We are delighted to announce that applications are now open for our 12th Annual Berkeley Workshop on Formal Demography, taking place on June 1-5, 2026. This year’s special emphasis topic will be on the demography of population decline and aging, including formal demographic models for studying the impact of changes in fertility and the timing of population peaks. It will also include a session on the application of LLMs in demographic research in general and formal demography in particular. The deadline to apply is March 1st. Learn more and apply here.
Our next brownbag seminar is on Wednesday, February 4th at 12pm, Jessica Y. Ho, Associate Professor of Sociology and Demography at The Pennsylvania State University will present, “Routes to High Life Expectancy in High-Income Countries.” The event will take place in Room 310 in the Social Sciences Building and will also be available via Zoom. See the full event details here. Our YouTube channel is here. Visit our Brown Bag event page for both past and upcoming talks here.
The Census Bureau is accepting public comments on plans to continue the National Survey of Children’s Health. The request for comments, and instructions for submitting them, is available in this Federal Register notice: Federal Register: Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; National Survey of Children’s Health. The deadline for comments is February 3.
Featured affiliate research of the week: Reducing Bias Among Health Care Providers: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania, Burkina Faso, and Pakistan. (2025). Zachary Wagner, Corrina Moucheraud, Manisha Shah, Alexandra Wollum, Willa Friedman, and William H Dow. The Economic Journal. 135(670): 1891–1922.
See further announcements and opportunities below.
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EVENTS
February 2 | 2-3:30pm | Sociology Department Colloquium Series | Alex Diamond, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Oklahoma State University. “Governing the Excluded.” 402 Social Sciences Building. Zoom link here; Meeting ID: 912 1296 2018.
February 3 | 12:10-1pm | UC Berkeley School of Public Health | Dr. Matt Willis, Social Impact Fellow, UC Berkeley School of Public Health. “Making the Invisible Visible.” Online for Zoom here. Event details are here.
February 3 | 4-5:30pm | Social Science Matrix | The panel will feature Ernesto Dal Bó, Phillips Girgich Professor of Business at the UC Berkeley Haas School, Sarah Anzia, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at UC Berkeley, and Erwin Chemerinsky, Jesse H. Chopper Distinguished Professor of Law and Dean of the UC Berkeley Law School. Sean Gailmard, Herman Royer Professor of Political Economy, will moderate. “Matrix on Point: Corruption in America.” Social Science Matrix, 820 Social Sciences Building. Register for this event here.
February 4 | 12-1:05pm | UC Berkeley Demography Seminar Series | Jessica Y. Ho, Associate Professor of Sociology and Demography at The Pennsylvania State University. “Routes to High Life Expectancy in High-Income Countries.” Room 310, Social Sciences Building and Zoom. Meeting ID: 985 2901 0198 Password: DEMOG_BB. Event details are here.
FUNDING
Wellcome Trust Genomics in Context Awards: Collaborative research at the intersection of genomics, humanities, social sciences and bioethics. These awards will support transdisciplinary teams to catalyse research discoveries at the intersection of genomics, humanities, social sciences and bioethics. Funded projects will be given the time and resources to create new research agendas and explore innovative ways of working. Due March 16, 2026.
The NIA Demography & Economics (D&E) Coordinating Center is excited to announce a call for proposals for NIA D&E Cross-Center Collaborative Pilot Grants. This pilot program is designed to seed new, interdisciplinary, cross-NIA D&E Center collaborations focused on NIA priority topics. This year’s focus is Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD). They will fund up to two pilot projects, with awards of up to $50,000 per year for one- or two-year projects. For this pilot round, preference will be given to projects that
- Address NIA priority topics in AD/ADRD
- Include a Early Stage Investigator new to AD/ADRD research who is mentored by a senior scholar.
Eligibility: Teams must include at least two PIs affiliated with at least two different NIA D&E Centers. Collaborations must be new, interdisciplinary, and cross-Center. Teams may also include investigators from other institutions.
Key dates:
- Information Session: February 6, 2026 10:00am CT – register here
- Letters of Intent due: Monday, February 23, 2026
- Full proposals due: Monday, April 20, 2026
- Funding decisions: Pilots will be selected by June 1, 2026; funding cannot be guaranteed until approved by NIA
- NIA approval process: July-August, 2026
- Funding start date: September 1, 2026
Letters of Intent will be reviewed to assess program fit and eligibility. Only teams whose proposed projects align with program goals and eligibility requirements will be invited to submit a full proposal. The full RFP, including detailed instructions, is available here.
OPPORTUNITIES
Applications are currently open (Jan. 15–March 15) for the Entrepreneurship and Science Communication for Aging Research (ESCAAR) program — a National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded, 10-month, cohort-based training program (July 2026–April 2027) designed for early-career researchers in aging-related fields. ESCAAR supports participants in strengthening science communication skills, exploring translational and entrepreneurial pathways, and expanding the broader impact of aging research. It combines two in-person sessions in Baltimore, Maryland with flexible online learning. Join a Zoom information sessions for prospective fellows as well as for PIs/mentors/faculty who work with early-career researchers and want to share the opportunity within their programs. Program details, info session dates, and application materials are available on the ESCAAR website.
WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS
The virtual Center on Aging, Health, and Environment (CACHE) is hosting a webinar, titled “Climate Hazard Center’s rainfall (CHIRPS) and temperature (CHIRTS) datasets: Everything you want to know about these valuable resources” delivered by Dr. Shraddhanand Shukla (UCSB). Join CACHE on February 5, at 2 pm PT. Register in advance to join! Once you register, you will receive a confirmation email containing the password required to join the seminar.
Rethinking Global Family Planning Measurement: Bringing in a Rights, Justice and Person-Centered Lens.
Monday 16 March 2026, 10:30-11:30 Universal Time (11:30-12:30 in Paris)
- In-person at the French National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED), Salle Sauvy, 9 cours des Humanités, Campus Condorcet, Aubervilliers, France.
- Virtual (Zoom). To participate virtually, please register before the meeting HERE.
Presentations will be in English with English-French interpretation for those joining the meeting virtually via Zoom.