Research Scientist Elyse Jennings named Director of Research at Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies

Head shot of Elyse Jennings

It is with great pleasure that we announce that our Research Scientist Elyse Jennings, PhD, has agreed to take on a senior leadership role here at the Harvard Pop Center and serve as our director of research.

Elyse joined us in 2016 as a research associate and was promoted to research scientist over two years ago. In her new role as director of research, she will leverage her training and experience as a sociologist and family demographer, as well as her substantive work on the HAALSI project (including her expertise in fieldwork training, survey development, and grant proposal writing) to help to shape and oversee our research initiatives, ensuring that they align with the Center’s mission. Her responsibilities include offering guidance to our coalesced team of researchers known as the “research core” and working closely with other members of senior leadership and the administrative team on issues related to staffing and community building. She’ll also work closely with our data compliance coordinator on developing best practices around acquiring, managing, storing, and archiving data.

Elyse holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining our team at the Harvard Pop Center, she was a post-doctoral fellow at the Carolina Population Center. Her own line of research explores marriage and health in South Africa, family formation and dissolution in South Asia, as well as adolescent sexual behavior in the U.S.