Health Research

CURRICULUM VITAE Anna Levinsson, Ph.D.

Email: ****.**.*********@*****.*** Phone: +1-438-***-****

Languages: English (fluent), French (advanced), German (intermediate), Swedish (native)

Transferable Skills

-R / SAS / SPSS

-Manuscript writing

-Critical thinking

-Research

-Information processing, synthesis and transfer

-Project management

Multilingual

Education

Master of Public Health – Health Policy Expected finishing date: December 2021

Université de Montréal (Montreal, Canada)

Doctor of Philosophy Award date: February 20 (Degree certificate April 13), 2015 Gothenburg University (Gothenburg, Sweden)

Research area: Medical Science - Epidemiology

Title of doctoral thesis: Interaction of genetic susceptibility and traffic-related air pollution in cardiovascular disease

Master of Science Award date: June 30, 2011 Stockholm University (Stockholm, Sweden)

Major: Mathematical statistics – Biostatistics (combined Swedish Bachelor-Master’s Degree)

Thesis title: Socio-economic risk factors for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Academic positions

Pharmacogenomics Centre, Montreal Heart Institute & Université de Montréal (Montreal, Canada)

Research Associate & Postdoctoral Fellow 2016/11 – 2020/03

Main activities and responsibilities: Main researcher on sex-sensitive pharmacogenomics project. The project studies sex differences in genetic variability on effect and safety of cardiovascular drugs. I use multidisciplinary methods including interaction analyses, genetic risk scores and Mendelian randomization. Datasets for analyses are UK Biobank (500,000 individuals) and clinical trial data from 12 different AstraZeneca trials. Successful supervision of a Master student in pharmacogenomics. Social determinants of health is my second area of research. Knowledge translation to policymakers and policy analysts. Several manuscripts are submitted for publication, a review paper was published in June 2018.

Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, McGill University & Lady Davis Institute at Jewish General Hospital (Montreal, Canada) Postdoctoral Fellow 2015/10 – 2016/10

Main activities and responsibilities: Supervised 2 undergraduate students on the statistical methods in their final research papers. Data analysis and preparation of methods sections for journal submissions. Provided consultation to research team members with regard to data analysis. Organized thematic workshops for the research team, including methodology sessions and `Journal Club`. Assisted the team`s honors, graduate and doctoral students with formulating specific research questions, identifying appropriate methods to use, conducting analyses and structuring of manuscripts.

Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Gothenburg (Gothenburg, Sweden)

Researcher in Psychiatric-Cardiovascular Comorbidity 2015/03 – 2015/08

Main activities and responsibilities: Prepared an application to ethics committee and relevant Swedish agencies for registry data outtake. Took part in designing an epidemiological study in Kazakhstan to investigate mental distress as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Gothenburg University (Gothenburg, Sweden) Researcher (PhD Candidate) in Cardiovascular Epidemiology 2010/08 – 2015/02

Main activities and responsibilities: Analysis of genotype data and phenotype - genotype associations, statistical programming, literary reviews, development of interaction methodology in epidemiology (i.e. gene-environment interaction, specifically interaction between continuous and categorical exposures), writing of articles to present results. Presentation of projects and results in the form of posters and oral presentations at international conferences. Networking with universities abroad, including an independent EU-funded project on gender-sensitive methodology in epidemiology with Universität Bremen (see details below).

Department of Mathematics, Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden)

University teaching assistant 2008/09 – 2008/12

Main activities and responsibilities: Teaching mathematical statistics in class to 3rd year university engineering students and individually to students with special needs. Material taught included basic concepts, theorems and problem solving in stochastic processes, probability theory and inference theory.

Honours

-Selected as the 2019 NIH ORWH and OSSD Science Policy Scholar (Certificate available on request)

-Selected for CARTA Graduate Work Shop 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya

-Health Systems and Policy Working Group, Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance (CWHHA)

-2nd place CSPC 2018 Science Policy Award of Excellence – Youth category (Certificate available on request)

Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS GmbH (Bremen, Germany)

Junior Researcher 2012/09 – 2014/06

Main activities and responsibilities: Participated in Epi Goes Gender Nachwuchsprogramm "Nachwuchstalente schaffen neues Wissen". Overall project tasks included promoting a widespread and sustainable process to adopt sex and gender specific research methods and research cultures, scrutinizing epidemiologic knowledge and methodology in terms of sex and gender aspects, facilitating interdisciplinary (medicine, gender research) knowledge transfer and compiling new sex and gender specific knowledge.

Individual project: highlight paper on why gender must be taken into account in the particular setting of schizophrenia research

Grants and Stipends

2019 International Master of Health Leadership (IMHL) Scholarship CA$5000

2019 US National Institute of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health (NIH ORWH) and Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) Science Policy Scholar Travel Award US$3,000

2019 Michael G. DeGroote Health Leadership Academy’s Bursary for Outstanding Community Contribution CA$1,000

2019 Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) ~ CA$5,000

(Full scholarship for attending CARTA 2019 Graduate Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya)

2019 IF Foundation Postdoctoral Grant, Swedish Pharmaceutical Society CA$32,000

2018 – 2020 MITACS Accelerate Fellowship in collaboration with AstraZeneca CA$75,000

2017 PE Lindahl Scholarship in Medicine, Royal Swedish Academy of Science CA$15,000

2015 Travel Grant for Young Researchers, Wilhelm & Martina Lundgren’s Science Foundation

2014 Travel Stipend, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

2014 Travel Grant, Capio Research Foundation

2013 EpiLife Small Grant Opportunity, Gothenburg University

2013 Travel Stipend, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

2013 Travel Grant for Young Researchers, Wilhelm & Martina Lundgren’s Science Foundation

2012 EpiLife Small Grant Opportunity, Gothenburg University

Leadership Training

International Master of Health Leadership, Desautels Faculty of Business, McGill University. First module 27 October – 7 November 2019. (Scholarship awarded towards tuition)

Career Advancement and Leadership Skills for Women in Healthcare, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University. 14-16 November 2019.

Emerging Health Leaders Program, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University. 11-24 August 2019.

An immersive 2-week program building leadership from the knowledge of self and understanding of others. Comprehensive curriculum including real-life and computer simulations of decision-making processes, project management and community negotiations. (Copy of certificate available on request.) (Scholarship awarded towards tuition)

Project Management, MITACS, 32 hours. (Copy of certificates available on request)

Postdoctoral Certified Specialized Courses, a selection:

Mendelian Randomization, with Dr. Stephen Burgess at Cambridge University, 19-20 November 2018.

(Copy of certificate available on request)

Readings in Global Health, Harvard University PH231x, 2017. Certificate: https://courses.edx.org/certificates/3fdb3a1c90534e7a9901f50c8b53a13e

Introduction to Bioethics, Georgetown University PHLX-101x, 2017. Certificate: https://courses.edx.org/certificates/e689940340524641a8e1d6696055a5b4

McGill Summer School in Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, May-July 2015

(Copy of certificate available on request)

Student Supervision

As main or co-supervisor

-Amanjot Kaur-Taggar, Pharmacoepidemiology, Master Thesis, Université de Montréal, graduated 2019

-Paul Grunberg, Clinical Psychology, PhD Student, McGill University (2016)

-Sangeetha Santhakumaran, Epigenetics in Psychology, Honors Student, McGill University (2016)

-Ye Eun Lee, Epigenetics in Psychology, Honors Student Thesis, McGill University, 2016

-Isabel Sadowski, Psychology, Bachelor Thesis, McGill University, graduated 2016

-Icoquih Badillo-Amberg, Psychology, Bachelor Thesis, McGill University, graduated 2016

Publications

1.Levinsson A, de Denus S, Tardif JC, Dubé MP. Novel Association Between Stereotypical Femininity and Angina Diagnosis in the UK Biobank. Nature Scientific Reports 2020, submitted

2.Norris C, …, Levinsson A et al. Introducing the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance ATLAS on the Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Management of Cardiovascular Diseases in Women. Canadian Journal of Cardiology Open 2020. Doi: 10.1016/j.cjco.2020.02.004

3.Norris C, …, Levinsson A et al. State of the Science in Women's Cardiovascular Disease: A Canadian Perspective on the Influence of Sex and Gender. Journal of the American Heart Association 2020. Doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.015634

4.Levinsson A, Dubé MP, Tardif JC, de Denus S. Sex, drugs and heart failure: a sex sensitive review of the evidence base behind current heart failure clinical guidelines. ESC Heart Failure 2018; 5(5): 745-54. Doi: 10.1002/ehf2.12307

5.MacKinnon A, Naguib M, Barra HJ, Levinsson A, Robins S, Feeley N, Hayton B, Zelkowitz P, Gold I. Delusional ideation during the perinatal period in a community sample. Schizophrenia Research 2017; 179: 17-22.

6.Krage Carlsen H, Modig L, Levinsson A, Kim J-L, Toren K, Nyberg F, Olin A-C. Exposure to traffic and lung function in adults: A general population cohort study. BMJ Open 2015; 5: e007624. Doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-201*-******

7.Levinsson A, Olin A-C, Ding B, Bjorck L, Rosengren A, Nyberg F. Additive interaction involving a continuous variable: a pragmatic approach. 2015, in: Interaction of genetic susceptibility and traffic-related air pollution in cardiovascular disease, editor: Levinsson A. 978-91-628-9279-1 (printed), 978-91-628-9280-7 (e-publication).

8.Levinsson A, Olin A-C, Modig L, Dahgam S, Bjorck L, Rosengren A, Nyberg F. Interaction Effects of Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure and Variants in the GSTP1, GSTT1 and GSTCD Genes on Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction and Hypertension: A Case-Control Study. PLoS One 2014; 9(6): e99043. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099043

9.Levinsson A, Olin A-C, Bjorck L, Rosengren A, Nyberg F. Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) single nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with coronary heart disease and hypertension in the INTERGENE study. Nitric Oxide 2014; 39: 1-7. Doi: 10.1016/j.niox.2014.03.164

10.Bredberg A, Josefson M, Almstrand A-C, Lausmaa J, Sjovall P, Levinsson A, Larsson P, Olin A-C. Comparison of exhaled endogenous particles from smokers and nonsmokers using multivariate analysis. Respiration 2013; 86(2): 135-42. Doi: 10.1159/000350941

11.Johnson T, Gaunt TR, Newhouse SJ, Padmanabhan S, Tomaszewski M, Kumari M, Morris RW, Tzoulaki I, O'Brien ET, Poulter NR, Sever P, Shields DC, Thom S, Wannamethee SG, Whincup PH, Brown MJ, Connell JM, Dobson RJ, Howard PJ, Mein CA, Onipinla A, Shaw-Hawkins S, Zhang Y, Davey Smith G, Day IN, Lawlor DA, Goodall AH; Cardiogenics Consortium, Fowkes FG, Abecasis GR, Elliott P, Gateva V; Global BPgen Consortium, Braund PS, Burton PR, Nelson CP, Tobin MD, van der Harst P, Glorioso N, Neuvrith H, Salvi E, Staessen JA, Stucchi A, Devos N, Jeunemaitre X, Plouin PF, Tichet J, Juhanson P, Org E, Putku M, Sõber S, Veldre G, Viigimaa M, Levinsson A, Rosengren A, Thelle DS, Hastie CE, Hedner T, Lee WK, Melander O, Wahlstrand B, Hardy R, Wong A, Cooper JA, Palmen J, Chen L, Stewart AF, Wells GA, Westra HJ, Wolfs MG, Clarke R, Franzosi MG, Goel A, Hamsten A, Lathrop M, Peden JF, Seedorf U, Watkins H, Ouwehand WH, Sambrook J, Stephens J, Casas JP, Drenos F, Holmes MV, Kivimaki M, Shah S, Shah T, Talmud PJ, Whittaker J, Wallace C, Delles C, Laan M, Kuh D, Humphries SE, Nyberg F, Cusi D, Roberts R, Newton-Cheh C, Franke L, Stanton AV, Dominiczak AF, Farrall M, Hingorani AD, Samani NJ, Caulfield MJ, Munroe PB. Blood Pressure Loci Identified with a Gene-Centric Array. Am J Hum Genet 2011; 89(6): 688-700. Doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.10.013

Invited presentations, a selection

* indicates that the abstract submitted for the presentation was published

1.SQHA – Hypertension Arterièlle et Sexe – 28E Réunion Scientifique Annuelle de la Société Québécoise d'Hypertension Arterièlle, Invited speaker, Montréal (Canada), January 23 2020. Title : Différences entre les sexes dans le traitement antihypertenseur : le point de vue de la pharmacogénomique (presentation in English).

2.Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) Meeting 2019, National Institute of Health - Office of Research on Women’s Health (NIH-ORWH) Science Policy Scholar Speaker, Washington DC (USA), May 5 2019. Title: Pharmacogenomics call for sex-sensitive drug safety and efficacy policy reform.

3.Montreal Heart Institute XXI Research Day, Invited speaker, Montréal (Canada), June 8 2018. Title: Measuring gender – Developing an easy-access gender score.

4.European Conference of Schizophrenia Research, Poster presentation, Berlin (Germany), September 24-26 2015. Title: Why using gender-sensitive methods in schizophrenia research is vital.

5.Cardiovascular Health and Disease: Occupational and Environmental Factors and Updates in Occupational Health and Environmental Medicine, Poster presentation, San Francisco (USA), March 12-14 2015. Title: Effect of traffic-related air pollution exposure on risk of acute myocardial infarction varies by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) genotype stratum. *

6.European Congress of Epidemiology, Invited speaker, Aarhus (Denmark) August 11-14 2013. Title: Variants in the NOS1 and NOS3 genes interact with long-term vehicle air pollution exposure on risk of acute myocardial infarction. *

7.Årsmöte I Svenska Statistikerfrämjandet (Annual Meeting of the Swedish Furtherance of Statisticians), Invited speaker, Uppsala (Sweden), January 18 2013. Title: Gene-environment interactions in cardiovascular disease – NOS and GST genes and traffic air pollution.

8.EuroPRevent, Poster presentation, Rome (Italy) April 2013. Title: Interaction effects of long-term air pollution exposure and variants in the GSTP1, GSTT1 and GSTCD genes on acute myocardial infarction and hypertension. *

9.“Geschlechtersensible Forschung“ – 2. Epi goes Gender Februar-Workshop (“Gender-sensitive Research” – 2nd Epi goes gender February Workshop), Invited speaker, Bremen (Germany) February 8 2013. Title: Why using gender-sensitive methods in schizophrenia research is vital. *

10.EuroPRevent, Poster presentation, Dublin (Ireland) May 3-5 2012. Title: Association between nitric oxide synthase (NOS) single-nucleotide polymorphisms and coronary heart disease and hypertension in the INTERGENE study. *

Scientific Journal Reviewer

Circulation, BMJ Open, Nitric Oxide, PLoS One

Professional Member Organizations

-Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance (CWHHA)

-Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD)

-Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA)

-Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (CCGHR)

Contact this candidate