Matthias Studer is an Associate Professor of quantitative methods for social sciences at the LIVES center and Institute of Demography and Socioeconomics of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Geneva. His work focuses on developing and applying advanced statistical methods for analyzing life course trajectories and social inequalities. With a PhD in Socioeconomics from the University of Geneva, he has established himself as a leading expert in sequence analysis methodology. Studer's research interests center on quantitative methods for longitudinal data analysis, sequence analysis, gendered career inequalities, and labor market and social policy evaluation. His work bridges methodological innovation with substantive applications in sociology, demography, and public health. He has made significant contributions to the development of sequence analysis techniques, particularly through his work on the TraMineR package for R, which has become a standard tool in life course research. His recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate the breadth of his research, spanning applications in cognitive aging, women's empowerment, labor market transitions, and cancer risk. These works consistently employ sophisticated sequence analysis techniques to examine complex life trajectories across different domains. His methodological contributions include advancements in validating sequence typologies, handling missing data in multichannel sequence analysis, and developing feature selection approaches to identify critical aspects of trajectories. Studer actively collaborates with researchers across multiple disciplines and institutions, contributing to interdisciplinary projects that examine life course vulnerabilities, social inequalities, and health outcomes. His work has significant implications for understanding how early life conditions shape later outcomes and how social policies might mitigate vulnerabilities across the life course.
