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What is your role and what does it involve?

I am a postdoctoral research fellow at the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Centre in the Department of Economics at UCL.

What do you find most interesting or enjoyable about your work?

The opportunity to work on meaningful questions and to interact with exceptionally smart people every day. I also really enjoy mentoring students who are starting to approach research.

Tell us about your research.

My research focuses on two main themes. The first concerns gender and minority gaps in the labour market. I am especially interested in how diversity impacts the allocation of talent and the content work, and in how to design policies to promote equality. The second theme concerns the drivers of the volume and direction of innovation. I am especially interested in the role of inventors in shaping the innovation process and in determining which technologies are developed (and which are not), and how these factors may contribute to inequality.

What led you to pursue a research career in this field?

I have always been interested in understanding what generates inequality within society. My focus on innovation and science comes from wanting to understand why there is so little diversity in STEM, and whether this has any impact on society.

What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?

During my PhD, I was part of the team running the Applicant Mentoring Programme (AMP). This is an initiative we established at the London School of Economics in collaboration with PhD students from UCL, Cambridge, Oxford, and Warwick to provide mentoring to students from underrepresented backgrounds wishing to apply to a Ph.D. in Economics. Through other volunteer PhD students, we provided mentoring to over 450 applicants over the first two years (and the programme will soon enter its 4^th year!). This was a great opportunity to apply some of the insights of my research in a setting close to me.

What's next on the research horizon for you?

I am excited to continue my research on inequality and on the drivers of innovation. I also hope to do more work joint with policymakers and organizations to implement the findings of my studies.

Can you share some interesting research that you read about recently?

I enjoy reading about research in other fields, especially in medicine and biology. I have been very fascinated by the emerging literature on the use of AI in medicine. Something I find especially interesting is the (ongoing) work on the trade-off between the higher precision of AI and its potential biases, and how to mitigate them.

What would it surprise people to know about you?

During my undergraduate studies, I was an active participant in Model UN (United Nations) conferences!

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