About me
Pekka Nuorti, MD, PhD is Professor of epidemiology and the Director of the International Doctoral Programme in Epidemiology and Public Health (IPPE) in the Health Sciences Unit.
His expertise and research interests include epidemiology and prevention of infectious diseases, vaccine-preventable diseases, outbreak investigations, epidemiologic methods, evaluating prevention program impact, registry-based studies and developing evidence-based public health policy.
Project links
Research unit
Research fields
epidemiology and prevention of infectious diseases
vaccine-preventable diseases
evaluating prevention program impact
developing evidence-based public health policy
outbreak investigation and response
epidemiologic methods
registry-based studies
researcher training and capacity building
global health
Research career
Current positions: Professor of epidemiology and Director of the International Doctoral Program in Epidemiology in the Health Sciences Unit, Tampere University. Part-time Chief Physician with the Department of Health Security, Infectious Diseases and Vaccines Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in Helsinki.
Before joining the faculty at Tampere University, he worked at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA. where his roles in research leadership and vaccine policy-development included serving as the CDC lead staff for the Pneumococcal Vaccines Workgroup of the Federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), U.S. National Surveillance of pneumococcal disease, and collaborating with academic investigators in designing and implementing a novel research agenda to evaluate the public health impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination program in the United States.
His professional experience in epidemiology, public health practice and global health includes Communicable Disease Control and Childhood Immunization Programs with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific Region, the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) of the CDC and Preventive Medicine Residency at the California State Department of Health. At the Finnish National Public Health Institute his responsibilities have included a wide range of communicable disease surveillance, prevention and outbreak response activities.
His research fields and expertise include epidemiology and prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases, evaluating prevention program impact, outbreak investigation and response, registry-based studies and developing evidence-based public health policy. His expertise in surveillance and epidemiology of vaccine-preventable diseases, immunization policy and global public health research training and capacity building is internationally recognized. He have served in several international scientific advisory boards, review panels and committees, including the CDC, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and WHO.
Selected publications
Selected publications:
1. Wu W, Liu D, Nuorti JP, Li K, Xu D, Ye J, Zheng J, Cao L, Wang H. Deaths reported to national surveillance for adverse events following immunization in China, 2010-2015. Vaccine. 2019;37(9):1182-7.
2. Polkowska A, Skoczyńska A, Paradowska-Stankiewicz I, Stefanoff P, Hryniewicz W, Kuch A, Lyytikäinen O, Nuorti JP. Pneumococcal meningitis before the introduction of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine into the National Childhood Immunization Program in Poland. Vaccine. 2019;37(10):1365-73.
3. Omore R, Khagayi S, Ogwel B, Onkoba R, Ochieng JB, Juma J, Munga S, Tabu C, Kibet S, Nuorti JP, Odhiambo F, Mwenda JM, Breiman RF, Parashar UD, Tate JE. Rates of hospitalization and death for all-cause and rotavirus acute gastroenteritis before rotavirus vaccine introduction in Kenya, 2010-2013. BMC Infect Dis. 2019;19(1):47-.
4. Francis MR, Nuorti JP, Kompithra RZ, Larson H, Balraj V, Kang G, Mohan VR. Vaccination coverage and factors associated with routine childhood vaccination uptake in rural Vellore, southern India, 2017. Vaccine. 2019;37(23):3078-87.
5. Räisänen PE, Soini H, Turtiainen P, Vasankari T, Ruutu P, Nuorti JP, Lyytikäinen O. Enhanced surveillance for tuberculosis among foreign-born persons, Finland, 2014-2016. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):610-.
6. Polkowska A, Räsänen S, Al-Hello H, Bojang M, Lyytikäinen O, Nuorti JP, Jalava K. An outbreak of Norovirus infections associated with recreational lake water in Western Finland, 2014. Epidemiol Infect. 2018;146(5):544-50.
7. Okasha O, Rinta-Kokko H, Palmu AA, Ruokokoski E, Jokinen J, Nuorti JP. Population-level impact of infant 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination on adult pneumonia hospitalisations in Finland. Thorax. 2018;73(3):262-9.
8. Libwea JN, Kobela M, Ndombo PK, Syrjänen RK, Huhtala H, Fointama N, Koulla-Shiro S, Nohynek H, Nuorti JP, Palmu AA. The prevalence of otitis media in 2-3 year old Cameroonian children estimated by tympanometry. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2018;115:181-7.
9. Francis MR, Nohynek H, Larson H, Balraj V, Mohan VR, Kang G, Nuorti JP. Factors associated with routine childhood vaccine uptake and reasons for non-vaccination in India: 1998-2008. Vaccine. 2018;36(44):6559-66.
10. Wu W, Liu D, Li K, Nuorti JP, Nohynek HM, Xu D, Ye J, Zheng J, Wang H. Post-marketing safety surveillance for inactivated and live-attenuated Japanese encephalitis vaccines in China, 2008-2013. Vaccine. 2017;35(29):3666-71.
11. Polkowska A, Toropainen M, Ollgren J, Lyytikäinen O, Nuorti JP. Bacterial meningitis in Finland, 1995-2014: a population-based observational study. BMJ Open. 2017;7(5):e015080-e.
12. Vo TH, Okasha O, Al-Hello H, Polkowska A, Räsänen S, Bojang M, Nuorti JP, Jalava K. An Outbreak of Norovirus Infections Among Lunch Customers at a Restaurant, Tampere, Finland, 2015. Food Environ Virol. 2016;8(3):174-9.
13. Räisänen PE, Soini H, Vasankari T, Smit PW, Nuorti JP, Ollgren J, Ruutu P, Lyytikäinen O. Tuberculosis in immigrants in Finland, 1995-2013. Epidemiol Infect. 2016;144(2):425-33.
14. Omore R, Tate JE, O'Reilly CE, Ayers T, Williamson J, Moke F, Schilling KA, Awuor AO, Jaron P, Ochieng JB, Oundo J, Parashar UD, Parsons MB, Bopp CC, Nasrin D, Farag TH, Kotloff KL, Nataro JP, Panchalingam S, Levine MM, Laserson KF, Nuorti JP, Mintz ED, Breiman RF. Epidemiology, Seasonality and Factors Associated with Rotavirus Infection among Children with Moderate-to-Severe Diarrhea in Rural Western Kenya, 2008-2012: The Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS). PLoS One. 2016;11(8):e0160060-e.
15. Omore R, Osawa F, Musia J, Rha B, Ismail A, Kiulia NM, Moke F, Vulule J, Wainaina AM, Tole J, Machoki SM, Nuorti JP, Breiman RF, Parashar UD, Montgomery JM, Tate JE. Intussusception Cases Among Children Admitted to Referral Hospitals in Kenya, 2002-2013: Implications for Monitoring Postlicensure Safety of Rotavirus Vaccines in Africa. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2016;5(4):465-9.
16. Dugee O, Janchiv O, Jousilahti P, Sakhiya A, Palam E, Nuorti JP, Peltonen M. Adapting existing diabetes risk scores for an Asian population: a risk score for detecting undiagnosed diabetes in the Mongolian population. BMC Public Health. 2015;15:938-.
17. Vo TH, Nguyen DV, Le LTK, Phan LT, Nuorti JP, Tran Minh NN. Applying standard epidemiological methods for investigating foodborne disease outbreak in resource-poor settings: lessons from Vietnam. J Food Prot. 2014;77(7):1229-31.
18. Vo TH, Le NH, Cao TTD, Nuorti JP, Minh NNT. An outbreak of food-borne salmonellosis linked to a bread takeaway shop in Ben Tre City, Vietnam. Int J Infect Dis. 2014;26:128-31.
19. Vo TH, Le NH, Nuorti JP, Phan LT, Tran Minh NN. A cluster of cholera among patients in a Vietnamese district hospital in 2010. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2013;7(12):910-3.
You can find my publications in SoleGris.
Latest publications
Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine confidence among primary care providers in Kazakhstan, March–April 2021
Nabirova, D., Horth, R., Kassabekova, L., Henderson, A., Yesmagambetova, A., Alaverdyan, S., Nuorti, J. P. & Smagul, M., 2023, In: Frontiers in Public Health. 11, 14 p., 1245750.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Factors associated with health-seeking patterns among internally displaced persons in complex humanitarian emergency, Northeast Nigeria: a cross-sectional study
Gidado, S., Musa, M., Ba’aba, A. I., Okeke, L. A., Nguku, P. M., Hadejia, I. S., Hassan, I. A., Bande, I. M., Onuoha, M., Ugbenyo, G., Godwin, N., Usman, R., Manu, J. I., Mohammed, A. M., Abdullahi, M. M., Bammami, M. I., Nuorti, P. & Atkins, S., Nov 2023, In: Conflict and health. 17, 11 p., 54.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Qualitative Insights into Vaccine Uptake of Nursing Staff in Long-Term Care Facilities in Finland
Lohiniva, A-L., Hussein, I., Lehtinen, J. M., Sivelä, J., Hyökki, S., Nohynek, H., Nuorti, P. & Lyytikäinen, O., Feb 2023, In: Vaccines. 11, 3, 16 p., 530.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Effectiveness of 10 and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines against invasive pneumococcal disease in European children: SpIDnet observational multicentre study
SpIDnet VE study group, Savulescu, C., Krizova, P., Valentiner-Branth, P., Ladhani, S., Rinta-Kokko, H., Levy, C., Mereckiene, J., Knol, M., Winje, B. A., Ciruela, P., de Miguel, S., Guevara, M., MacDonald, L., Kozakova, J., Slotved, H. C., Fry, N. K., Nuorti, J. P., Danis, K., Corcoran, M., & 9 others , 2022, In: VACCINE. 40, 29, p. 3963-3974 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Effectiveness of COVID-19 digital proximity tracing app in Finland
Rannikko, J., Tamminen, P., Hellsten, R., Nuorti, P. & Syrjänen, J., 10 Mar 2022, In: Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 28, 6, p. 903-904 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › Scientific › peer-review
Kansainvälinen terveystieteiden koulutus Tampereella
Nygård, C-H. & Nuorti, P., 2022, Arvon mekin ansaitsemme: Kohti monitieteellistä lääketieteen, teknologian ja terveystieteiden koulutusta ja tutkimusta Tampereella. Pitkänen, K., Sarmala, S., Puronurmi, N., Mustonen, J., Hyttinen, J., Pitkänen, K., Kellokumpu-Lehtinen, P-L., Visakorpi, T., Lehtiniemi, J. & Kaunonen, M. (eds.). p. 78-80 3 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › General public
Long-term population impact of infant 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination on invasive pneumococcal disease in adults in Finland
Nuorti, J. P., Rinta-Kokko, H., Toropainen, M., Siira, L., Nohynek, H. & Palmu, A. A., 29 Sept 2022, In: VACCINE. 40, 41, p. 5950-5958 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Population-Based Assessment of Contact Tracing Operations for Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Pirkanmaa Hospital District, Finland
Rannikko, J., Viskari, H., Sirkeoja, S., Tamminen, P., Kaila, V., Ala-Mursula, A., Huttunen, R., Laine, J., Syrjänen, J. & Nuorti, P., 21 Apr 2022, In: Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 9, 7, ofac214.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Serotype Replacement after Introduction of 10-Valent and 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines in 10 Countries, Europe
Hanquet, G., Krizova, P., Dalby, T., Ladhani, S. N., Nuorti, J. P., Danis, K., Mereckiene, J., Knol, M. J., Winje, B. A., Ciruela, P., de Miguel, S., Portillo, M. E., MacDonald, L., Morfeldt, E., Kozakova, J., Valentiner-Branth, P., Fry, N. K., Rinta-Kokko, H., Varon, E., Corcoran, M., & 10 others , Jan 2022, In: EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 28, 1, p. 127-138 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Ympäristön muutokset lisäävät uusien epidemioiden ja pandemioiden riskiä
Nuorti, P. & Sironen, T., 8 Nov 2022, In: Suomen Lääkärilehti. 77, 45-46, p. 1911-1914 4 p.Translated title of the contribution :Environmental changes increase the risk of emergence and spread of new infections and pandemics Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › peer-review