Examples of current projects, please see our researcher profiles for more information:
- We lead the Swiss component study of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in collaboration with the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences (FORS). SHARE is a multi-disciplinary longitudinal data collection effort that covers individuals aged 50 and older in Europe. SHARE collects information on many life domains of older adults including their health status, healthcare use, work and socio-economic status, family ties, consumption, housing, income, and savings to name but a few. The Swiss component study of SHARE is financed through a research grant awarded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and implemented as a collaboration between UNIL and FORS. Website: www.share-project.org.
As part of the In-Care project, we use data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to understand the causal impact of eligibility rules for long-term care on the mental health older Europeans. - We collect the Lausanne 65+ cohort study survey data. Using data from the Lausanne 65+ cohort study, we examine how socioeconomic status influences trajectories in frailty and the transition to a nursing home in older people living in Lausanne.
- We use large administrative data to study the impact of socioeconomic deprivation and health care supply on potentially avoidable hospital readmissions.
- Governance and resilience during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Switzerland. Based on in-depth interviews with local policy makers, we examine the role of Governance in generating resilience in local health systems in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Welfare reform and mental health. In collaboration with King’s College London ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health, we use data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study to examine how changes to eligibility rules for social benefits targeted to lone mothers influence the mental health of children.
- Inclusive Social Protection for Chronic Health Problems (r4d project): Our project aims to collect unique longitudinal data in India, Malawi, Sri Lanka and the Philippines in order to understand the full consequences of chronic diseases. Chronic diseases are major causes of poor health, disability and poverty as well as a major barrier to economic development in low- and middle-income countries. Prof. Jürgen Maurer is the principal investigator of the project.
- The ALIVE project. We develop and test in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) an intervention that equips adolescents with the skills to deal with the difficulties living in poverty and strengthen self-regulation, to prevent adolescent depression and anxiety in urban settings in Colombia, South Africa and Nepal.
- We evaluate the economic and social impact of an innovative interdisciplinary neurorehabilitation model integrating digital therapeutics and neurotechnology along the continuum of care.
- The Youth Well-Being Project is a 4-year research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in the context of the SOR4D program (grant number 400440_213267), led by Prof. Mauricio Avendano. The aim of this project is to co-develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of a sustainable and scalable mental health intervention among vulnerable young people in the Renta Joven program in Colombia, and provide evidence for scaling up in Colombia and other low-income countries.
- We are involved in a large-scale hybrid effectiveness–implementation trial in Brazil, conducted as part of an international research consortium, evaluating strategies to improve engagement with an evidence-based digital group cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) intervention among low-income university students. Implemented across public universities, the study tests whether combining digital CBT with peer support and conditional cash transfers can enhance sustained participation and improve mental health, functional, and educational outcomes. Our work contributes to the design and evaluation of implementation strategies, analysis of engagement and short-term outcomes, and assessment of potential longer-term education and economic impacts.
- We collaborate with the Gateway to Global Aging, a US-based research platform hosted at the University of Southern California that provides harmonized longitudinal survey data and tools to support cross-country studies on aging, health, and retirement. As part of this collaboration, we contributed to the collection and harmonization of policy data, including educational tracking laws across European countries and compulsory schooling laws in India. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and its international sister studies, our work exploits quasi-experimental variation generated by schooling reforms in the UK, Ireland, India, and other settings to examine the long-term effects of education on late-life cognitive outcomes and dementia risk. In parallel, we contribute to the Gateway Exposome Coordinating Center (GECC), where we focus on the role of policy environments as modifiable exposures shaping dementia risk. This work aims to develop harmonized policy indicators, identify key evidence gaps, and prioritize policy-relevant research on dementia prevention across countries and over the life course.
- In collaboration with UNICEF Indonesia, we conduct a Cost of Inaction study on child and adolescent overweight and obesity in Indonesia. Using a Cost-of-Illness framework, we estimate the lifetime economic burden attributable to overweight and obesity in a cohort of Indonesian children and adolescents. We evaluate three evidence-based policy interventions—sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxation, front-of-pack nutrition labeling (FOPNL), and restrictions on food marketing to children—both individually and as a combined policy package. Our results show that early preventive action targeting childhood overweight and obesity would generate substantial long-term health and economic benefits in Indonesia, providing strong evidence in favor of implementing coordinated fiscal, informational, and regulatory measures as part of a national obesity prevention strategy.