Name: Jiaxin Shi, Postdoctoral Researcher
Hometown: Zhejiang, China
Educational Background: BA Journalism, Beijing Foreign Studies University; MPhil Social Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; European Doctoral School of Demography; PhD Sociology, University of Oxford in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
1. How did you first connect to your field of research?
I have always been curious about how society functions. This curiosity deepened during my time as a journalism student, where I conducted interviews with a diverse range of people. To enhance my skills as a journalist, I took social science courses, including sociology, social statistics, and psychology. These courses made me want to pursue a career as a social scientist instead of a journalist. I was particularly fascinated by how social scientists analyze quantitative data to understand society. When I decided to do a PhD in Sociology, specializing in demography became a natural choice for me.
2. What attracted you to UW-Madison & CDHA?
UW-Madison is well-known for its research excellence in demography. In particular, I like the interdisciplinary approach of CDHA researchers to study the demography of health and longevity. I was attracted because I was sure that I could learn a lot here.
3. What are your research interests and current research projects?
My research interests are social stratification and health. My current projects include analyses of how internal and international migration processes are related to mortality and an examination of how economic inequalities evolve over the life course.
4. What’s one thing you hope people who are exposed to your research will come away with?
It is well known that life expectancy increased substantially over the twentieth century. The most common age of death is now above 80 in high-income countries. One thing I hope people come away with is that there are still large lifespan inequalities. Our understanding of the patterns and mechanisms behind these inequalities is still insufficient, and more research is needed.
5. What future plans and aspirations do you have following your time at UW-Madison?
I will continue to work on topics related to health inequalities, longevity, and socioeconomic outcomes. I hope to join an institute where researchers from different disciplines are interested in similar topics and can thus inspire each other, just as in CDHA.
6. What’s your favorite part of summer in Madison so far?
I like that Madison has beautiful nature. My new hobby and also my favorite part of summer here is to go fishing in the peaceful lakes.