Julie Odgaard Vedel is a medical doctor from Aalborg University and a postdoctoral researcher at SDU. She is affiliated with the Centre for Global Health and the Bandim Health Project, where her research focuses on vaccine availability, performance indicators of vaccination programmes, and the non-specific effects of vaccines on child health and mortality.
Driven by a strong interest in health inequities and the ways in which health systems shape people’s lives, Julie has been part of the Bandim Health Project since 2020. After living in Guinea-Bissau for three and a half years, she now divides her time between Copenhagen and Bissau.
Her PhD research examined the gap between planned and real-life implementation of the vaccination programme in rural Guinea-Bissau, with a particular focus on restrictive vial-opening policies and Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination. During her doctoral studies, she led extensive fieldwork, managing a large cluster-randomised trial across three regions in collaboration with health authorities and health facility staff. The trial assessed whether increased BCG availability could reduce early infant mortality.
Currently, Julie is involved in a randomised trial in urban Bissau, investigating whether a second dose of BCG at 3.5 months of age can reduce infant mortality among girls.
Although her background is primarily quantitative, Julie strongly advocates for mixed-methods approaches to better understand complex health systems and interventions. Her research therefore spans a wide range of methodologies, including randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, and qualitative research.
Julie’s interest in global health inequity was shaped by her upbringing in Greenland from the age of 10 to 15. Her decision to pursue medicine and global health was further reinforced through volunteer work with an NGO in East Africa. Later, as a medical doctor in the Faroe Islands and Denmark, she observed firsthand the frequent disconnect between intended health interventions and their real-world implementation—an experience that continues to guide her research focus.
Her work is relevant for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
As an early-career researcher, Julie collaborates primarily with colleagues in Guinea-Bissau and Denmark but welcomes opportunities for international and cross-disciplinary collaboration. She is also committed to mentoring students in her field or helping them connect with other researchers and professionals engaged in global health.
