At the core of the ECPD is a diverse group of Early Career Researchers (ECRs), who bring fresh perspectives to the study of family diversity, health, and social inequalities. Our ECRs come from a variety of disciplines such as sociology, psychology, economics, and health sciences. This illustrates the multidisciplinary nature of the centre, as they bring unique expertise and passion to the project’s aims.
In this post, we are excited to introduce our ECRs, who share insights into their research background, their link to the ECPD research aims, and their aspirations for the years ahead. These young scholars are integral to advancing the centre’s mission and to shaping its future. We look forward to seeing the contributions and achievements this exceptional group will make in the years to come!
Ana Lam
Humboldt Universität
Keywords: Population health and ageing, working beyond retirement, economic inequalities
Background & ECPD link: My background in public health/epidemiology and demography, combined with my interest in population health and ageing, brought me to the ECPD because it provides a nice environment and network to better understand various aspects of the ageing process, including family diversity and health and economic inequalities.
Excited for next years: I am excited to expand my research on the health of older adults working beyond retirement, especially with regard to the important roles that wealth and family play on individuals’ need to work. This is especially relevant for countries which have traditionally relied on family support, but the implications of changing family structures on older adult labour force participation, financial security, social support, and health and well-being is less clear.
Sarah Schmauk
Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences
Keywords: old age security, divorce, social policies and cross-country comparisons
Background & ECPD link: I have a background in social science and demography. My previous research has focused on the economic consequences of divorce at different points of the life course and whether social policy contexts can mitigate some of these consequences.
Excitement next years: I would like to delve deeper into exploring the interplay between family transitions, health impairments and economic inequalities, especially in old age.
Enrique Alonso-Perez
Charité – Unviersitätsmedizin Berlin
Keywords: Healthy ageing, intersectionality, biosocial
Background & ECPD link: My background is in health economics with a specialisation in quantitative methods, which I use to study social determinants of health and ageing from an intersectional perspective. This, combined with my interests in biosocial mechanisms and family environments, brought me to the ECPD, where the research aims and network expertise align perfectly.
Excited for next years: I am really looking forward to delving deeper into biosocial mechanisms and advancing the understanding of how biological and social factors interact, especially when considering diverse family forms. The merging of both strands is quite unique and I am excited to see it flourish in the ECPD. And especially when working with such an interdisciplinary and talented team!
Anastassia von Lingen
Charité – Unviersitätsmedizin Berlin
Keywords: multimorbidity and psychiatric disorders in family context, risk/protective factors, prevention
Background & ECPD link: as a trained psychologist, my clinical research has shifted from individual-focused data to a broader interest in family-centred approaches to psychiatric disorders. This led me to join ECPD to explore the role of diverse families in many different contexts.
Excited for next years: I am excited to collaborate with ECPD’s multidisciplinary team, where diverse perspectives on health, family and prevention come together. Our work aims to influence policy making and develop prevention programs that will benefit families and society.
Emily Frank
Social Science Center Berlin
Keywords: immigration, mental health, structural inequality
Background & ECPD link: My previous research has been on how migration policies affect refugees’ experiences in Germany, and I was intrigued by the idea of bringing this background to look at how policies such as family reunification might affect immigrants’ mental health.
Excited for next years: I’m looking forward to developing expertise in interdisciplinary research and especially the real-world labs that are part of my objective.
Dana Abdel-Fatah
Charité – Unviersitätsmedizin Berlin
Keywords: Transnational families, Mental health and migration
Background & ECPD link: Studied public policy and doing my phD in sociology at the HU
Excited for next years: to work within the real world labs, to explore qualitatively how transnational family relationships are associated with mental health.
Xuejie Ding (WZB)
Social Science Center Berlin
Keywords: Family diversity, Education, Health inequality
Background & ECPD link: As a sociologist/demographer, my research focuses on the intersection of health inequality and social inequality, emphasising that health is not merely a biological outcome but a reflection of broader social structures.
Excited for next years: How family diversity influences children’s education via the health mechanism.
Lara Bister
WZB
Keywords: family, life course, health, stress
Background & ECPD link: Trained in sociology and demography, my research evolves around family- and contextual stressors, how they shape individuals’ health and life course outcomes, and the role of family relationships and spillovers. At ECPD, I will specifically focus on the concept of family diversity and its implications for health outcomes in the intergenerational family context.
Excited for next years: I am particularly excited to engage in interdisciplinary projects within the ECPD network, gain new experiences in collecting survey and clinical data, and study family diversity from different angles.