Kayvan Bozorgmehr

Full-professor in public health, medical doctor, social epidemiologist and health systems researcher focusing transnational migration. He has been Principal Investigator to multiple large-scale research projects on migration and health system responses, more recently in the scope of a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council. His research is positioned at the intersection of empirical and theoretical approaches with relevance for policy and practice. His collaborations span local, national, and international civil society organizations, ministries, public health authorities, UN agencies, as well as transnational professional networks.

Key expertise
  • social epidemiology
  • health inequalities
  • health systems
  • healthcare
  • migration and health
  • global health
  • digitalization
  • monitoring
Current affiliation
  • Department of Population Medicine and Health Services Research, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University
  • Health Equity Studies & Migration Group, University Hospital Heidelberg
Regional expertise
  • North America
  • Western Europe
  • Central Europe
  • Eastern Europe
  • South Asia
  • Middle East

Professional career

Since 2019 Professor in Public Health, Bielefeld University

2019 – Habilitation, Heidelberg University

2012 Doctorate (Dr. med), Charité-University Berlin

2012 MSc Public Health, Umeå University, Sweden

2011 License to practice medicine (Approbation), Frankfurt University

Profile according to FFVT taxonomy

Scientific topics
  • International Protection
  • Borders
  • Economy Of Forced Migration
  • Environment And Climate
  • Experience Of Violence, Trauma
  • Health
  • Information And Communication Technologies
  • Local And Municipal Refugee Policies
  • Migration Routes, Refugees’ Journeys
  • National Refugee And Asylum Policies
  • Racism
  • Reception, Accommodation And Housing
  • Refugee Camp
  • Media
  • Causes Of Displacement
  • Infrastructure Of Flight / Forced Migration
Research fields
  • Migration Research

Relevant publications

  • Biddle, L., Hintermeier, M., Costa, D., Wasko, Z., Bozorgmehr, K. (2023). Context, health and migration: a systematic review of natural experiments. EClinicalMedicine, 64(102206), 1-26.
  • Bozorgmehr, K., Erdmann, S., Rohleder, S., PriCareNet Consortium, Jahn, R. (2025). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on incident diagnoses in German refugee centres 2018 to 2023. Nature Communications, 16(1), 1-16.
  • Bozorgmehr, K., McKee, M., Azzopardi-Muscat, N., Bartovic, J., Campos-Matos, I., Gerganova, T.-I., Puthoopparambil, S. J. (2023). Integration of migrant and refugee data in health information systems in Europe: advancing evidence, policy and practice. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, 34(100744), 1-16.
  • Bozorgmehr, K., Rast, E., Zoidze, A., McKee, M. (2024). Impacts of the large-scale displacement from Ukraine on health systems in refugee-receiving countries in the WHO European Region: challenges and opportunities for transformative actions and policies. Copenhagen: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe.
  • Bozorgmehr, K. & Razum, O. (2015). Effect of Restricting Access to Health Care on Health Expenditures among Asylum-Seekers and Refugees: A Quasi-Experimental Study in Germany, 1994-2013. PLoS One, 10(7), 1-22.