Anne Sofie Dam Laursen is associate professor in reproductive epidemiology, contributing insights on human reproductive health. Her research explores which factors affect the ability to achieve and sustain a pregnancy—both factors that can be addressed on the individual level and those requiring political action.
Anne Sofie holds a master’s degree in human nutrition from the University of Copenhagen and a PhD in health sciences from Aarhus University.

In her research, Anne Sofie applies epidemiological methods to analyze behavioral, medical, and environmental factors that may affect fertility. Her work is based on data from a wide range of sources, including Danish health registries, questionnaires, biological samples, and activity trackers. Anne Sofie is daily lead of the research project SnartForældre.dk, a cohort of couples trying to conceive without the use of fertility treatment. Anne Sofie has a particular focus on investigating factors that may contribute to early pregnancy loss. The long-term goal is to provide people with better opportunities to understand and improve their reproductive health.

Anne Sofie teaches master's and PhD students in clinical epidemiology, where they learn to design and evaluate epidemiological studies. With a focus on group work and peer feedback, she helps students strengthen their academic foundation and refine their understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses within these subjects.
Additionally, Anne Sofie is an engaged supervisor for several master's and PhD students as well as research assistants.

Anne Sofie collaborates closely with many national and international researchers, including professors Lauren Wise, Elizabeth Hatch, and Kenneth Rothman from Boston University, who initiated and run the American-Canadian Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO), a sister study designed and structured similarly to SnartForældre.dk. This partnership has allowed Anne Sofie and colleagues to address research questions across cultures, ethnicities, and geographies.

Anne Sofie is daily lead of the research project SnartForældre.dk, a unique, long-term study of couples trying to conceive without the use of fertility treatment at the time of enrolment. Since 2007, the research team has collected valuable data through detailed questionnaires covering everything from diet and sleep to chemical exposure, medication use, and mental health.
Anne Sofie and colleagues closely follow the couples for up to one year as they attempt to conceive. The team has conducted several sub-studies, such as the collection of blood and urine samples, the use of activity trackers, and the mapping of air pollution. Furthermore, male participants are offered the opportunity to provide a home-based semen sample, enabling the researchers to gain additional insights into male reproductive health.
The aim of SnartForældre.dk is to shed light on the small details and large patterns that play a role when couples dream of becoming parents.