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Researchers from the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science had an exceptionally successful presence at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America in St Louis, with multiple award-winning presentations highlighting the breadth and impact of demographic research at LCDS.
Ridhi Kashyap receives PAA Early Achievement Award
Professor Ridhi Kashyap was awarded the prestigious PAA Early Achievement Award, recognising distinguished contributions to population research within the first ten years after the PhD.
The award is one of the major honours presented by the Population Association of America and recognises outstanding scholarly achievement and leadership in the field.
Reflecting on the award, Kashyap described PAA as “the first academic conference I ever attended” and “one of my favourites that I look forward to going to every year.” She also highlighted the importance of the population research community and the opportunity to celebrate alongside mentors, collaborators, and colleagues from Oxford.
The celebrations were followed by a memorable reception organised by fellow LCDS researcher Jennifer Dowd where the centre cheered Ridhi’s award with excellent champagne.
Best Poster Award for research on mental health penalties of parenthood
LCDS researchers Sander Wagner and Andrea Tilstra received the PAA award for Best Poster on Health and Health Behavior for their project: “The Stratification of Mental Health Penalties for Parenthood”
The study uses linked Dutch administrative and health insurance data to examine how mental health risks associated with the transition to parenthood vary across social groups. Tracking parents over five years following the birth of a child, the research analyses differences by employment status, marital status, immigrant background, earnings, and age.
The project offers one of the most comprehensive portraits to date of how mental-health-related challenges around parenthood are socially stratified.
The poster was co-authored with Pascal Achard (CREST) and Mark Verhagen.
Emma Romell wins Best Poster Award in fertility and reproductive health
Emma Romell was awarded Best Poster on Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior and Reproductive Health for the project: “Don’t want, don’t need, can’t get: Testing a new framework for measuring contraceptive access”
Co-authored with Leigh Senderowicz, Rachel Hodapp, and Fiona Weeks, the study proposes a new survey-based framework for measuring contraceptive access that moves beyond conventional proxy measures.
Using data from a representative sample of women in Wisconsin, the research shows that barriers to preferred contraceptive use are often driven less by financial or logistical constraints than by dissatisfaction with available contraceptive options.
Strong LCDS presence across PAA 2026
In addition to these award-winning contributions, LCDS researchers presented across a wide range of topics spanning health, fertility, inequality, family demography, migration, and computational social science, reflecting the centre’s interdisciplinary approach to demographic research.
The strong presence of LCDS scholars at PAA 2026 highlighted both the international visibility of the centre and the growing impact of its researchers across the population sciences.
We are already working on our research for PAA 2027 in Seattle!
