram/Hammarberg, 171 77 Stockholm
Part of:
  • Department of Clinical Neuroscience
  • Centre for Psychiatry Research at CNS
  • Psychological treatment of addiction – Anders Hammarberg and Nitya Jayaram-Lindström's research group

About me

  • I am a researcher at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience (Centre for Psychiatry Research) and affiliated with the Department of Medical Epidemiology & Biostatistics at KI.

    My work focuses on psychiatric epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology, utilizing data from Swedish national registers, the Swedish Twin Registry, and Swedish cohort studies. My research primarily explores:

    • The relationship between traumatic brain injury and psychiatric and behavioral health, including pharmacological treatment for individuals with  traumatic brain injury.
    • Pharmacological treatment strategies for individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorder.
    • Psychiatric and behavioral risks and benefits of pharmacological treatments, with a focus on suicide, overdoses, accidents, and violence.

    I also contribute to epidemiological studies on psychiatric and behavioral health, including alcohol and drug addiction, gambling disorder, gaming, and risk assessment tools for psychiatry.

    I earned my PhD from the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at KI and completed postdoctoral fellowships at both the Department of Medical Epidemiology & Biostatistics and the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at KI. I also undertook a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, followed by a two-year role as a visiting researcher at the University of Oxford.

    My research is funded by VR, ALF Medicin, Karolinska Institutet Funds, and Systembolagets Alkoholforskningsråd.

    Current Supervision

    • Anders Nilsson (Postdoc, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, KI): Research on gaming and mental health.
    • Andrea Klang (PhD Student, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University): Co-supervisor for PhD project on long-term outcomes and rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury.
    • Charlotte Wesslén (PhD Student, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University): Co-supervisor for PhD project on the role of genetic variation in traumatic brain injury outcomes.
    • Andreas Hurme-Lundin (PhD Student, Department of Neuroscience, KI): Co-supervisor for PhD project for traumatic brain injury susceptibility and long-term outcomes.

    Previous Supervision

    • Eva Norén Selinus (Department of Clinical Neuroscience, KI): Co-supervisor for PhD project on ADHD and psychosocial outcomes.
    • Remus-Giulio Anghel (Oxford Brookes University, UK): Supervisor for BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science degree project on pharmacoepidemiology.
    • Sandra Tegvik (Medicine Programme, KI): Supervisor for medical degree project on pharmacoepidemiology in pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council
    1 December 2025 - 31 December 2029
    The Swedish government has a new national strategy for mental health and suicide prevention, and problem gambling is highlighted as a target area, underscoring the relevance and timeliness of this project. We will examine the relationship between problem gambling, mental health problems and suicide, and how financial debt may affect this relationship, in a nationwide cohort of 125,000 individuals who have self-excluded from all licensed gambling in Sweden via the governmental service www.spelpaus.se. For the first time, this unique cohort will be linked to national patient, medication, death, socioeconomic, demographic, family, and financial debt registers. To strengthen causal inference and uncover underlying mechanisms, we will adjust for familial confounders (e.g. genetic vulnerability and early-life environment) by comparing them to both a matched population cohort and a sibling cohort, applying fixed-effects models. A team of psychologists, psychiatrists, epidemiologists, and public health experts from Karolinska Institutet, University of Helsinki, and University of Oxford will lead the study. Year 1: secure and prepare register data, preliminary analyses. Years 2-3: further statistical modelling, submit manuscripts. Year 4: finalize analyses, submit final manuscript, and dissemination. By partnering with policymakers, suicide prevention coordinators and gambling regulators we aim to inform strategies that reduce psychiatric harms in this identified at-risk population.
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2025 - 31 December 2028
    Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) affects over 60 million people annually worldwide, leading to significant disabilities and increasing the risk of dementia. Despite TBI´s heterogeneity and varying outcomes among similarly injured patients, current treatment relies on a uniform, one-size-fits-all approach, often resulting in suboptimal care. This one-size-fits-all approach fails to accommodate the individual variations and complexities inherent in each case of TBI, leading to suboptimal outcomes. Recognizing the need for personalized treatment strategies, this project proposes the integration of clinical variables, head CT-scans, biological, high-resolution physiological data, and genetic variations, cognitive reserve, harnessing comprehensive Swedish and international TBI datasets, bolstered by extensive Swedish linkage registers. Employing machine learning algorithms, this approach strives for customized interventions and accurate prognosis tools, transforming care in neurointensive clinics. Additionally, addressing the gap between animal studies and human trials, we introduce a humanized in vivo model for TBI research, essential for testing neuroprotective drugs and understanding human cell responses. Combining clinical and experimental efforts with advanced data-driven techniques, our project targets the discovery of effective drug targets to improve TBI recovery, underscored by a humanized model for direct relevance to patient care.

Employments

  • Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 2025-2027

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2025
  • Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 2011

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