Dr. Marcus Wurzer is a researcher in the Department of Statistics and Mathematics at WU Vienna. His work focuses on social stratification, education policy, demography, and microsimulation modeling. He has contributed to studies on gender segregation in educational fields, demographic projections in heterogeneous societies, and pension system dynamics. Key projects include the development of dynamic microsimulation models for Austrian labor markets and pension systems. Education background not explicitly detailed in text, but his academic contributions span interdisciplinary research in statistics, sociology, and economics. He received the 'Preis für innovative Lehre' award in 2007 for his teaching concept 'Statistik integrativ', collaborating with colleagues at WU Vienna. His research activities include presentations at international conferences on topics like socio-economic segregation in teacher training programs and graphical models in microsimulation. He has led a major research project from 2007–2014 focused on developing microsimulation tools for long-term career trajectory projections.
Frederic Vermeulen is a Full Professor at KU Leuven's Faculty of Economics and Business, with affiliations as a Research Fellow at CEPR, International Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (London), and researcher at CentER (Tilburg University) and IZA (Bonn). His core research examines household economics, including intra-household resource allocation, marriage markets, labor supply decisions, and microeconometric methods. Research interests span: Household Economics : Intra-household decision-making, consumption patterns, and welfare analysis Labor Economics : Gender disparities, flexible work arrangements, and time-money tradeoffs Marriage Markets : Matching patterns, marital stability, and divorce economics Microeconometrics : Nonparametric modeling and revealed preference theory His publications (2019-2025) predominantly analyze household dynamics using microeconomic frameworks, with recurring themes of marital matching, time allocation inequalities, and welfare measurement. Regional foci include Belgium, Malawi, and the US. Awards include the Francqui Prize (2019) for collaborative work on household economics. Editorial roles include former Joint Managing Editor of the Economic Journal (2012-2021) and current Associate Editorship at the Review of Economics of the Household and de Economist . He is president-elect of the Society of Economics of the Household. Active grants total €3M+ (2020-2028), including projects on marital matching patterns (co-promotor) and gender inequality in labor markets (promotor). He leads the Economics Research Group at KU Leuven and supervises doctoral candidates like Fernández Barros.
Andrew Shephard is a Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at KU Leuven, affiliated with the Economics Research Group. His research focuses on public economics, labor economics, and tax policy design, with particular emphasis on optimal taxation frameworks, family economics, and structural econometric modeling. He currently leads two major projects: 'Divorce Law Reforms, Matrimonial Regimes and Family Behaviour' (2024–2026) and 'Intertemporal equilibrium collective models with limited commitment' (2024–2034). Key research contributions include seminal work on tax credit reforms, charitable fundraising mechanisms, and the optimal taxation of low-income families. His publications appear in top journals such as Econometrica , Review of Economic Studies , and International Economic Review . Professor Shephard has held leadership roles, including membership in the Council of the Faculty of Economics and Business and the Campus Council FEB, Leuven and Kortrijk Campus. His work bridges theoretical economic modeling with applied policy analysis, addressing real-world issues in tax policy design and labor market dynamics.
Professor Mark Birkin is a Professor of Spatial Analysis and Policy at the School of Geography, University of Leeds . He is also the Director of the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) and co-editor of the Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy journal. His work focuses on simulating social and demographic changes in urban and regional contexts and assessing their impacts on infrastructure and public services. His research spans the application of microsimulation , agent-based modeling , and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to analyze urban dynamics. He has served on editorial boards of journals like GeoInformatics and GeoStatistics , and participated in program committees for European Social Simulation Association and GeoComputation . PhD , School of Geography, University of Leeds (1986) BA (Hons) , School of Geography, University of Leeds (1981) Research interests include modeling societies and their behavior, developing Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for human and environmental analysis, and leveraging information and communication technologies in public, industrial, and commercial sectors. His work often integrates microsimulation and agent-based modeling to address complex urban and regional problems, such as housing market dynamics, retail location analysis, and healthcare planning. Recent publications highlight his leadership in urban simulation and e-Research infrastructure , with a focus on projects like Moses (Modeling, Simulation for e-Social Science) and Hydra (Grid-based decision support systems). His work has been presented at international conferences including Association of American Geographers , European Social Simulation Association , and World Regional Science Association . Research projects led or co-led include Moses , SECSE , and GENeSIS , funded by organizations like ESRC , EPSRC , and JISC . He has secured over £4 million in research funding, with projects such as the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Survey Research Support Unit (2012–2017) and Hydra II (2003–2004). Labs and teams include the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) and the Institute for Spatial Data Science . He collaborates with institutions like the University of Manchester and University of California, San Diego through visiting fellowships.
Dr. Mehdi Javanbakht is a researcher at Newcastle University, specializing in health economics and economic evaluation of medical interventions. His work spans emergency stroke care, surgical treatments for stress urinary incontinence, melanoma surveillance, and cardiovascular disease prevention. Key Research Areas: Cost-effectiveness analysis, paramedic protocols, organ preservation technologies, and public health nutrition. Notable Collaborations: Involved in multi-institutional studies with teams focusing on stroke care (PASTA trial) and cancer epidemiology (Global Burden of Disease Study). Methodology: Utilizes systematic reviews, decision-analytic modeling, and network meta-analyses to assess healthcare strategies.
Arkadiusz Wisniowski is a Professor of Social Statistics & Demography at the The University of Manchester , affiliated with the Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research and the Institute for Data Science and AI . He serves on the Advisory Board of the Cathie Marsh Institute and is the Associate Editor of Demographic Research . His academic career spans leadership roles as Head of Department (2022-2025), Postgraduate Director, and Undergraduate Teaching Director. Education: PhD in Economics (Warsaw School of Economics) MSc in Economics (Warsaw School of Economics) MSc in Quantitative Methods (Warsaw School of Economics) Erasmus Programme in Econometrics (University of Groningen) Research Interests focus on statistical methods for migration forecasting , integrating traditional and novel data sources. He specializes in Bayesian hierarchical models , time series analysis, survey methodology, and tackling demographic challenges like ageing populations . His work addresses Global Inequalities and aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to migration and population change. Recent Research Trends include: Bayesian techniques for bilateral migration flows (South America-Europe) Probabilistic multiregional population projections Data integration strategies for migration estimation Machine learning applications in social statistics Statistical foundations for demographic forecasting Advisory and Collaboration : Supervises 6 current PhD students and co-advises 4 graduates, including projects on India's migration patterns , meritocracy in China , and mortality forecasting in South America . Collaborates with institutions like the Max Planck Institute , Australian National University , and University of Shanghai . Labs and Teams : Led the Statistical Modelling Research Group (2019-2023) and contributes to the ESRC Centre for Population Change . His projects involve split-site Manchester-MPIDR funding and interdisciplinary teams across demography, data science, and social policy.
Qingyue (Marco) Li is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Australian National University , affiliated with the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health. He holds a BSc and a Master of Actuarial Practice (MActPrac) from ANU and is currently pursuing his PhD in Actuarial Studies. Research Focus: Forecasting Private Health Insurance Participation in Australia Using a Microsimulation Model Expertise: Private Health Insurance, Health Policy, and Mental Health Contact: qingyue.li@anu.edu.au
Dr. Meead Saberi Kalaee is an Associate Professor at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney. His academic journey includes a PhD in Transportation Systems Analysis and Planning from Northwestern University (2013), MSc in Transportation Engineering from Portland State University (2010), and BSc in Civil Engineering from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (2007). He leads the CityX research lab under rCITI, focusing on urban mobility through data analytics, simulation, and network modeling. Current Research : Traffic flow theory, mixed autonomy networks, pedestrian dynamics, active transport modeling, and AI-assisted infrastructure mapping (via footpath.ai spinout) Selected Grants : ARC Linkage Grant LE240100118 (National Cycling Data Platform), ARC Discovery DP220102382 (AI footpath modeling), DP210102089 (Sustainable bicycling exposure), LP190100650 (Logistics optimization) Recent Publications (2023–2025) span advanced topics like pedestrian traffic assignment , mixed autonomy emissions , reinforcement learning for vaccine allocation , and AI-driven transport equity , with methodological innovations in simulation-based optimization and network fundamental diagrams. Industry Collaborations include Adiona, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Cisco, KPMG, and government bodies like Transport for NSW and VicRoads. Supervision : Current PhD projects on traffic signal optimization, pedestrian activity estimation, and AI mapping. Former students' work addresses autonomous driving, dynamic demand modeling, and urban safety.
Eric Miller is a Professor in the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. His research focuses on integrated land use and transportation modeling, sustainable urban design, and agent-based microsimulation systems. Email: eric.miller@utoronto.ca Research Interests: Microsimulation of Urban Transportation-Land Use Systems, Development of integrated models like ILUTE and GTAMODEL, and empirical analysis of urban form's impact on transportation sustainability. His work combines object-oriented programming, GIS, and behavioral sub-models for policy analysis. Scientific Awards: 2009 ITE Wilbur S. Smith Distinguished Educator Award 2012 Margolese National Design for Living Award 2018 IATBR Lifetime Achievement Award 2020 U of T Safwat Zaky Research Leader Award Affiliations: Research Director, Data Management Group (DMG) Founding Research Director, Travel Modelling Group (TMG)
Pedro Nascimento de Lima is a Professor at the RAND School of Public Policy and an Engineer at the RAND Corporation. He specializes in computational methods to inform policy decisions, with expertise in Robust Decision Making, Modeling and Simulation, and Health Economics. His research addresses complex policy domains including healthcare, pandemic response, and systemic risk assessment. He holds a Ph.D. in Policy Analysis from RAND, and B.S./M.S. in Production Engineering from Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Brazil). Key contributions include developing the modeling framework for RAND's widely-used COVID-19 State Policy Tool, stress-testing colorectal cancer screening guidelines, and advocating for sustained wastewater surveillance capabilities. His work integrates advanced computational tools with open-source contributions, emphasizing reproducibility and policy robustness. Recent research focuses on evaluating AI capabilities, improving causal inference methods, and assessing cost-effectiveness of health interventions. Notable projects include Bayesian calibration of cancer microsimulation models, analysis of non-pharmaceutical interventions during the pandemic, and exploring policies to address wealth disparities. He collaborates with institutions like Argonne National Laboratory for high-performance computing applications in health policy modeling.
Federico Perali is a Full Professor of Political Economy at the University of Verona, Italy. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. His roles include serving as President of the Società Italiana di Economia dello Sviluppo (SITES) and membership in scientific committees of institutions like the CHILD Center, ICID, and the Family Studies Center at the Catholic University of Milan. His research focuses on welfare economics, sustainable development, cost-of-living analysis, family policies, and economic policy modeling. Key research areas include intra-household inequality, collective demand systems, environmental economics, and computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. He has pioneered the Economic Living Lab, a university spinoff specializing in evaluating social and sustainable development projects. His work bridges micro and macroeconomic policies, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development challenges. Publications span peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, with a focus on household economics, policy analysis, and development strategies. His collaborative contributions include advancing methodologies for unit value estimation and policy simulations in agricultural and regional contexts.
Eva Beaujouan is an Associate Professor at the University of Vienna's Institut für Demografie, leading the institute as its director. Her research focuses on fertility trends, family change, and the sociocultural drivers of delayed childbearing in high-income countries. She has secured prestigious grants, including an ERC Consolidator Grant (BIC.LATE, 2021–2026) and an FWF Stand-alone Project (LATEFERT, 2019–2023), to study late fertility dynamics and biological/individual contextual factors. Her work examines educational disparities in fertility, urban-rural fertility gradients, and the interplay between health, reproductive intentions, and policy. She teaches courses such as 'Research Seminar: Empirical Study' and 'Population Policy: Fertility, Health and Migration,' reflecting her expertise in demographic methodologies and policy analysis. Eva’s awards include grants for her groundbreaking analysis of late parenthood's societal impacts. Her research spans multiple countries, with notable contributions to understanding fertility recovery, childlessness trends, and the role of education in reproductive decisions. She also explores family instability, repartnering after separation, and generational fertility differences through microsimulation models and large-scale datasets. Her leadership at the Institut für Demografie underscores her commitment to advancing demographic research in Austria and Europe. Current projects include simulating fertility scenarios and analyzing the viability of 'ageing fertility' in European contexts.
Professor Robert Tanton holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Canberra and has been affiliated with the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) since June 2005. His primary research focuses on spatial disadvantage, wellbeing analysis, and spatial microsimulation techniques. He is internationally recognized for expertise in poverty measurement, housing stress analysis, and small-area estimation methodologies. Tanton leads projects applying microsimulation models to assess socioeconomic indicators, including work presented to the Senate Select Committee on Housing Affordability and collaborations with organizations like AURIN. Education: PhD in Economics, University of Canberra (specializing in small-area estimation) Research Interests: Spatial analysis of economic disadvantage Wellbeing metrics and policy evaluation Microsimulation models for public policy Health economics and informal care costs Environmental policy and urban development Grants & Collaborations: Chief Investigator on multiple Australian Research Council (ARC) grants Commissioned work for government agencies including the Tasmanian Social Inclusion Unit and Commonwealth Bank Member of the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN) Key Contributions: Developed spatial microsimulation frameworks for poverty and wellbeing analysis Authored over 140 publications on socioeconomic disadvantage, health economics, and policy impact assessments Advised on tax reform, EV policy, and mental health costing through microsimulation models
Max Löffler is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microeconomics and Public Economics at Maastricht University and a Research Fellow at the same institution since December 2023. He is also affiliated with the ERC-funded HIPPO project at the University of Cologne, reflecting his strong ties to leading European economic research centers. His research focuses on public economics and labor economics, with particular emphasis on taxation, inequality, labor supply modeling, and urban/regional economic issues. His work combines structural econometric methods with empirical analysis to evaluate the welfare and distributional effects of public policies. The recent publications reveal a consistent trend in studying the real-world impacts of taxation, labor market policies, and inequality, while expanding into newer domains such as climate change exposure and the long-term economic consequences of surveillance. His research often involves collaboration with prominent economists and utilizes large-scale microdata and policy simulation models. IZA Discussion Papers and Standpunkte Published in journals: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy , Journal of the European Economic Association , Journal of Economic Inequality , Labour Economics , German Economic Review , Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik Löffler has advised or contributed to policy-relevant research through institutions such as IZA, ifo Institute, and ZEW. He has not received any explicitly mentioned scientific awards in the provided text. He does not appear to lead a named lab or research team, but is deeply embedded in collaborative research networks focused on public policy evaluation.
Adrian Pabst is Professor of Politics at the University of Kent , School of Politics and International Relations. Since 2009 he has progressed from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer (2013), Reader (2016) and Professor (2019). He is also Director of Kent’s Centre for Federal Studies , a Fellow of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research , and holds editorial and trustee roles with Telos , the Foundation Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice , and the James Madison Charitable Trust . Education PhD in Political Thought and Philosophy of Religion, University of Cambridge (2002–2006) Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, University of Nottingham (2007–2009) Research Interests Adrian’s work integrates political theory, political economy and international politics . He interrogates liberalism and its critics—especially Burke, Tocqueville, and the conservative, socialist and Catholic traditions—while advancing post-liberal alternatives rooted in Catholic Social Teaching , civil economy and guild socialism . Key themes include: Post-liberalism beyond the left–right, state–market binaries The English School of International Relations and the primacy of association Christian social thought and economic anthropology (Polanyi, Mauss) Federalism and the future of Europe Blue Labour, UKIP and the renewal of British politics Research Outputs & Trends Across more than 70 publications, Adrian has developed a distinctive interdisciplinary research programme . Recent articles (2016–2024) reveal a focus on post-liberal responses to technocracy and populism , climate-sustainability policy , Brexit and Trump , and renewing Western universalism . His monographs and edited collections—such as The Politics of Virtue (2016), The Demons of Liberal Democracy (2019) and Postliberal Politics (2021)—have become touchstones for scholars rethinking liberal order. Scientific Awards & Fellowships Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, University of Nottingham (2007–2009) Fellow, National Institute of Economic and Social Research (2017–present) Sir Peter Lawler Visiting Fellow, PM Glynn Institute, Australian Catholic University (2018) Doctoral Supervision & Grants Adrian welcomes PhD and MPhil supervision in political and social theory, political economy, politics and religion, and European politics . Current and recent supervisees are exploring topics such as EU–Russia discursive interaction, grand theory in IR, French revolutionary change, post-Cold War Russia, Uzbekistan’s IPE, and EU religious-freedom enlargement policy. Grant-funded projects include: Nuffield Foundation project on British fiscal policy (NIESR) Regional microsimulation modelling (NiReMS) Compass reports on global social democracy Laboratories, Centres & Teams As Director of the Centre for Federal Studies , Adrian leads an interdisciplinary team examining federal and multi-level governance. He collaborates with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research on fiscal policy research and with the PM Glynn Institute on Catholic social thought and labour traditions.
