Professor Emla Fitzsimons is Director of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) and Professor of Economics at University College London. She provides scientific and strategic leadership for the UK’s national birth cohort studies, which have followed generations of people from birth through adulthood, generating evidence that advances understanding of health, education, inequality, families and ageing, informs policy, and improves lives. Previously, she directed the Millennium Cohort Study, following more than 19,000 people born around the turn of the century, overseeing its transition from adolescence through early adulthood. An economist by background, her research examines how early-life experiences and inequalities shape later outcomes across the life course. Prior to joining CLS, she spent fourteen years at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, where she co-directed the Centre for the Evaluation of Development Policy.

Meet the other Smart Data Research UK programme board members.