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Staff photo Lena Maria Nilsson

Lena Maria Nilsson

Doctor of Public Health. Member of the research group Lávvuo – Research and Education for Sámi Health. Since 2013, I also work on research strategy at the Arctic Centre.

Contact

Works at

Affiliation
Project coordinator at Department of Epidemiology and Global Health
Affiliation
Affiliated as project manager at Arctic Centre at Umeå University (Arcum)
Affiliation
Affiliated as other position at Várdduo-Centre för Sámi Research

I am Sámi with roots in the Málage/Malå forest Sámi community in Västerbotten. At the Arctic Centre, I work on research diplomacy and research strategic matters. We are deeply involved with the University of the Arctic (UArctic), a collaborative organization for universities worldwide focused on research and education in the northern regions. I am occasionally called upon as an expert in various international contexts, including by the European Polar Board (EPB), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In 2020, I was honored with knighthood in the French Academic Palms Order in recognition of my support for Arctic collaborations with French-speaking researchers and Indigenous individuals over the years.

My research has primarily revolved around nutrition epidemiology – that is, the associations between different dietary patterns and health. It has also delved into food systems in the north, including traditional Sámi food and those that may emerge in times of climate crisis and change. Since 2021, I have been part of the research group Lávvuo – Research and Education for Sámi Health – at the Department of Epidemiology and Global Health. Among other things, I have contributed as a researcher in Sweden's first national health survey focusing on Sámi people: Sámi Health on Equal Terms (Sami HET). This has resulted in my co-authorship of two public health reports and four scientific articles that describe the significance of Sámi traditional medicine, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Sámi population in Sweden, and violence against Sámi women.

As of October 2024, my research output included more than 100 scholarly works, including 38 small- or medium-sized peer-reviewed original articles, 12 book chapters, and 9 research reports (H-index=40). In 2023, I was involved in obtaining project funding from Forte for a three-year project on access to traditional food in elderly care, where we are investigating the situation for Sámi people in Sweden and the indigenous Mal Pharia in eastern India. We have also received support from Forte for another three-year project (2024-2026) to explore historical data on diet and health among school children who participated in the unique so-called 'Norrlandsundersökningen' in Arctic Sweden from 1921 to 1931.

Publications from Arctic Centre at Umeå University, 2/2024
Aksnes, Dag W.; Danell, Rickard; Kullerud, Lars; et al.
Umeå: Umeå University 2024
Brandén, Jennie; Nilsson, Lena Maria; Burman, Monica; et al.
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Taylor & Francis Group 2024, Vol. 83, (1)
Healey Akearok, Gwen K.; Chaliak, Ay’aqulluk Jim; Cueva, Katie; et al.
Shared Voices, Rovaniemi: University of Lapland 2024 : 21-23
Nilsson, Lena Maria
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Taylor & Francis 2024, Vol. 83, (1)
Stoor, Jon Petter A.; Sedholm, Oscar; San Sebastian, Miguel; et al.
Publications from Arctic Centre at Umeå University, 1
Aksnes, Dag W.; Blöcker, Christopher; Colliander, Cristian; et al.
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Taylor & Francis 2023, Vol. 82, (1)
Anne, Ouma; Jacobsson, Lars; Nilsson, Lena Maria
Tidsskrift for kjønnsforskning, Oslo: 2023, Vol. 47, (2-3) : 113-129
Brandén, Jennie; Nilsson, Lena Maria; Burman, Monica; et al.
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Informa UK Limited 2023, Vol. 82, (1)
Dresse, Menayit Tamrat; Stoor, Jon Petter A.; San Sebastian, Miguel; et al.
Clinical Nutrition, Elsevier 2023, Vol. 42, (7) : 1115-1125
Lécuyer, Lucie; Laouali, Nasser; Viallon, Vivian; et al.
The Arctic Yearbook, Thematic Network (TN) on Geopolitics and Security of the University of the Arctic 2023 : 1-13
Nilsson, Lena Maria; San Sebastian, Miguel; Stoor, Jon Petter A.
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Taylor & Francis 2023, Vol. 82, (1)
Peterson, Malory; Akearok, Gwen Healey; Cueva, Katie; et al.
Folkhälsomyndigheten 2023
Stoor, Jon Petter A.; Nilsson, Lena Maria; San Sebastian, Miguel
Journal of Arctic Studies, Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China: The Arctic Studies Center (ASC) 2022, Vol. 2 : 341-351
Liu-Helmersson, Jing; Nilsson, Lena Maria; Stoor, Krister
Journal of Arctic studies: V, Liaocheng: The Arctic Studies Center 2022 : 341-351
Liu-Helmersson, Jing; Stoor, Krister; Nilsson, Lena Maria
Frontiers in Nutrition, Frontiers Media S.A. 2022, Vol. 9
Llaha, Fjorida; Cayssials, Valerie; Farràs, Marta; et al.
European Journal of Nutrition, Springer 2022, Vol. 61 : 3625-3635
Lécuyer, Lucie; Laouali, Nasser; Dossus, Laure; et al.
Climate change 2022: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability : contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2022 : 1054-1058
Neufeld, Hannah Tait; Nilsson, Lena Maria; Griffith Jones, Rhys
The Sámi world, London; New York: Routledge 2022 : 165-180
Nilsson, Lena Maria
Journal of Arctic Studies, Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China: The Arctic Studies Center (ASC) 2022, Vol. 2 : 333-340
Nilsson, Lena Maria; Eklund, Niklas
Nunamed 2022: en grønlandsmedicinsk konference, Nuuk: Nunamed 2022 : 53-53
Stoor, Jon Petter A.; San Sebastian, Miguel; Nilsson, Lena Maria
Public Health Nutrition, Cambridge University Press 2022, Vol. 25, (7) : 1835-1843
Törmä, Johanna; Lundqvist, Robert; Eliasson, Mats; et al.
Polar Record, Cambridges Institutes Press 2021, Vol. 57
Evengård, Birgitta; Destouni, G.; Kalantari, Z.; et al.
Amap arctic climate update 2021: key trends and impacts, Tromsö: Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) 2021 : 107-143
Hausner, Vera Helene; Trainor, Sarah F.; Cook, David; et al.
Routledge Research in Polar Regions
Hossain, Kamrul; Nilsson, Lena Maria; Herrmann, Thora Martina
Food Security in the High North: contemporary challenges across the circumpolar region, Abingdon: Routledge 2021 : 1-12
Hossain, Kamrul; Nilsson, Lena Maria; Herrmann, Thora Martina
Routledge Research in Polar Regions
Hossain, Kamrul; Nilsson, Lena Maria; Herrmann, Thora Martina
Food Security in the High North: contemporary challenges across the circumpolar region, Abingdon: Routledge 2021 : 203-218
Nilsson, Lena Maria
Respons, Stockholm: Tidskriften Respons 2021, (4) : 12-14
Nilsson, Lena Maria; Stoor, Krister
Nutrients, MDPI 2021, Vol. 13, (8)
Papaioannou, Konstantinos-Georgios; Nilsson, Andreas; Nilsson, Lena Maria; et al.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, MDPI 2021, Vol. 18, (2)
Rautio, Arja; Kukarenko, Natalia; Nilsson, Lena Maria; et al.
Amap assesment 2021: Human health in the Arctic, Tromsö: AMAP 2021 : 13-46
Wennberg, Maria; Berner, Jim; Bjerregaard, Peter; et al.
Polar Record, Cambridge University Press 2020, Vol. 56
Carson, Dean B.; Nilsson, Lena Maria; Carson, Doris A.
International Journal of Cancer, John Wiley & Sons 2020, Vol. 147, (3) : 648-661
Kliemann, Nathalie; Murphy, Neil; Viallon, Vivian; et al.
Skogssamisk vilja: en jubileumsantologi om skriften "Dat läh mijen situd", Karin Stenberg och skogssamisk historia och nutid, Umeå: Várdduo, centrum för samisk forskning 2020 : 251-266
Nilsson, Lena Maria; Nilsson, Aina
Nutrition and Cancer, Taylor & Francis 2020, Vol. 72, (3) : 409-420
Nilsson, Lena Maria; Winkvist, Anna; Esberg, Anders; et al.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Oxford University Press 2020, Vol. 112, (3) : 631-643
Sieri, Sabina; Agnoli, Claudia; Grioni, Sara; et al.
European Journal of Nutrition, Springer Berlin/Heidelberg 2020, Vol. 59, (2) : 813-823
Solans, Marta; Benavente, Yolanda; Saez, Marc; et al.
Journal of Crohn's & Colitis, Oxford University Press 2020, Vol. 14 : S447-S447
Widbom, Lovisa; Hultdin, Johan; Ekblom, K.; et al.
Skogssamisk vilja: en jubileumsantologi om skriften "Dat läh mijen situd", Karin Stenberg och skogssamisk historia och nutid, Ubmeje/Umeå: Várdduo - Centrum för samisk forskning 2020 : 1-8
Össbo, Åsa; Marklund, Bertil; Nilsson, Lena Maria; et al.
Skrifter från Centrum för samisk forskning, 27
Össbo, Åsa; Marklund, Bertil; Nilsson, Lena Maria; et al.
PLOS ONE, Vol. 14, (4)
Bodén, Stina; Myte, Robin; Wennberg, Maria; et al.
Nutrients, MDPI 2019, Vol. 11, (284)
Johansson, Ingegerd; Esberg, Anders; Nilsson, Lena Maria; et al.
Circulation, Wolters Kluwer 2019, Vol. 139, (25) : 2835-2845
Key, Timothy J.; Appleby, Paul N.; Bradbury, Kathryn E.; et al.
International Journal of Cancer, John Wiley & Sons 2019, Vol. 144, (2) : 240-250
Sen, Abhijit; Papadimitriou, Nikos; Lagiou, Pagona; et al.
International Journal of Cancer, John Wiley & Sons 2019, Vol. 145, (1) : 122-131
Solans, Marta; Benavente, Yolanda; Saez, Marc; et al.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, American Society for Nutrition 2018, Vol. 107, (4) : 607-616
Agudo, Antonio; Cayssials, Valerie; Bonet, Catalina; et al.
British Journal of Nutrition, Cambridge University Press 2018, Vol. 119, (12) : 1408-1415
Asli, Lene A.; Braaten, Tonje; Olsen, Anja; et al.
International Journal of Cancer, John Wiley & Sons 2018, Vol. 142, (7) : 1332-1342
Dossus, Laure; Franceschi, Silvia; Biessy, Carine; et al.

I teach courses on Sámi and indigenous health at the Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, as well as on dietary surveys in biobank research at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine. I also supervise international master students at the Master in Public health programme at Epidemiology and Global Health.