David C Van Riper is a Researcher at the Minnesota Research Data Center affiliated with the University of Minnesota . His expertise lies in Population Dynamics , Geographic Information Systems , and Structural Racism , with a focus on Health Disparities and Spatial Data Analysis . Research Interests Population Research Historical Geographic Information Systems Structural Racism and Discrimination Socioeconomic Determinants of Cancer Outcomes Healthcare Accessibility Recent Publications 2025: National dataset of sundown towns for quantitative analysis 2025: Clinical trial enrollment patterns in pediatric oncology 2024: Neighborhood deprivation and healthcare costs in older adults 2024: Optimized U.S. census microdata 2024: Travel-time barriers in cancer care
Elin Ekman is a Lecturer in Information and Communications Technology at the School of Information and Engineering , Dalarna University. Her work focuses on programming education and microdata analysis. B.Sc. in Information Systems, Dalarna University (2018) B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies, Malmö University (2010) Her teaching and coordination roles include: Programme Director for IT Security and Software Testing (B.Sc.) Course Coordinator for Project-Based System Development (GIK2PG)
Marlis Buchmann is a Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences , University of Zurich, and serves as Director of the Swiss Job Market Monitor (SJMM). Her research focuses on labor market transformations, particularly how digitalization reshapes employer skill demands and affects worker career trajectories and inequality patterns. University of Zurich, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Sociology Director, Swiss Job Market Monitor (SJMM) Research themes: Labor market digitalization, Youth transitions, Social stratification Her work includes the COCON longitudinal study on Swiss youth development and co-editorship of special issues in Journal of Youth and Adolescence and Research in Human Development . Recent publications examine civic engagement frameworks, labor market mismatch, and pandemic impacts on youth. Key methodological contributions include bridging social network analysis with life course research through the SJMM's micro-level labor market data. She explores how socioeconomic resources and digitalization mediate transitions to adulthood, with particular attention to gender and educational inequality.
Alison (Ali) Shott is a Lecturer at Temple University's College of Liberal Arts , where she contributes to the Master of Public Policy Program . She concurrently serves as a Community Engagement Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, leading initiatives like the Reinventing Our Communities (ROC) Cohort Program focused on racial equity and inclusive economic development. Education: Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Western Ontario Master's in Political Science, Acadia University Bachelor's in Political Science, American University Research Interests: Her work centers on public policy implementation , particularly in local governance contexts. Key themes include equitable community development, municipal finance optimization, policy analysis frameworks, and cross-sector partnerships for socioeconomic advancement. She emphasizes practical applications in neighborhood revitalization and workforce development. Publications: Shott's scholarly output (2012-2019) demonstrates consistent focus on applied policy research , utilizing case studies and quantitative methods. Recurring themes include municipal governance reform, environmental policy barriers, data-driven community planning, and electoral systems—reflecting interdisciplinary engagement across political science, urban studies, and public administration. Awards: Fulbright Fellowship at University of Prince Edward Island (2009-2010)
Professor Huw Dixon is a distinguished economist at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, where he serves as Head of the Economics Section since 2018. Previously, he was a Professor at York University from 1992 until joining Cardiff in 2006. He has held numerous editorial positions including at the Review of Economic Studies, the Journal of Industrial Economics, and the Controversies section in The Economic Journal. PhD from Oxford University (1985) under Nobel Laureate Sir James Mirrlees Professor at York University (1992-2006) Head of Economics Department at York (2003-2006) Head of Economics Section at Cardiff Business School (2018-present) Professor Dixon's research spans multiple areas of economics with a particular focus on the macroeconomics of imperfect competition, oligopoly theory, learning and bounded rationality. His work on price microdata to model nominal rigidity of prices has been influential in understanding inflation dynamics. He has made significant contributions to economic measurement, particularly during the pandemic period, and has developed methods to better understand price behavior using micro-data from sources like the UK CPI price-quote dataset. His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward analyzing economic measurement challenges arising from the pandemic and inflation dynamics, with numerous 2023-2025 publications addressing energy expenditures, inflation measurement, and economic forecasting. His work bridges microeconomic price behavior with macroeconomic implications, particularly regarding monetary policy and inflation persistence. Member of the Council of the Royal Economic Society Member of the CEPR Member of the CESifo network Research Lead for economic measurement at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research Professor Dixon has supervised over 30 PhD students throughout his career, with research topics covering oligopoly, industrial economics, monetary policy, and applied work on nominal rigidity using micro price data. He currently teaches BS 3578 Economic Statistics in Theory and Practice, a course he designed that explores how key economic data such as inflation and GDP are constructed using raw data. His research has consistently informed his teaching approach, particularly in connecting theoretical concepts with practical economic measurement issues.
Ben Moews is a Lecturer in Predictive Analytics at the University of Edinburgh Business School. He serves as Director of the Domain-Driven Machine Learning Lab, PhD Programme in Financial Technology, and Chair of the Centre for Data, Culture and Society's Advisory Board. PhD in Astrophysics (University of Edinburgh) MSc in Artificial Intelligence (University of Edinburgh) Professional Statistician (American Statistical Association) His research bridges artificial intelligence with financial technology and astrophysics , focusing on domain-specific machine learning and privacy-preserving synthetic data . Recent projects include generative modeling for market microstructure , AI-driven cosmological simulations , and geospatial analytics for societal challenges . Research outputs span Physics-informed neural networks (2024), random number generator analysis in financial markets (2024), and synthetic data evaluation frameworks (2024). His work combines high-performance computing with real-world applications in central banking and public health . Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (2025) McWilliams Fellowship (2021) Principal’s Career Development Scholarship (2017) Professional Statistician accreditation (2023) Winton Thesis Prize (2022) As Director of the Domain-Driven Machine Learning Lab and FinTech PhD Programme, he leads initiatives integrating data science with domain-specific challenges across business, finance, and public policy. He collaborates with the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research and Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovations.
Jonathan Colmer is an Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, affiliated with the Department of Economics and leading the Environmental Inequality Lab. He focuses on the intersections of growth, development, and environmental economics, with a strong emphasis on climate change mitigation and socioeconomic disparities. Affiliated with CEPR Climate & Environment Program Research affiliate of the CESifo Network and IGC Research fellow at IZA Research associate at Center for Economic Performance His research explores carbon pricing, clean energy transitions, pollution impacts on health and inequality, and climate adaptation strategies. Recent work includes carbon border adjustment mechanisms and environmental justice in the U.S. Selected scientific awards include: National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2024) FEEM Award (2013) He collaborates with multidisciplinary teams and contributes to policy debates through empirical analyses of climate and economic interactions.
Dr. Michael Laszlo is a Professor in the Department of Computing at Nova Southeastern University's College of Computing & Engineering. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Princeton University and a B.A. in Mathematics from Vassar College. Prior to his academic career, he worked at Bell Laboratories. His research focuses on computer graphics and visualization, algorithms, and programming languages. Key contributions include work on microaggregation for data privacy, optimization algorithms, and evolutionary computation techniques applied to graph and network problems. He has authored multiple books in computer graphics and published in journals like IEEE Transactions and Discrete Applied Mathematics. Dr. Laszlo's recent work explores heuristic methods for Boolean function identification, landmark-based routing in constrained memory environments, and combinatorial puzzle analysis. His research bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in data privacy, network optimization, and algorithm design. No scientific awards or grants are explicitly listed in the provided materials, though his extensive publication record indicates sustained academic impact. His advising activity remains unspecified, but his educational background includes significant contributions to programming language pedagogy through book publications. He maintains an active presence at NSU since 1994 and is affiliated with the College of Computing & Engineering. Extracurricular interests include swimming, kayaking, running, and hiking.
Farzad Saidi is a Research Professor at the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) since June 2022 and holds a Professorship at the University of Bonn's Institute for Macroeconomics and Econometrics. His research focuses on corporate finance, banking, monetary policy, and financial intermediation. He explores topics such as bank networks' role in information sharing, the impact of negative interest rates on lending, and the interplay between social preferences and pandemic dynamics. His work has been published in top journals like the Journal of Financial Economics and Review of Financial Studies . His academic affiliations include dual roles at the IWH and University of Bonn, with a focus on macroeconomic and financial research. His recent studies examine regulatory policies in insurance markets, the effects of monetary policy on credit supply, and the implications of data-driven decision-making in firms. He actively contributes to policy-relevant research on financial stability, labor markets, and systemic risk. Notable contributions include analysis of bank behavior under negative rates, the effects of regulatory changes on insurance industries, and the role of social preferences in mitigating health externalities during pandemics. His research integrates theoretical frameworks with granular microdata, addressing both historical and modern financial crises.
Siyu Shi is a Part-time Assistant Professor and Max Weber Fellow in Economics at the European University Institute. His quantitative macroeconomics research examines technological change and inequality using dynamic modeling and microdata analysis. Current projects quantify technology's impact on life-cycle earnings through human capital investment decisions. He completed his Ph.D. in Economics at Arizona State University (2023), developing life-cycle models integrating college decisions, technology choices, and human capital investments. As a Max Weber Fellow, he continues developing research projects while teaching undergraduate macroeconomics courses.
Verena Plümpe is a Researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH), specifically within the Center for Firm and Productivity Dynamics (IWH-CBPD). She has been affiliated with the IWH since 2019 and assumed her current role in January 2025. Her research focuses on technological change, empirical labor economics, productivity analysis, and structural transformation in economies. Plümpe holds a PhD from Otto-von-Guericke University in Magdeburg, complemented by studies at Humboldt University Berlin and Leipzig University. Her work combines quantitative methodologies to examine labor market responses to technological advancements, with a particular emphasis on robotics' impact on workforce dynamics. Her recent research demonstrates that robot adoption in German manufacturing does not uniformly displace workers but instead shifts employment toward non-routine tasks and younger workers. The studies reveal increased churn among low-skilled workers and highlight correlations between robot adoption and plant characteristics like size, skill composition, and export orientation. Plümpe collaborates extensively with institutions like the IAB Establishment Panel to develop novel datasets, as seen in her work creating micro-level robot adoption metrics. These datasets enable granular analysis of industrial transformation processes and policy implications.
Marieke Kleemans is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Illinois. Her research focuses on development economics, labor economics, education economics, environmental economics, public policy, and microeconomics. She explores topics such as long-term educational impacts, labor market dynamics, agricultural productivity gaps, and the determinants of academic institutional membership. Her work often employs duration analysis and examines policy-relevant issues like school construction in Indonesia and weather-driven migration effects. Key research areas include transgenerational education effects, intergenerational mobility, and the structural determinants of academic promotions within economics. Her studies frequently utilize longitudinal microdata and address questions related to low-income countries and policy design. Her recent publications analyze the distribution of full professorships in economics, the long-term effects of school construction on education outcomes, and labor market responses to weather-induced migration. She has contributed datasets to platforms like Harvard Dataverse, emphasizing reproducibility and policy relevance. No specific awards or grants are listed, but her research has garnered significant academic and policy attention, including citations and media mentions.
Dr. Verena Seibel is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences and affiliated with the European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations (ERCOMER) at Utrecht University since 2021. She holds a tenure position and previously worked at the University of Groningen (2018-2021) and University of Konstanz (2015-2018). PhD in Sociology (2015), Humboldt University of Berlin MSc in Sociology (2011), Utrecht University BA in Sociology (2009), University of Mannheim Her research focuses on migrant integration through the lens of system knowledge – understanding how migrants access welfare services and benefits. By combining sociology, social policy, social psychology, and political science , she examines information acquisition mechanisms and social network influences. Recent publications (2025) analyze: Migrant perspectives on childcare allowances Discrimination recognition in policy contexts Healthcare knowledge gaps State pension attitudes She contributes to policy discussions through briefs on healthcare and childcare barriers, while serving on editorial boards for Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and Journal of Ethnic and Racial Studies . Her work receives funding from Netspar Theme Grant , Microdata Access Grant , and NWO Open Competition Grant XS . Key awards: PhD with Magna cum laude distinction Active in Utrecht Young Academy (Vice Chair since 2023)
Sjoerd van Alten is a Researcher and PhD candidate at the Department of Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), within the School of Business and Economics. His research focuses on human capital formation, genoeconomics, and health economics, with particular attention to genetics' role in socioeconomic outcomes and health disparities. Van Alten holds an MSc in Economics from the Tinbergen Institute (2019) and a BSc in Economics & Business Economics from Utrecht University (2017). He teaches courses including 'Quantitative Research Methods II' and 'Human Capital.' His work has been recognized through awards like the Charles J. Epstein Award (semifinalist) and an ODISSEI Microdata Access Grant. His research addresses selection bias in genetic studies using large datasets like the UK Biobank, with articles in Nature Communications and International Journal of Epidemiology . Key themes include volunteer bias correction in GWAS, genetic determinants of socioeconomic status, and health-related economic behaviors. Media engagements include expert commentary on genetics and inequality for Dutch outlets. Grants: ODISSEI MAG (2021), Charles J. Epstein Award (2021) Media: 2 expert commentaries (2025) Courses: Quantitative Research Methods II (2024-2025)
Nursena Aksünger is a PhD candidate at the Department of Economics , School of Business and Economics , Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , with a dual role as a part-time researcher at the PharmAccess Foundation focusing on maternal care. Her research centers on the complex interplay between poverty and mental health. Primary affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (School of Business and Economics) Secondary affiliation: PharmAccess Foundation Academic role: Researcher (PhD candidate) Research Focus: Combines econometric methods with health economics to address questions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Key areas include: Poverty-mindset interactions Maternal health economics Pandemic mental health impacts Dynamic labor market modeling SDG-aligned research (particularly SDG 1, 3, and 5) Academic Contributions: Five significant outputs demonstrate her expertise in prospective cohort designs, financial diaries, and cross-country comparative analysis. Her work appears in venues like PLoS Medicine , BMJ Open , and the Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper Series . Awards & Grants: Recipient of the prestigious ODISSEI Microdata Access Grant (2024) for studying Dutch student finance mental health effects. Network: Collaborates with researchers across 8 LMICs and contributes to replicable science through public datasets at DataverseNL . Recently presented findings at academic conferences (e.g., 'The cost of a peaceful mind' lecture, 2021).
