Population Science Seminar Launches on September 14
CISS is excited to announce the September 2026 launch of the BU Population Science (BU PopSci) Seminar. Each academic year, the series will host 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. The inaugural slate of speakers includes eminent scholars of social factors influencing health and aging. 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.
Join us for our first speaker on Monday September 14 from noon-1:15 pm at Yawkey 613B as Emma Zang talks about “Demographic Constraint: Why Aging Societies Struggle to Invest in the Future.”
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. BU PopSci is co-led by Deborah Carr (CISS and CAS/Sociology) and Andrew Stokes (SPH), along with steering committee members Neha Gondal (CAS/Sociology and CDS), Benjamin Pyle (LAW), and Linh To (CAS/Economics), PopSci invites BU faculty and students to attend upcoming events and sign up for the mailing lists. For additional information, reach out to Deborah Carr.
Seminar Schedule
| Date | Speaker | Topic / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 14, 2026 | Emma Zang, Associate Professor Tenure of Sociology and of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health | “Demographic Constraint: Why Aging Societies Struggle to Invest in the Future” |
| Oct. 19, 2026 | Marcia Pescador Jimenez, Associate Professor 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, 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 |