Research areas
The research focuses on risk factors during pregnancy and childbirth that influence children’s health and development. In particular, cerebral palsy and neurodevelopmental disorders are investigated using national data, birth cohorts, and robust epidemiological designs.
Strategic focus areas
Focus areas, objectives, and actions
Objectives
- Strengthen perinatal and neuroepidemiology.
- Focus on causes of cerebral palsy and neurodevelopmental disorders.
- Support qualification for associate professor and further development of the research field.
Actions
- Conduct strategic research projects within the field.
- Develop and implement a targeted plan for achieving associate professor qualification in 2026.
- Publish in international journals and present at relevant conferences.
- Disseminate knowledge to both research environments and clinical collaborators.
Objectives
- Attract and train new researchers in perinatal and neuroepidemiology.
- Recruit 1–2 PhD students.
- Supervise 1–2 master’s thesis students per year.
Actions
- Prepare targeted funding applications for PhD positions.
- Recruit master’s thesis students.
- Teach PhD and master’s students.
Objectives
- Develop and establish register-based research platforms for perinatal and neuroepidemiological research at OPEN.
- Apply and further develop advanced epidemiological methods.
Actions
- Establish a research platform at Statistics Denmark with register and cohort data.
- Apply counterfactual and causal methods to investigate complex associations.
- Contribute to teaching and dissemination of knowledge on epidemiological methods, including within health science at SDU.
Objectives
- Establish and further develop collaborations arounda common data model for studies of cerebral palsy.
- Participate actively in Nordic and international networks within register-based research and perinatal epidemiology.
- Engage in interdisciplinary collaborations with neurobiologists, paediatric neurologists, and obstetricians.
Actions
- Expand collaboration with Nordic partners on cerebral palsy research.
- Contribute to joint cross-national research projects and applications.
- Position the research field in relevant professional societies, networks, and conferences.
Research projects
Maternal trauma and injuries during pregnancy and the risk of offspring neurodevelopmental disorders
OP_2570
The impact of mothers' anxiety and depression in pregnancy on cognitive ability - drivers throughout childhood