Research Unit of Population Health
The Center for Life Course Health Research, the Research Unit of Oral Health Sciences and the Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research were combined to this new unit during the 2022 organizational re-arrangement of the Faculty of Medicine. PopH brings together the expertise of the researchers and research groups of different topics.
Director: Professor Juha Auvinen
Vice director: Professor Kirsi Sipilä

PopH in a nutshell
One of the five research units at the Faculty of Medicine
Established in 2022
Teaching in 14 disciplines for medical and dentistry students
Approx 110 staff members
Research
The Research unit of Population Health aims at research excellence in the fields of life-course epidemiology, systems epidemiology, psychiatric epidemiology, occupational health, health activity, public health, environmental health as well as oral health and clinical practices.
Lifelong health is the cross cutting theme of our research. We view human health from the perspective of different disciplines from individual to global scale - from oral health to general practice and public health to environmental and planetary health. One important aspect is the use of high technology in maintaining and promoting oral health. Our multidisciplinary research groups host researchers with different backgrounds and expertise, from clinical researchers to gene researchers, health scientists to geographers, biologists and anthropologists.
The researchers are supported by international and national funding including Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects (EUCAN CONNECT, LongITools, EarlyCause, TRIGGER, EMERGE, InChildHealth), the Academy of Finland (APSY Oulu, RECIPE, SCHOOLWELL and Academy Research Fellows), Biocenter Oulu and several foundations.
You can find more information about the research groups and the projects from the links below.
Research groups
CERH
Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research (CERH) is a multidisciplinary group, it's strategy is related to research, education and outreach activities related to global environmental health effects. Responsible of teaching public health.
Longitudinal outcomes in psychoses, and beneficial and harmful effects of antipsychotics in psychoses and off-label use
During years 2018-2023 our group will explore the effectiveness and adverse effects of antipsychotics in psychoses and in off-label use
Physical activity and health across the lifespan
The research group is multidisciplinary gathering together several research disciplines (sports sciences, public health, health sciences, pedagogics, psychology, medical technology, information studies and cultural anthropology).
Psychiatric Epidemiology - Northern Finland Birth Cohort studies 1966 and 1986
The research group investigates different topics relating to psychiatric epidemiology.
Working life network/working life groups
Working life network
Oral and craniofacial development research group
A major focus on studies is on NFBC-studies on tooth eruption, facial pain, lip morphology and aesthetics, occlusion and facial soft tissue characteristics.
Periodontal diseases and systemic health
We focus on the two-way relationship between periodontal and general health.
Systems epidemiology
The Systems Epidemiology laboratory at the Research Unit of Population Health is an internally and internationally actively collaborating group of around a dozen scientists in various career stages.
Current research projects
The effects of antipsychotics in insomnia, anxiety and depression – APSY Oulu project
Societal and economic impacts of physical activity and sedentary behavior (SEPAS)
South Karelian Allergy Research Project (SKARP)
InChildHealth - Identifying determinants for indoor air quality and their health impact in environments for children: measures to improve indoor air quality and reduce disease burdens
EMERGE - Evaluation, Control and Mitigation of the Environmental Impacts of Shipping Emissions
SosClim, Social justice in climate policy – Adaptation of the Saami people to the climate change
Resistant Cities: Urban Planning as Means for Pandemic Prevention (RECIPE)
SOIKE - Developing the indicators of adaptation
LIIKENNE - Traffic emissions reduction, costs and just effects
SchoolWell - Future School of Comprehensive Well-Being
Digileap of oral health - towards virtual reception
Completed projects (funding period ended)
Teaching
Research Unit of Population Health is responsible of education for general medicine, geriatrics, occupational health, dentistry and public health. Our international research unit trains young researchers at different career stages in the master's and doctoral phase and in the post-doctoral phase. Many of our researchers teach epidemiology, molecular epidemiology and biomedical data science in the Epidemiology and Biomedical Data Science (EBDS) Master's Programme. Our unit is active in developing and implementing evidence-based practices, which also includes performing administrative tasks in the healthcare sector and developing specialist medical training at both local and national level. As an example, we implement two-year General Medicine GP training, which is in-depth training in the core competence areas of general medicine, in cooperation with the Unit of General Medicine at the Wellbeing Services County of North Ostrobothnia. Our unit bears the main responsibility for basic dental education and special education and basic medical education regarding multi-morbidity, multi-problems, functional capacity and health services.
Our disciplines are:
- General practice
- Geriatrics
- Occupational health
- Public health
- Physical activity
- Orthodontics
- Prosthetics
- Periodontology
- Cariology
- Oral and jaw surgery
- Oral radiology
- Oral health care
- Oral pathology
- Dental prothodontics and stomatognathic physiology
More information about teaching / studies
Current issues
Clinical and psychosocial outcomes among patients with clefts in Norhern Finland
Absences from work increase the price tag of physical inactivity
Intensive lifestyle counselling and exercise provide excellent long-term weight loss results for severely obese working-age people
The University of Oulu gets better coverage in international news
Contact information
Research Unit of Population Health (PopH)
Mailing address: Research Unit of Population Health (PopH), P.O. Box 5000, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland
Visiting address: Research Unit of Population Health (PopH), Faculty of Medicine, Kontinkangas Campus, Aapistie 5 B / Aapistie 3 (Oral health), Oulu, Finland.
Staff email addresses: firstname.lastname (a) oulu.fi