Dr. Yiyang Gao is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Durham University’s School of Education. He holds a PhD in Advanced Quantitative Methods (University of Exeter, 2023) and a Master’s in Quantitative Research Methods (UCL, 2017). His research focuses on ethnic segregation in education and labor markets, population geography, and demographic changes’ impacts on social inequality. Education: PhD in Advanced Quantitative Methods, University of Exeter (2023) MSc in Quantitative Research Methods, University College London (2017) Research Interests: Dr. Gao examines ethnic segregation patterns in schools and workplaces, leveraging decomposition methods to analyze demographic trends. His work explores how school-level segregation correlates with GCSE achievement gaps, using linked datasets like the National Pupil Database and Millennium Cohort Study. He advocates for computational social science approaches to address spatial inequalities. Publications: His recent work investigates teacher recruitment disparities, school exclusion policies, and ethnic wage gaps. Themes include systemic barriers for minority teachers, ethnic congruence in classrooms, and policy solutions for equitable education systems. Grants & Advising: While no specific grants or advisees are listed, his research collaborations include projects on ethnic minority representation in teaching roles. He emphasizes open dialogue around computational methods for inequality analysis.
Hamid Noghanibehambari is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the College of Business at Austin Peay State University. He is also a research affiliate at the Center for Demography of Health and Aging at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on health economics, environmental economics, and the economics of education, with a particular emphasis on long-term health impacts of early-life exposures, intergenerational health effects, and public policy analysis. Education: Postdoc, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2023) Ph.D. in Economics, Texas Tech University (2021) M.Sc. in Economics, Sharif University of Technology (2016) B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology (2013) Research Interests: Applied Microeconomics Health Economics (focusing on mortality patterns, disease exposure, and policy impacts) Environmental Economics (studying pollution, pesticide exposure, and climate effects) Economics of Education (linking educational policies to long-term health outcomes) His recent work examines historical and contemporary interventions, such as public health policies, occupational licensing, and social insurance programs, to understand their long-term effects on health and mortality. Notable studies include analyses of early-life pesticide exposure, midwifery laws, and the Dust Bowl’s impact on longevity. He has published widely in journals like Journal of Health Economics , Demography , and Population Studies . Collaborations frequently involve cross-disciplinary approaches to trace intergenerational health legacies.
Professor Morag Treanor is a Professor of Social Policy and Inequality at the University of Glasgow, affiliated with the Division of Urban Studies and Social Policy. She holds roles as Co-Director of the Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research (funded by UKRI) and Research and Knowledge Exchange Director for her division. Her expertise focuses on poverty, socioeconomic inequalities, and their impacts on children, young people, and families, employing longitudinal methods using birth cohort and administrative data. Research highlights include analyzing educational exclusions, poverty's mental health effects, and digital equity in education. She has contributed to high-impact reports such as Destitution in the UK and digital exclusion studies. Her work informs policy via roles on the Scottish Government's Poverty and Inequality Commission (2019–2023) and The Promise Oversight Board (2021–2024). Key grants include leadership on the Children’s Lives and Outcomes Programme, Nuffield Foundation projects on digital education equity, and ESRC-funded research linking education health/census data. She has published extensively on poverty measurement, child welfare, and policy interventions, including her book Child Poverty: Aspiring to Survive .
Professor Jayati Das-Munshi is a Professor of Social & Psychiatric Epidemiology at King's College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), and an Honorary Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist with the South London & Maudsley NHS Trust. Her work focuses on leveraging large-scale data linkages to address mental health inequalities, particularly among racially minoritized populations and individuals with severe mental illnesses. She leads interdisciplinary projects such as the UKRI-funded Population Mental Health Consortium (PHI-UK) and co-leads the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health’s cohorts platform. Her research explores intersections of mental and physical health, pandemic impacts, and social determinants of health disparities. Key affiliations include the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre and the Centre for Global Mental Health. Her academic background includes a PhD and clinical training in psychiatry. She advises national initiatives like the UK Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys and the WHO’s guidelines on physical health management in severe mental disorders. Research interests span mental health inequities, data linkage methodologies, and interventions targeting marginalized communities. She co-leads the SEP-MD study linking health records with census data to analyze mortality and worklessness in severe mental illness. Recent work emphasizes pandemic effects on mental health trajectories and ethnic health disparities. Her articles highlight themes like mental-physical health interplay, pandemic impacts, and systemic inequities. Grants include UKRI funding for population mental health improvement and ESRC support for societal mental health research. She collaborates with NHS trusts, universities, and advocacy groups to bridge research and policy. She directs the PHI-UK consortium, fostering partnerships to prevent mental health onset via population-level strategies focusing on youth, suicide prevention, and multimorbidity. Ongoing projects include the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration and COVEIMM study on ethnic health inequalities during the pandemic.
Anne Harris is an Associate Professor at the School of Occupational and Public Health, Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on epidemiological methods, occupational and transportation injury analysis, and population health data integration. She holds a BSc, MSc, and PhD in related fields. Research Interests: Dr. Harris specializes in studying patterns of disease and injury using large datasets. Key areas include road injury epidemiology, occupational hazard exposure analysis, and leveraging linked health records for public health insights. Her work emphasizes improving methodological approaches to epidemiological studies and addressing health disparities through data-driven strategies. Grants and Advising: She is available to supervise MSc students in 2025-2026 and collaborates with institutions like ICES (Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences) on projects such as cyclist safety in Ontario. Her research also examines pandemic impacts on transportation behaviors and injury risks. Labs/Teams: Involved in interdisciplinary teams studying sustainable transportation (CapaCITY/É project) and occupational cancer risks through the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts (CanCHECs).
Professor Colin Clark is the Associate Dean (Research & Innovation) at the University of the West of Scotland's School of Education and Social Sciences. His expertise lies in Romani studies, migration, and ethnic/racial studies, with a focus on policy impacts and community integration. He holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and Social Policy from Edinburgh University and has held academic roles at Glasgow, Newcastle, and Strathclyde Universities. Clark advises the Scottish Government on Gypsy/Traveller accommodation and sits on boards of anti-racist organizations like the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights and Friends of Romano Lav. His research combines ethnographic and intersectional methods, addressing issues such as Roma inclusion, border sociology, and human rights. Current projects include an Erasmus+ initiative with European partners and a Fundamental Rights Agency study on Roma integration in Glasgow. Key funders include the British Academy, Scottish Government, and ESRC. Awards include the China-Scotland Business Award (2023) and a student-nominated teaching excellence award (2017). Clark has supervised numerous PhD students and contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to social inclusion and equity. His interdisciplinary collaborations span institutions like the Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences and policy organizations such as the Scottish Human Rights Commission. Recent publications explore Roma visibility in higher education, labor mobility paradoxes, and health hazards linked to Traveller site provision.
Joshua M. Epstein is Professor of Epidemiology at New York University, with affiliations in the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the Wolff Family Department of Politics. He is founding Director of the NYU Agent-Based Modeling Laboratory and External Faculty Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute. Since 2025, he has also been a member of the External Faculty at the Complexity Science Hub. His work bridges computational modeling, social science, and public health. BA, Amherst College Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Epstein is a pioneer in agent-based modeling , focusing on generative social science, complex systems, and nonlinear dynamics. His research explores how macro-level social phenomena emerge from micro-level individual behaviors. Key domains include infectious disease spread, financial contagion, obesity diffusion, and social innovation. He emphasizes computational approaches to understanding societal mechanisms and policy implications. His recent publications reflect a consistent focus on generative modeling , complex adaptive systems , and interdisciplinary simulation . Themes across his work include emergence, contagion (biological and social), cognitive foundations of behavior, and the limits of prediction in social systems. His modeling spans epidemiology, economics, and cognitive science, demonstrating the versatility of agent-based methods. Notable scientific awards include: NIH Director’s Pioneer Award Honorary Doctorate of Science from Amherst College Epstein has led major research initiatives, including the Johns Hopkins Center for Advanced Modeling and the NYU Agent-Based Modeling Laboratory. He has advised numerous research projects and secured significant grants supporting computational social science. His books, such as Growing Artificial Societies and Agent_Zero , have shaped the field. Future work continues to explore neurocognitive agents and real-world policy applications. He leads the NYU Agent-Based Modeling Laboratory, a hub for developing and applying agent-based models to pressing societal challenges. The lab fosters interdisciplinary collaboration across public health, political science, economics, and computer science.
Huaqing Wang serves as an Assistant Professor in the Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning (LAEP) department at Utah State University's S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, where his academic appointment bridges landscape architectural design principles with population health research methodologies. His position within this specific department reflects a strategic institutional commitment to interdisciplinary approaches for addressing complex environmental health challenges through evidence-based landscape planning. Dr. Wang's research program centers on quantifying how the physical configuration of urban greenspaces—including metrics like size, shape, connectivity, biodiversity, and sensory qualities—influences critical health outcomes across diverse populations. His primary methodological toolkit integrates geospatial analysis, mediation modeling, and large-scale epidemiological datasets to unravel pathways linking greenspace morphology to mental health disorders, birth outcomes, non-communicable diseases, and mortality rates. This work consistently demonstrates that specific design features—not merely the presence of green space—determine health impact magnitude, with particular attention to environmental justice implications where historical redlining and neighborhood disadvantage modulate health benefits. Analysis of Dr. Wang's 2021-2025 publications reveals three dominant scholarly trajectories: First, rigorous investigation of mediation pathways showing how greenspace morphology affects health through physical activity promotion, air pollution reduction, and psychological restoration mechanisms. Second, development of practical planning tools like the Health Effect Assessment of Landscape (HEAL) framework for translating research into community design decisions. Third, geographic expansion of evidence from Los Angeles to statewide analyses in Georgia and Kansas, establishing robust cross-context validity while highlighting location-specific vulnerabilities. His most recent work pioneers sensory dimension research—examining how sights and sounds in high-density urban environments contribute to anxiety relief—thereby advancing theoretical frameworks like attention restoration theory with empirical driving-simulation data.
Mark Ellis is a Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Washington. His research focuses on population and economic geography, with particular emphasis on migration, labor markets, and cities. Current projects include studies of skilled migration and regional economic development, immigration's impact on labor markets, residential neighborhood change, segregation, diversity, and the determinants of long-term geographic immobility in the U.S. He contributes to community resources like the ORCID ID and is affiliated with research centers such as the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology and IPUMS International. Research Interests: Migration, Labor Markets, Segregation Email: ellism@uw.edu Ellis's recent publications analyze ethnic diversity trends in England and Wales, geographic immobility in the U.S., and the effects of policy changes on migration patterns. His work combines demographic analysis with spatial methodologies, often utilizing linked administrative datasets. Ellis is actively involved in collaborative research initiatives and serves as a reviewer/referee for academic publications.
Christopher Herrmann is an Associate Professor in the Department of Law & Police Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York (CUNY). He serves as the CJBS Major Coordinator and is a recognized expert in crime analysis and crime mapping. His professional background includes a former role as Crime Analyst Supervisor with the New York City Police Department, where he supervised citywide shooting and homicide analyses, crime prevention strategies, and resource allocation across New York City. Dr. Herrmann holds the following academic credentials: Bachelor of Science (1997) from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice Master of Arts (2000) from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice Advanced Graduate Certificate in Geographical Information Sciences (2005) from CUNY Lehman College Master of Philosophy (2010) from CUNY Graduate Center Doctorate of Philosophy (2012) from CUNY Graduate Center His research centers on micro-level crime analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to examine spatiotemporal relationships between businesses, neighborhood socioeconomic factors, and crime patterns. Current initiatives focus on violence prevention—particularly gun violence, homicide, and carjacking—through collaboration with John Jay research teams. His methodological expertise spans crime mapping, hot spot dynamics, and spatial statistics applied to policing challenges, with emphasis on practical crime reduction strategies. Herrmann's 19-year publication record reveals consistent specialization in spatiotemporal crime analysis, with recent work examining pandemic impacts on global crime patterns and micro-place homicide trends. His research integrates GIS with criminological theory to address robbery, auto theft, and violence prevention, frequently involving international collaborations. The body of work demonstrates methodological rigor in spatial statistics and practical applications for law enforcement resource allocation and community safety initiatives. Dr. Herrmann actively participates in John Jay College research teams developing violence prevention strategies targeting gun violence, homicide, and carjacking. His projects maintain strong operational links with the New York City Police Department, translating academic research into actionable crime reduction tactics through ongoing police-academic partnerships.
Dr. Jennifer Welsh is a Research Fellow at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH) at the Australian National University (ANU), where she specializes in social epidemiology with a focus on reducing health inequalities. She has established herself as a trusted partner within government and is emerging as a national leader in her field. Her work emphasizes policy-relevant health research using large-scale linked data assets, including the Person-Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA). Dr. Welsh holds a Bachelor of Psychology (Honors), a Master of Public Health, and a PhD. Her educational background has equipped her with the methodological expertise needed for her work in epidemiology and population health research. Her primary research interests center on understanding and addressing socioeconomic inequalities in health and healthcare. She specializes in using large-scale linked data to examine variations in health outcomes, particularly related to cardiovascular disease, chronic conditions, and mental health. Dr. Welsh's work often focuses on how socioeconomic position influences health outcomes and healthcare access across the lifespan. She is particularly interested in developing methods to measure and monitor health inequalities, creating new socioeconomic status measures for policy applications, and examining cardiovascular disease risk, prevention, and implementation. Her research frequently involves collaboration with interdisciplinary teams of academics and government policy partners to ensure practical application of findings. Analysis of Dr. Welsh's recent publications (2023-2025) reveals a strong focus on health inequalities, particularly examining socioeconomic, educational, and occupational determinants of health outcomes. Her work frequently employs whole-population linked data approaches to investigate mortality patterns, vaccine uptake disparities, and healthcare system performance. A significant portion of her recent research addresses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including vaccine effectiveness studies, telehealth implementation, and the pandemic's disproportionate effects on vulnerable populations like aged care residents. Her methodological expertise in data linkage is evident across her publications, which often combine census data, mortality records, and healthcare utilization information. Dr. Welsh has secured multiple research projects through competitive funding, including work on understanding fatal burden of COVID-19 in aged care, analyzing telehealth impacts on primary care, and measuring health system performance using routinely collected data. She serves as Principal Investigator on projects focused on optimizing primary healthcare and measuring health inequalities, and as Co-Investigator on numerous collaborative studies with colleagues at ANU and government agencies. She is actively involved in research training and supervision, with leadership responsibilities for ANU courses and external courses delivered to government. Her work with the Linked Data for Better Health research group demonstrates her commitment to advancing data linkage methodologies for population health research.
Dr. Margrethe Løov is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at NLA University College , specializing in the sociology of new religious movements, secularization, and Nordic spiritual trends. Her work bridges theology, philosophy, and empirical research. PhD (2019) and MA (2010) from the University of Bergen and Oslo Editor of Aura: Tidsskrift for akademiske studier av nyreligiøsitet Contributor to encyclopedias like Store norske leksikon and Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology Løov’s research focuses on: New Age Movements : Analyzing spiritual consumerism and organizations like VisionWorks Meditation Practices : Comparative studies of Acem and Transcendental Meditation Sami Missionary History : Investigating early Norwegian missionary efforts Radicalization Trends : Linking conversions to new religious movements and radical Islamism Her recent publications highlight shifts in spiritual self-identification, secularization of meditation, and empirical approaches to alternative spirituality. She teaches courses in KRLE (Christianity, Religion, Life Stance, Ethics) and leads online programs in religious education.
Lance A. Waller is a Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at the Rollins School of Public Health , Emory University. He holds a joint appointment in the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health and serves on graduate faculties for Environmental Health Sciences and the Population Biology, Evolution, and Ecology program. His research focuses on spatial statistics applied to public health, environmental justice, neurology, and disease ecology, with over 25 years of publications including the seminal text Applied Spatial Statistics for Public Health Data (2004, Wiley). Education: B.S. in Mathematics (New Mexico State University, 1986), Ph.D. in Operations Research (Cornell University, 1991) Leadership Roles: Co-chair of U.S. National Academy of Science's Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics, member of US Census Bureau's Scientific Advisory Committee (second term) His methodological work spans spatial modeling , disease surveillance , and environmental health statistics . Recent research includes: Household air pollution effects on cardiovascular outcomes Opioid mortality spatiotemporal mapping Vector density changes with clean cooking interventions Statistical frameworks for epidemic tracking Multi-scale data integration for health disparities He has developed innovative Berkeson error models for population uncertainty and agent-based spatiotemporal frameworks for disease ecology. His work appears in top journals across biostatistics, ecology, and public health, with key contributions to statistical methodology for epidemiology.
Rochelle Stevenson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Thompson Rivers University (TRU). A criminologist with a PhD from the University of Windsor, she specializes in the intersection of domestic violence and animal cruelty. Her work focuses on understanding how animal abuse functions as a form of power and control in intimate partner violence, advocating for policy changes to protect both victims and their pets. Education includes a PhD in Sociology (2018, University of Windsor), MA in Criminology (2012, University of Ottawa), and BA (Hons) in Criminology (2009, Simon Fraser University). She is a core member of the Animal and Interpersonal Abuse Research Group, which has conducted groundbreaking studies on the link between pet abuse and domestic violence. Research highlights include demonstrating that 54% of abused women delay leaving violent relationships due to pet safety concerns. Her advocacy drives development of Safe Pet programs for domestic violence shelters, fostering collaboration between human and animal welfare sectors. Recent work includes a national census of domestic violence shelters' pet-related policies, funded by a major grant. Stevenson also explores perpetrators' perspectives through interviews with incarcerated men, aiming to understand motivations behind abuse. She emphasizes the need for trauma-informed practices among animal protection workers and seeks to create inclusive support systems for all victims of violence.
Dr Mirjam Allik is a Research Fellow at the MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow. She has been affiliated with the University since December 2013, leading the Children’s Health in Care in Scotland (CHiCS) research project. Her primary role focuses on measuring deprivation and health inequalities, particularly through linked administrative data. Dr Allik holds a PhD from Trinity College, Dublin. Her research expertise includes quantitative methodologies applied to public health, small-area deprivation analysis, and understanding the health impacts of care experiences on children. She has contributed to significant studies such as developing the Carstairs deprivation scores for Scotland and creating small-area deprivation indices for Brazil. Her work emphasizes population-wide longitudinal studies, with recent focus on Scotland’s care-experienced children. Key topics include chronic conditions, mental health hospitalizations, and mortality outcomes. Dr Allik has also explored global health issues like the Bolsa Família Programme in Brazil and gender representation in Estonian politics. Dr Allik has received the 2014 Images with Impact Contest Award from MVLS at the University of Glasgow. She actively engages in supervising PhD students (e.g., Daniel Bradford and Edit Gedeon) and MPH students, focusing on topics like child health and deprivation measurement. Teaching roles include leading computer labs for postgraduate quantitative data analysis courses. Her research datasets include Carstairs deprivation scores for Scotland, small-area measures for Brazil, and Estonian national candidate data. Funding sources include the National Institute for Health Research and the Economic and Social Research Council.
