Autism researcher receives talent award
Hjördis Osk Atladottir from Aarhus University has just received the Bagger Sørensen Foundation's Talent Award for her research into autism. The aim of the award is to reward a unique research talent under the age of 40. The talent award also includes a prize of DKK 50,000.
She is 33 years old and graduated as a medical doctor from Aarhus University in 2009. Since her medical studies Hjördis Osk Atladottir has contributed to autism research in Denmark. And now she has been honoured for her research.
Among the reasons for the award, the foundation stated that: "Hjördis Osk Atladottir has at a young age shown an outstanding ability to systematically analyse conditions in the environment with the help of complex statistical epidemiological methods which may affect the risk of developing autism. And her dedicated and admirable efforts are now being rewarded.”
Hjördis Osk Atladottir’s autism research is based on major population studies and statistical methods. She uses the opportunities inherent in the Danish registers to contribute with new knowledge within the field of autism.
“The award means everything to me. After completing my PhD I have had full-time clinical work as a young medical doctor, which means that my research takes up a large part of my spare time, often without pay. I love doing research and it therefore means a lot to me when my efforts are recognised. For me the talent award is a huge motivation to continue along the research path," she says.
Productive researcher
The award winner has utilised the information contained in the Danish National Patient Registry as well as the Danish psychiatry register. Another important source is the Danish questionnaire survey ‘Better health for mother and child’, which includes information about pregnancy and childhood from up to 100,000 Danish children.
When Hjördis Osk Atladottir was almost half way through her degree programme she took a year’s research leave. During the final two years of her medical studies she was employed in a half-time position as PhD student at the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University.
After her medical candidate exam in 2009 she continued full-time with her PhD project and after graduating in 2012 she had produced several primary author publications as well as numerous co-authorships in international scientific journals. Thus far, twelve works have been published in international scientific journals.
Further information
Hjördis Osk Atladottir
Aarhus University, Department of Public Health
Direct tel.: +45 6167 5747
Email: hoa@ph.au.dk