Hunziker Sandra Marlies, PhD

I am a researcher in nutritional epidemiology with expertise in human nutrition, public health research, and registry-based studies. I completed my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Food Science with a specialisation in Nutrition and Health at ETH Zurich and obtained my PhD in 2020 from the Department of Health Sciences and Technology at ETH Zurich. My doctoral research focused on improving the assessment of iodine status during pregnancy using a dried blood spot thyroglobulin assay.

Since 2021, I have been working as a scientific researcher at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM) at the University of Bern. I contribute to the Swiss Cerebral Palsy Registry, where I am involved in project management, research coordination, data collection and recruitment, and dissemination activities. My work includes leading and supporting observational studies, collaborating on national and international projects, and contributing to scientific publications and reports.

In addition, I work with SwissPedRegistry, supporting the development and coordination of paediatric registries and cohorts and their infrastructure for research in Switzerland. My responsibilities include developing methodological tools and guidelines for registries and cohorts, advising research groups on registry development, and facilitating collaboration between clinical centres and research partners.

Furthermore, I am involved in the management of the Swiss Cystic Fibrosis newborn screening database. We collect data on positively screened cases, support follow-up, evlaluate performance of the screening algorithm and report to the national task force and the Federal Office of Publick Health.

My work combines epidemiological research and project management to strengthen data collection and research on child health and rare conditions.