Melinda Mills appointed as professor of Data Science and Public Health Policy

The Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) is pleased to announce that as per 1 October 2022 Melinda Mills has been appointed as professor of Data Science and Public Health Policy.

The chair will be part of the Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance (EE&F). It will provide a solid basis for high-quality research and education on data science and public health policy. For many years Mills was affiliated with the Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences of the UG. Mills left the university in Groningen in 2014 for a position as Professor of Demography and Sociology at the University of Oxford, a position she continues to hold.

Mills is a world-renowned top researcher in interdisciplinary research, combining economics, sociology, health, demography, statistics and genetics. She has a large international network and a wide policyoutreach and has won numerous awards and prizes for her academic work. Apart from her work in academia, professor Mills holds several advisory and editorial roles in committees and boards. For instance, she is Special Advisor to the European Commissioner of the Economy.

As professor of Data Science and Public Health Policy, Mills plans to further strengthen health-related research and education at the Faculty of Economics and Business. The chair will therefore also be embedded in FEB’s Centre for Public Health in Economics and Business. The professor also has concrete plans for research collaborations between FEB researchers and her team at Oxford University, her primary employer. The emphasis of Mills’ position will be on research.

Apart from setting up and contributing to research in the field of data science and public health policy within FEB, the professor will be active in co-supervising Research Master and PhD theses and will contribute to generating outside funding for her research.

For further information, please contact Melinda Mills.