Laura Delgado-Ortiz
Staff Scientist Environment and Health over the Lifecourse
Laura Delgado completed her PhD at Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) (2019–2024) under the supervision of Judith Garcia-Aymerich within the Environment and Health over the Lifecourse Programme. Her doctoral research focused on the characterisation of walking in older adults, with a particular emphasis on individuals living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Following the completion of her PhD, she joined the Department of Sport, Exercise and Health at University of Basel as a postdoctoral researcher.
Before pursuing a career in health research, Laura studied Government and International Relations at Universidad Externado de Colombia. She later obtained two master’s degrees from University of Barcelona: one in Global Health and another in Clinical Research–International Health.
Alongside her academic career, Laura has experience in the private pharmaceutical sector, where she contributed to dissemination activities, patient engagement initiatives, and access-related projects.
Laura is currently a Staff Scientist at Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), where her research focuses on physical activity and healthy ageing, particularly in the context of respiratory health.
Lines of research
- Ageing
- Physical activity
- Respiratory health
- NCDs epidemiology
- Digital technologies
Main publications
- Delgado-Ortiz L, Buekers J, Chynkiamis N, Demeyer H, Frei A, Gimeno-Santos E, Hansen C, Hausdorff JM, Hopkinson NS, Jansen CP, Kirsten A, Koch S, Maetzler W, Megaritis D, Puhan MA, Singleton D, Vogiatzis I, Watz H, Del Din S, Caulfield B, Becker C, Rochester L, Troosters T, Garcia-Aymerich J. How do people with COPD walk? A European study on digitally measured real-world gait. Eur Respir J. 2025 Jul 24;66(1):2402303. doi: 10.1183/13993003.02303-2024.
- Vall-Garcia E, Delgado-Ortiz L, Alcock L, Coll-Planas L, García-Navarro JA, Iwarsson S, Jansà JM, Jansen CP, Koch S, Schwartz S, Rantakokko M, Sarukhan A, van Staalduinen W, Rochester L, Garcia-Aymerich J. Aging towards walkable futures: insights from a multidisciplinary workshop held in Barcelona, Spain. BMC Public Health. 2025 Jan 17;25(1):195. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-21223-z
- Delgado-Ortiz L, Ranciati S, Arbillaga-Etxarri A, Balcells E, Buekers J, Demeyer H, Frei A, Gimeno-Santos E, Hopkinson N, de Jong C, Karlsson N, Louvaris Z, Palmerini L, Polkey MI, Puhan MA, Rabinovich R, Rodríguez Chiaradia DA, Rodriguez-Roisin R, Toran-Montserrat P, Vogiatzis I, Watz H, Troosters T, Garcia-Aymerich J. Real-world walking cadence in people with COPD. ERJ Open Res. 2024 Mar 4;10(2):00673-2023. doi: 10.1183/23120541.00673-2023.
- Delgado-Ortiz L, Polhemus A, Keogh A, Sutton N, Remmele W, Hansen C, Kluge F, Sharrack B, Becker C, Troosters T, Maetzler W, Rochester L, Frei A, Puhan MA, Garcia-Aymerich J. Listening to the patients’ voice: a conceptual framework of the walking experience. Age Ageing https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afac233.
- Delgado-Ortiz L, Carsin AE, Merino J, Cobo I, Koch S, Goldberg X, Chevance G, Bosch de Basea M, Castaño-Vinyals G, Espinosa A, Carreras A, Cortes Martínez B, Straif K, de Cid R, Kogevinas M, Garcia-Aymerich J. Changes in population health-related behaviours during the first COVID-19 surge: a natural experiment. Ann Behav Med. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaac054
