Jørn Olsen memorial symposium & The 2026 Ipsen-Olsen lecture
This year’s event opens with a Jørn Olsen memorial, honoring Professor Jørn Olsen (1946-2026), one of Denmark’s most influential epidemiologists. His groundbreaking contributions to perinatal and life‑course epidemiology, his leadership at Aarhus University and UCLA, and his central role in establishing the Danish National Birth Cohort have left a lasting impact on public health research nationally and internationally.
PROGRAMME:
Jørn Olsen memorial symposium
11.00-12.00
Welcome by Professor Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen, Department of Public
Health, Aarhus University
Session 1:
• Thorkild I. A. Sørensen, University of Copenhagen: The impact of the beginning of life on the rest of the life
• Kaare Christensen, University of Southern Denmark: What causes adverse pregnancy outcomes?
• Onyebuchi Arah, University of California Los Angeles: Live birth bias and augmented causal diagrams
• Tine Brink Henriksen, Aarhus University Hospital: Preterm birth (some) lessons learned
• Zeyan Liew, Yale University: Early-life influences on later health: Are we ready to embrace the complexity?
12.00-13.00 Reception in the Vandrehal
13.00-14.30
Session 2:
• Per Kragh Andersen, Aarhus University: Quality of life truncated by death
• Uffe Juul Jensen, Aarhus University: Reflections on social medicine: Its past, present and future
• Peter Aaby, University of Southern Denmark: Observing the unexpected
• Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen, Aarhus University: The legacy and future of the Danish National Birth Cohort
• Video greetings
14.30-15.00 Break
The 2026 Ipsen-Olsen lecture
15.00-15.45
Professor Miguel Hernan, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Causal estimands for clinical and regulatory decision making
Miguel Hernan bio:
miguelhernan.org
15.45
Closing remarks by Professor Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen, Including a reception at the Vandrehal, Building 1410.
Please register before September 1st 2026.
Kind regards,
The Department of Public Health Aarhus University