Hans-Peter Kohler

Hans-Peter Kohler is the Frederick J. Warren Professor of Demography and Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. He co-directs the Population Aging Research Center (PARC) and chairs Penn’s Ph.D. Program in Demography.

• Ph.D. in Economics, University of California, Berkeley (1997)
• PI of multiple NIH and NSF grants (e.g., R01 HD044228, R21 AG053763, SES 172 9185)

His research integrates demography, economics, sociology, and biology to study aging, health disparities, HIV/AIDS, and fertility in low- and high-income countries. Key projects include the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH) and Global Family Change (GFC) Project, which explore life-course health determinants, intergenerational support, and family structure transformations.

Recent collaborative publications analyze cognitive aging in SSA (Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 2023), mortality risk perception (PNAS 2024), and intergenerational transfers (Population and Development Review 2019). He has mentored students into faculty roles at institutions like NYU, University of Wisconsin, and University of Glasgow.

His honors include the Clifford C. Clogg Award (PAA) and Otis Dudley Duncan Award (ASA), alongside leadership roles in the Society of Biodemography and Social Biology.