Population Science Seminar Series
The BU Population Science Seminar Series (BU PopSci) is an interdisciplinary forum connecting established and emerging scholars in demography, population health, epidemiology, economics, and related fields.
About the Series
A Forum for Innovative Population Research
The Boston University Population Science Seminar Series (BU PopSci) brings together established and emerging scholars working across demography, population health, epidemiology, economics, and related fields. Each academic year, the series hosts 8–10 seminars that pair senior researchers with early-career faculty and postdoctoral scholars, creating a space where new ideas and methodological approaches can be shared and debated across disciplinary boundaries.
Speakers are drawn from universities and research institutions across the country and internationally, with a deliberate emphasis on representing diverse career stages, methodological traditions, and substantive interests. The series also serves as a meeting point for the BU research community, connecting faculty and students from across the university who share an interest in population science.
BU PopSci is a joint initiative of the Center for Innovation in Social Science (CISS), College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, the School of Law, and the School of Public Health. Members of the BU community and the broader academic public are welcome to attend.
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Academic Year 2026–27
Seminar Schedule
| Date | Speaker | Title / Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 14, 2026 | Emma Zang, Associate Professor of Sociology, Biostatistics, and Global Affairs, Yale University | “Demographic Constraint: Why Aging Societies Struggle to Invest in the Future” |
| Oct. 19, 2026 | Marcia Pescador Jimenez, PhD, MS, MA, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, BUSPH | “Challenges and Opportunities in Exposome Studies of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias” |
| Nov. 16, 2026 | James Feigenbaum, Associate Professor of Economics, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences | Economic history of mobility, inequality, and population health |
| Dec. 7, 2026 | Anna Aizer, Professor of Economics, Brown University | Health and labor economics of child wellbeing and poverty |
| Jan. 25, 2027 | Meghan Zacher, Assistant Professor of Population Studies, Population Studies and Training Center, Brown University | “U.S. State Policy Contexts and the Rural Mortality Penalty” |
| Feb. 22, 2027 | Anna Stansbury, Assistant Professor of Work and Organization Studies, MIT Sloan | “The Class Gap in Career Progression: Evidence from the US and UK” |
| Mar. 15, 2027 | BU Lightning Round | PAA Practice Talks — Population Association of America |
| Apr. 12, 2027 | Mark Pachucki, Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Amherst | “How do friends shape our worlds? The roles that cross-boundary relationships play in social mobility, cohesion, and healthy communities” |
| May 10, 2027 | Erika Sabbath, Associate Professor of Health and Mental Health, Boston College | Occupational epidemiology of work, stress, and health |
Click on talk title to RSVP. The Title / Topic column lists each speaker’s research focus areas pending the title of their talk.
Series Leadership
Faculty Organizers
A&S Distinguished Professor of Sociology, College of Arts & Sciences; Director, Center for Innovation in Social Science (CISS)
Associate Professor of Global Health & Sociology, School of Public Health
Associate Professor of Sociology, College of Arts & Sciences; Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences
Associate Professor of Law, School of Law
Assistant Professor of Economics, College of Arts & Sciences
Administration
Research Specialist, School of Public Health
Center Administrator, Center for Innovation in Social Science
Scholarly Community
Faculty Affiliates
Faculty from across the schools and colleges of Boston University whose research advances the population sciences.
Co-Director, New England Centenarian Study; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, School of Public Health
Associate Professor of Global Health and Epidemiology, School of Public Health
Assistant Professor of Political Science, College of Arts & Sciences
Dean, Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences
Chair and Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health
Associate Professor of Education, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development
Assistant Dean & Associate Professor; Director, Center for Aging and Disability Education and Research (CADER), School of Social Work
A&S Distinguished Professor of Sociology; Director, Center for Innovation in Social Science; BU Initiative on Cities
Professor of Human Behavior, Social Work and Policy in the School of Social Work
A&S Distinguished Professor in the College of Engineering; Director, Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health
Professor of Law, School of Law; Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management, School of Public Health
Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health
Associate Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management, School of Public Health
Institutional Support
Sponsors & Funders
The series is generously supported by the following Boston University schools and centers:
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