Chief Executive of the ESRC, Professor Jane Elliott has welcomed news of Professor Michaela Benzeval’s appointment to lead their prestigious investment.
“We welcome Professor Benzeval’s appointment and we are confident that she will build on the study’s existing success in providing researchers, policy makers and wider society with a wide range of valuable evidence on individuals’ lives over time and the changing nature of UK households. We also want to thank Professor Buck for his exceptional and selfless work over many years to launch and lead Understanding Society to this stage.”
Understanding Society is a unique national scientific resource, led by a team of survey experts at ISER, that aims to generate robust research and inform policy to improve the lives of UK citizens. Michaela will replace current Director, Professor Nick Buck when he steps down later this year.
Professor Buck, who has led the study since its inception, said:
“I am very pleased to hand over responsibility for the next phase of Understanding Society to someone so capable and so committed to the study.”
About Professor Benzeval
Michaela is currently the Deputy Director of Understanding Society and Professor of Longitudinal Research at the University of Essex and has been leading work to develop the strategic approach to the overall scientific content of the study and the health and biomarker component.
Before joining the team at ISER, Michaela was Director of the long-standing Medical Research Council’s West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study and has also worked as a university lecturer and researcher in both social science and medical faculties, for a health authority, in industry and for an independent policy institute.
Michaela said of her appointment:
“I am delighted to be appointed as the next Understanding Society Director. Understanding Society offers really exciting opportunities for researchers to understand how the lives of individuals, and the households in which they live, change over time. With key features such as the innovation panel, ethnic minority boost, incorporating biomarker and genetics data, together with its large sample size, Understanding Society provides vital knowledge for tackling key social issues across the four countries of the UK in the 21st century.”
“In establishing the study, Nick Buck has created an immensely valuable resource for which he deserves enormous credit. In its next phase we need to build on this solid foundation in innovative ways to meet new demands – in terms of content and methods – to shed light on evolving policy and scientific questions across a wide range of policy sectors and academic disciplines.”
Professor Benzeval will take over the directorship on 1 September 2015