Christina Westphal

Christina Westphal serves as a Researcher and Research Coordinator at the International Max Planck Research School for Population, Health and Data Science, affiliated with the University of Rostock and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany. Her work bridges demographic science with population health analysis, focusing on longitudinal health trajectories across the lifespan.

Her research expertise spans Demography, Population Health, and Aging, with specialized focus on healthy aging mechanisms, dementia epidemiology, chronic disease transitions, and migration health selection effects. She employs mixed-methods approaches combining demographic modeling, cohort analysis, and systematic literature reviews to investigate how socioeconomic factors shape health outcomes.

Analysis of her publication record reveals consistent emphasis on German demographic health challenges, particularly aging-related resource allocation (e.g., pediatric hospital capacity vs. elderly care needs), obesity trends in aging populations, and smoking diffusion patterns across historical periods. Her work increasingly integrates clinical data with demographic frameworks, as seen in recent nephrology-focused studies on renal replacement therapy.

As Research Coordinator of the International Max Planck Research School, Westphal plays a pivotal role in doctoral training programs that merge demographic methods with health data science. She operates within the MPIDR's collaborative ecosystem, which includes the Center for Demographic Data Science and partnerships with European demographic research networks.