Alex Poulovassilis

Professor Alex Poulovassilis is a distinguished academic and College Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, where she has held numerous senior roles since 1999. As Emeritus Professor of Computer Science, she has pioneered interdisciplinary research at the intersection of computer science, social sciences, and cultural studies. Her work focuses on data integration, museum analytics, biomedical informatics, and gender equity in STEM. She co-founded the London Knowledge Lab (2003–2015) and Birkbeck Knowledge Lab, fostering collaboration between disciplines.

Education: BA Mathematics (Cambridge), MSc/PhD Computer Science (Birkbeck). Her doctoral work on FDL (Functional Database Language) revolutionized functional data models. She has held postdocs at UCL/King’s College London and returned to Birkbeck in 1999 as a 175th Anniversary Readership holder.

Research interests span data management systems, museum sector analysis (Mapping Museums project), and educational technologies. Notable projects include:

• Decentralized web search frameworks (ESPRESSO)
• Museum resilience during the pandemic (Museums in the Pandemic)
• GENDER INNOVATION: Promoting female academic entrepreneurship

Leadership roles include Pro-Vice Master for Research, Head of Computer Science, and Athena SWAN committee member, advocating for gender equality. She co-edited influential books on data management and gender in innovation.

Awards: College Fellowship (Birkbeck), contributor to Athena SWAN Bronze Awards. Continues mentoring PhD students and advancing interdisciplinary research.