BERTHA - the Big Data Centre for Environment and Health take immense pride in highlighting the remarkable scientific contributions made by our PhD graduates in the field of environmental and health research. To date, our students have successfully completed their doctoral studies and earned their PhD degrees with exceptional academic excellence. To provide you with an overview of their extensive research work and scholarly publications during their time with us, we have summarized each PhD's research area and scientific contributions below.
BERTHA PHD Graduates
Louise Bøge Frederickson, a BERTHA member, defended her PhD thesis on Monday, March 18th, 2024. Louise was a PhD student at the Department of Environmental Science (ENVS) at the Graduate School of Technical Science, Aarhus University. Her PhD project, titled “Low-cost Sensors for Air Pollution Assessments: Using Dense Networks and Personal Exposure Applications”, focused on researching low-cost sensors for monitoring air pollution, offering a more accessible, portable, and versatile alternative compared to traditional methods reliant on costly and sparse outdoor monitoring stations. Louise contributed significantly by developing new calibration methods and sensor nodes, evaluating existing devices, and deploying sensors in novel applications. Her research highlighted the effectiveness of these sensors in mobile monitoring applications and dense networks, which play a crucial role in improving personal exposure assessments and overall air quality mapping. The BERTHA project funded Louise’s PhD study.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7681-8181
Dansk Kemi articles:
Lex.dk:
Hertel, O., Frederickson, L. B. (2024). Billige målemetoder (low-cost sensorer) - luftforurening i Den Store Danske på lex.dk. Hentet 27. juni 2024 fra https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/Billige_m%C3%A5lemetoder_(low-cost_sensorer)_-_luftforurening
Science news https://sciencenews.dk/en/the-difference-a-metre-makes-how-small-changes-affect-peoples-exposure-to-air-pollution
DCE report: Frederickson, L. B., Russell, H. S., Hertel, O., Ellermann, T., & Jensen, S. S. (2021, no. 448). Effekt for luftkvaliteten af fotokatalytiske belægninger. DCE – Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi.
BERTHA member Zhaoxi Zhang defended her PhD thesis on Tuesday 8 November 2022. Zhaoxi was a PhD student at the Department of Environmental Science (ENVS) at the Graduate School of Technical Science, Aarhus University from 08/2019-11/2022. Her PhD project "Urban Health Sensing: Measuring human physiological stress response to urban settings using wearable sensors" aims to address the challenge of developing an in-depth investigation of the effect of urban features on human health in different types of public open spaces. During her PhD, she used an integrated approach combining a wearable camera, a biosensor wristband and GPS as a package to continuously track changes in the physiological stress response of individuals during their exposure to urban features. This included mobile measurements in Copenhagen, Denmark and Salzburg, Austria. In conclusion, this work has provided a better understanding of what constitutes a healthy urban environment. Zhaoxi’ s PhD was financially supported by grants from the Graduate School of Technical Science at Aarhus University and the BERTHA project.
Website: https://www.urbanzzhaoxi.com/
PURE Profile: https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/zhangzx@envs.au.dk
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhaoxi-zhang-ph-d-0105b5203/
Here are Zhaoxie's publications from her PhD project:
Media presence
Kathrine Agergård Kaspersen, a BERTHA member, defended her PhD thesis on Thursday, 3 March 2022. Kathrine was a PhD student at the Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University and Department of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University Hospital. Her PhD dissertation is entitled "Exposures and health consequences associated with common respirartory tract infections." During her PhD, Kathrine researched on exposures and health consequences associated with common respiratory tract infections. She investigated the association between air pollution and respiratory infections in the adult Danish population. Furthermore, she investigated the use of iron supplements and infection risk among healthy blood donors. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Kathrine estimated the number of undetected SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals and the Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) during the first two waves of the epidemic in Denmark. This was possible using tests for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in blood donors in combination with populations. Finally, she investigated the prevalence of COVID-19-related symptoms in individuals with and without SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
Kathrine’s PhD was financially supported by grants from the Graduate School of Health at Aarhus University and the BERTHA project.
PURE Profile: https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/kathrinekaspersen@clin.au.dk
Here are Kathrine's publications from her PhD project:
Bertram Dalskov Kjerulff, a BERTHA member, defended his PhD thesis on Monday, 21 April 2023. Bertam was a PhD student at the Department of Clinical Medicine - Department of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University. Bertam researched on the influence of lifestyle factors on biomarkers and health in Danish blood donors. His study examined the effects of smoking on the risk of infections, the effect of air pollution, aging, smoking, and BMI on levels of circulating biomarkers of inflammation. The studies used the data from the Danish Blood Donor Study, which includes blood donors and couple their questionnaire and laboratory data with Danish registers. The research showed how smokers are at increased risk of infections, even among very healthy blood donors. Furthermore, there are clear differences in biomarker profiles associated with air pollution and the investigated lifestyle and demographic factors. The BERTHA project funded Bertam's PhD study.
PURE Profile: https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/berkje@clin.au.dk
Here are Bertam's publications from his PhD project:
Media Presence: Smoking increases the risk of infection, even among otherwise healthy people (sciencenews.dk)
Hugo Savill Russell, a BERTHA member, defended his PhD thesis on Monday, 27 February 2023. Hugo was a PhD student at the Department of Environmental Science (ENVS) at the Graduate School of Technical Science, Aarhus University. During his PhD studies, Hugo researched low-cost sensors for monitoring air pollution. Hugo tested existing devices, developed new sensor nodes and calibration methods, and deployed the sensors in novel ways. Current monitoring methods are limited by expensive and sparse outdoor stations, while low cost sensors offer affordability, portability, and versatility. His research demonstrated the effectiveness of low cost sensors in mobile monitoring and detecting elevated pollutant levels in the Copenhagen Metro, contributing to improved personal exposure assessment and air quality management. The BERTHA project funded Hugo's PhD study.
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugo-russell/
Here are Hugo's publications from his PhD project: