Dr. sc. Erika Harju (PhD, Health scientist and RN) is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Ageing Research Group for the Swiss National Science Foundation-funded project “Prospective International Study of Dairy and Inflammation on Cognitive Decline” (SNF 204967) since January 2025. With over a decade of clinical experience and a PhD in Health Sciences from the University of Lucerne, Dr. Harju also holds a certificate in Public Health from the Swiss School of Public Health.
Her doctoral research focused on psychological distress and post-traumatic stress in childhood cancer survivors, alongside the implementation of psychological screenings and healthcare professionals' perceptions of them. Erika Harju also contributed to the development of guidelines for follow-up care addressing psychological late effects in long-term childhood cancer survivors.
Previously, she managed the Lucerne center for the national Corona Immunitas study and has published several manuscripts employing diverse methods and national data.
As a postdoctoral scientist she has been working with neonatal healthcare providers' perceptions of parental presence, moral distress, and mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, and distress.
Since August 2022, Dr. Harju has been a researcher and lecturer at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, where she teaches Health Promotion and Prevention, Research Planning, and Quantitative Methods to nursing students (BScN and MScN).
