Lena Song

Lena Song serves as an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she investigates the societal impact of media and digital technologies. She concurrently holds an Adjunct Associate Research Scholar position at Columbia University and maintains affiliate status with New York University's Center for Social Media and Politics, the SSRC Digital Platforms Initiative, and the Poverty Action Lab.

Her academic foundation includes rigorous training across multiple disciplines:

• Ph.D. in Economics, New York University, 2015-2022
• MPhil in Economics (with distinction), University of Oxford, Merton College, 2013-2015
• Bachelor of Mathematics Honors (with distinction), University of Waterloo, 2008-2012
• Bachelor of Business Administration Honors (with distinction), Wilfrid Laurier University, 2008-2012

Dr. Song's research program centers on the intersection of digital technologies and socioeconomic behavior, employing experimental and empirical methodologies to examine social media's influence on political discourse, economic opportunity, and psychological well-being. Her work bridges economic theory with computational social science, addressing critical questions about digital addiction, algorithmic bias, and the political economy of online platforms through innovative field experiments and large-scale data analysis.

Her publication trajectory reveals a pronounced shift toward interdisciplinary collaboration, with recent work integrating computer science techniques into economic analysis. Key thematic clusters include the economics of attention markets, diversity dynamics in digital content ecosystems, and experimental approaches to understanding political polarization. This evolution demonstrates increasing engagement with machine learning applications while maintaining rigorous causal identification standards.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Arnold O. Beckman Research Award (2023)

Dr. Song actively secures competitive research funding while contributing to academic infrastructure through conference organization and editorial service. Her grant portfolio reflects strong institutional support for investigating digital society's economic dimensions, particularly through NSF and Russell Sage Foundation collaborations. She co-founded the AImpact Center and serves as referee for premier economics journals including the American Economic Review and Journal of Political Economy.

Her research network spans multiple collaborative hubs including NYU's Center for Social Media and Politics and Columbia University's Digital Future Initiative, where she contributes to cross-institutional projects examining generative AI's societal implications and social media's role in democratic processes.