Staff
Cesário is a senior researcher at the Bandim Health Project, INASA, Member of the National Committee of Ethics in Health, member of the Coordination Committee Entra Agencia for Vaccines and member of the Technical Committee for Vaccines.
Professor, Head of Department
Christine Stabell Benn, MD, PhD, DMSc
Christines research focuses on epidemiological studies of health interventions and their effect on overall health in real life. We have observed that that vitamins and vaccines affect the immune system in much more general ways than previously thought. Vitamins and vaccines have so-called non-specific effects.
Ane is responsible for overseeing the data collection of health and demographic surveillance data in urban and rural Guinea-Bissau. Based on this platform (and beyond), her research describes the real-life implementation and effects of health programmes with the objective to improve future programmes and measurement of health outcomes. Ane’s research is described at www.measureeffects.org
Overall Responsible for Local Staff and Day-to-Day Operations in Guinea-Bissau.
Maj provides administrative support for the researchers. Maj helps with communication and general administrative procedures and is also the website administrator.
Fábio is responsible for the accounts of the Bandim Health Project.
He assure accounting and finance duties, support administrative tasks.
Office Assistant helping with organizing documents and general administrative work.
Assistant Professor
Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer, MD, PhD
Research area: Working with trials of different BCG strains to newborns, trials of BCG against COVID-19, BCG skin reactions and maternal priming effects on perinatal and infant mortality risk. Research year student 2012-13, PhD Fellow 2015-2020, Postdoc 2020-2023.
Sebastian investigates the impact of Oral Polio Vaccine campaigns on child health and the recent marked decline in low- and middle-income countries.
Sebastian is also part of several randomised controlled trial, including an EDCTP-funded multi-centre trial with collaborators from Portugal, Cape Verde and Mozambique.
Researcher, coordinator and supervisor
Elsi José Ca Silva, MD
Elsi is a researcher, coordinator and supervisor of a vaccine-related clinical trial in the implementation phase at the Bandim Health Project.
She is interested in the monitoring and application of clinical trials related to vaccines.
Graduate of Business Sciences, MSc Global Health, PhD
Sabine Margarete Damerow,
Sabine's current work focusses on how health system strengthening initiatives affect access to essential maternal and child health services in rural Guinea-Bissau.
Bastiaan is currently working as Postdoc with the statistical analyses of the research into non-specific effects
of mRNA COVID vaccines in Danish children. The work is performed in Copenhagen.
Isaquel is the principal investigator for the MAT-VAC study, and studies the specific and non-specific effects of measles and
BCG vaccines effect on maternal and child health.
PhD project title: "The effect of BCG vaccine and probiotics on the immune system and general health in the elderly, including the response to seasonal influenza vaccination". Primary investigator on the BCG-DENMARK-COVID study.
Qualified as a medical doctor in 2008 and specialized in Clinical Microbiology in 2019. Main interests are infections and their prevention and treatment.
Julie evaluates BCG coverage at 1 month and BCG-scarring at 6 months as alternative performance indicators for the BCG vaccination programme. She does this by describing and investigating the effects of delayed BCG vaccination on early infant mortality and morbidity as well as the importance of correct intradermal vaccination technique on developing scars.
Kim is a PhD student at the Bandim Health Project and is stationed in Guinea-Bissau. She currently works on the rural HDSS, which aims to monitor the health and survival of women and children in rural Guinea-Bissau. Her PhD project aims to assess the health effects of the meningitis A vaccine (MenAfriVac).
Research Year Student 01.02.2023 - 31.01.2024
Kia Lærke Madsen, Stud. Med
Worldwide, cervical cancer causes an estimated 300.000 fatalities yearly. Sub-Saharan Africa carries a substantial share of this burden, and therefore Kia is working on estimating the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) prevalence among HIV-infected women in Guinea-Bissau, along with assessing the acceptability and feasibility of two HPV self-sampling devices using first-void urine and vaginal specimens as cervical cancer screening modalities.
Research Year Student 01.01.2023 - 31.01.2024
Simon Hoff Moesgaard Jensen, Stud. Med.
Simon is currently engaged in research exploring the impact of maternal BCG scars on pregnancy outcomes. His study is being conducted at the maternity ward in Hospital National Simao Mendes in Guinea-Bissau. The project is a component of his research year. Furthermore Simon is assisting on a current RCT on BCG-strains.
Research Year Student 01.08.2023 - 30.06.2024
Nikita Sepopo Dzegle, Stud. Scient. San. Publ.
Guinea-Bissau is among the top 10 countries in the world where it is most dangerous for women to be pregnant. Nikita will be examining maternal mortality and investigate the relative distribution of death within and outside the health facilities. Nikita’s project aims to uncover the underlying causes of maternal deaths, provide insights into health system utilization and contribute to the development of interventions and policy strategies to promote maternal health in Guinea-Bissau.
Research Year Student 01.09.2023 - 31.08.2024
Emma Elisabeth Poulsen, Stud. Med
Emma is assessing the effects of tuberculosis on lung function, physical ability, and quality of life during treatment.
Researcher 01.02.2023 - 31.01.2024
Martin Schjødt Foged, Cand. Soc.
Martin studies the non-specific effects of receiving Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). By analyzing data on randomized groups receiving OPV or not at birth and cross-linking it with data from the pediatric ward at the national hospital in Guinea-Bissau, he explores the impact of OPV, including infant admission rates, causes, and outcomes.
Research Year Student 01.02.2023 - 31.01.2024
Anna Memborg Toft, BSc. Med.
Anna is conducting research at the main pediatric ward in Guinea-Bissau. She is assessing the impact of child and maternal BCG scarring on severity of disease among children aged 2-59 months admitted at the national hospital.
Affiliated researchers
Line Møller Nanque, MSc Global Health, PhD
Link to PhD dissertation: Evaluating the effects of polio vaccines on general child health in Guinea-Bissau
Andreas M. Jensen, MSc Global Health, PhD
Lise Gehrt, MSc Global Health, PhD
Link to PhD dissertation: Non-specific effects of vaccination against MeaslesMumps-Rubella on vaccine non-targeted infections in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden
Signe Sørup, MSc Global Health, PhD
PhD dissertation: Childhood vaccinations in Denmark: Non-specific effects on morbidity
Tobias R. Kollmann, MD, PhD
Professor in paediatric infectious diseases and honorary Research Associate with the Immunology and Breast Feeding at Telethon Kids Institute, Australia
Nelly Amenyogbe, BSc, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dalhouise University,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Morten Bjerregaard-Andersen, MD, PhD
Staff specialist in medical endocrinology,
Associate Professor at the Department of Regional Health Research,
University of Southern Denmark
Anu Kantele, MD, PhD
Professor of Infectious Diseases,
Helsinki University, Finland
Senior Medical Officer,
Marianne Skytte Jakobsen, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Officer,
Kristoffer Jarlov Jensen, MSc, PhD
Pharmacoepidemiologist,
Copenhagen Phase IV Unit, Center for Clinical Research and Prevention &
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg Hospital, Denmark
Victor Francisco Gomes, MSc, PhD
Universidade Federal do Ceará
Sanne Jespersen, MD, PhD
Senior consultant
Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital
Poul-Erik Lund Kofoed, MD
Professor in Paediatrics, The Institute of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark,
Senior Consultant in Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics, Kolding Hospital /Sygehus Lillebælt.
Frauke Rudolf, MD, PhD
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University
Lilica Hulilê Sanca
Biologist at LNSP, Guinea-Bissau
Morten Sodemann, MD, PhD
Professor of Global and Migrant Health, The Migrant Health Clinic at Odense University Hospital
Senior Consultant in Infectious Diseases, Institute of Clinical Research, Infectious Diseases, University of Southern Denmark
Sanne Marie Thysen, MD, PhD
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Bispebjerg Hospital, Denmark
Christian Morberg Wejse, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Global Health, Aarhus University
Specialist in Infectious diseases, Aarhus University Hospital.