Fanny Janssen

Fanny Janssen serves as a senior researcher at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI-KNAW) in The Hague and holds an Honorary Professorship in "Mortality and Longevity" at the Population Research Centre, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen. Her dual affiliation positions her at the intersection of demographic research and academic instruction, contributing significantly to the field of population studies in the Netherlands and across Europe.

Dr. Janssen earned her Bachelor's degree in Human Geography from the University of Groningen, followed by Master's degrees in Demography (Groningen) and Epidemiology (Rotterdam). She completed her academic training with a PhD in Medical Demography from Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2005. After her doctoral studies, she continued her academic career at the University of Groningen before taking her current position at NIDI-KNAW.

Dr. Janssen's research primarily focuses on mortality and health at the population level in the Netherlands and Europe. Her work examines mortality differences between men and women, across countries and regions, over time, and across generations. A significant portion of her research investigates how health-related lifestyle factors—particularly smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity—shape mortality differences and trends. Her ultimate goal is to improve mortality forecasting through a better understanding of these demographic patterns. Her research has evolved to increasingly focus on socio-economic inequalities in mortality, with her VICI project specifically examining how these inequalities will realistically develop in the future.

Analysis of Dr. Janssen's recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on educational inequalities in mortality, particularly those attributable to lifestyle factors. Her work spans multiple European countries (England & Wales, Finland, Italy, and the Netherlands), demonstrating a comparative approach to understanding mortality patterns. There is a clear progression in her research from examining general mortality trends to increasingly focusing on the contribution of specific risk factors (smoking, alcohol, obesity) to socio-economic mortality inequalities. Her methodological contributions, particularly in developing approaches to estimate cause-specific mortality by educational level in a time-consistent and internationally comparable manner, represent significant advances in demographic methodology.

• VIDI grant (2014) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
• VICI grant (2020) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
• European Demography Award (2018)

Dr. Janssen has successfully secured substantial research funding through competitive grants, most notably the prestigious VIDI and VICI grants from NWO. Her VICI research project focuses on socio-economic inequalities in mortality and their future development. While specific details about her advisees are not provided in the source material, her numerous collaborations with researchers across Europe suggest an active role in mentoring junior researchers and PhD students. Her work often involves leadership in large-scale international collaborations examining mortality patterns across multiple countries.

As a senior researcher at NIDI-KNAW (a research institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), Dr. Janssen is part of one of Europe's leading demographic research centers. Her work frequently involves collaboration with researchers from multiple European institutions, including the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, the University of Helsinki, and various UK institutions. Her research often utilizes population register data from multiple countries, suggesting participation in international data consortia. The scope of her recent work indicates leadership in projects examining socio-economic mortality inequalities across Europe.