Merete Osler

Merete Osler is a Clinical Professor at the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, with a focus on clinical, social, and cognitive epidemiology. Her research explores the bidirectional relationship between cognitive ability and health, alongside the interplay between somatic and mental diseases, including risk factors and consequences.

Education:

• MD (University of Copenhagen, 1981)
• PhD (Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1991)
• DMSc (University of Copenhagen, 1994)

Research Interests:

• Register-based studies
• Cognitive-epidemiological interactions
• Chronic disease and mental health
• Aging and longevity
• Social determinants of health

Article Trends: Her recent publications emphasize social and psychological consequences of chronic disease, analyzing 728,160 Danish conscripts and 11,532 men born in 1953. Themes include mortality post-stroke, depression-cardiovascular links, telomere length and stress, and alcohol-related outcomes, reflecting interdisciplinary epidemiology and public health impacts.

Scientific Awards:

• Codan Merit Award (2003)
• Danish Cancer Society Essay Prize (1986)

Supervision & Review:

• Supervisor of 4 current and 19 finalized PhD students
• Examiner of 36 PhD and 2 doctor theses
• Scientific reviewer for >200 papers across 30 journals

Labs & Teams:

• Co-leader of the Danish Ageing Research Centre
• Leader of the Danish Metropolit Cohort (11,532 men)
• Founder of the Danish Conscription Database
• Member of steering committee for the Copenhagen Ageing and Midlife Biobank