Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).

The early flu season in England continues to build, while the latest Covid wave continues to recede. Latest UKHSA hospital admission data up to 27 Oct.

This is exactly the right response to these headlines

Super interesting (and hopeful) trend, though I really wish the confidence intervals around these estimates were available somewhere @gallup.com? news.gallup.com/poll/696599/...

2/ I will be presenting this at @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social on Weds: popcenter.harvard.edu/blog/calenda... More details on the paper -- which we started 2+ years ago -- later. We've tried to write it as simply and transparently as possible and walk through every step of the logic.

Level up your epidemiological research skills! University of Aberdeen's new online short course (March 2026) offers MPH-level training in study design, causal inference & more. Find out more at abdn.ac.uk/epi-short-co... #Epidemiology #ASCE2026 #PublicHealth

A full week spent with inspiring women at Saïd Business School was time well spent! "Women Transforming Leadership" challenged our notions of leadership & showed us firsthand the power of women working together. @oxforddemsci.bsky.social @oxpop.bsky.social @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social

This graph never fails to be shocking: "The US has experienced the earliest and greatest slowdown in life expectancy improvements among higher-income countries, reported Eileen Crimmins. “We have horrible life expectancy—and it’s getting worse and worse”" www.prb.org/resources/se...

Are the cardiovascular benefits of GLP-1s just a result of losing weight? Probably not--a significant portion of risk reduction seems to be independent of weight loss. jenndowd.substack.com/p/ozempic-fo... #publichealth #episky #medsky

If Atheen is writing a book on x then you will want to read his book on x.

I'm writing a book on this and why I think it's happening. Here are some forces at play that may explain our poor performance with life expectancy since the 1980s.

The RSV vaccine is relatively new on the scene but proving remarkably effective at reducing hospitalizations in babies & older adults. The RSV season is about to ramp up, so get that protection if you are eligible! jenndowd.substack.com/p/who-should... #medsky #episky #publichealth

Working with sociologists @courtneyboen.bsky.social and @rourkeobrien.bsky.social has been a game-changer for me. I feel like someday I might be able to really understand social science in a broad sense.

✍️ Just out: Annette Baudisch & I delve into the formal demography of fertility, birth, & reproduction timing. 👶 We use methods from mortality research to summarize when in the parental life course children are born. 📆 1/n doi.org/10.1080/0032... @sdu.dk @oxforddemsci.bsky.social @mpidr.bsky.social

1/ Seasonal influenza summary from latest @ukhsa.bsky.social surveillance report. #IDSky #EpiSky 🧪 🗓️ Based on data up to week 42 2025 (13-19 Oct 2025) 📊 Seasonal influenza activity in England is increasing. Now above baseline levels for some indicators. Report 🔗: www.gov.uk/government/s...

3 #PostDoc researcher positions at @helsinki.fi in collaboration with IIASA @iiasa.ac.at and MPIDR @mpidr.bsky.social on population projections, migration dynamics, and human capital development #demography #박사후연구 www.vaestoliitto.fi/en/news/post...

In a new piece for @statnews.com, @lizstuart.bsky.social explores the challenges of studying cause and effect. She recently joined us for a related conversation on causal relationships between Tylenol and autism 👇 🎧 podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/953-interpre... ✏️ www.statnews.com/2025/10/23/c...

If your research touches on population dynamics, aging, education, labor force participation, or the links between demography, environment, and socioeconomic development, check out our research at the Multidimensional Demographic Modelling group for #YSSP2026 ➡️https://iiasa.ac.at/programs/popjus/mdm

Reminder! Our Economics of Longevity & Ageing webinar series kicks off next month, on 19 Nov! With Amy Finkelstein Massachusetts Institute of Technology presenting 'Elderly Health & Longevity in the US' Register: https://cepr.org/events/event-series/economics-longevity-ageing-webinar-series #EconSky

Last year's flu season was rough (it laid me low over Christmas!). The US lost 280 children to flu last year, most of them unvaccinated. ➡️ NOW is a good time to get your flu jab open.substack.com/pub/jenndowd... #publichealth #flu

💉🛟 Don't miss this incredible synthesis of evidence on respiratory virus vaccines! #IDSky

Happy World Menopause Day! Economists are (finally) studying #menopause, finding that women's earnings can take a hit..but hot flashes need not always turn into a loss of cold hard cash. Read more: open.substack.com/pub/jenndowd... #econsky #womenshealth

When I say the study of human populations needs epistemic diversity this short piece show why - thinkers from beyond the silos of demography and public health and economics are doing the WORK and we're becoming fast irrelevant. The meanings of demographic measures are why they matter.

3/ Jasmin's stellar supervision team included @ridhikashyap.bsky.social, @melindacmills.bsky.social & her viva assessors included @drjenndowd.bsky.social & Florencia Torche @ftorche.bsky.social who made the trip all the way from Princeton!

University of Oxford, Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science "Authoritarian Pronatalism and the Pyrrhic Defeat" 13 November, Nuffield College, 2:00 pm (thanks, @drjenndowd.bsky.social!) /5

New @pnas.org paper constructing subnational estimates of internet and mobile adoption by gender, including gender gaps, for 117 low- and middle- income countries from 2015 through 2025. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Z-CAFÉ will soon open a new postdoctoral position. We’re looking for scholars passionate about family, health, demography, policy, and aging, broadly defined, who also bring strong statistical and computational skills.

Looks like a great opportunity for pop health researchers... #demography #episky jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

Demography is science, but it's not rocket science. Journalists and related professionals could understand crude birth rate, general fertility rate, and total fertility rate - and use the terms consistently. So I made this annotated table: familyinequality.wordpress.com/2025/10/03/l...

For our next seminar at the Demography Department at Cedeplar, UFMG, we have the extraordinary Ridhi Kashyap @ridhikashyap.bsky.social presenting. Don´t miss it! The Zoom link is below. We see you all tomorrow, October 8, at 2 pm Brazilian time 👇 💡 Zoom link: lnkd.in/e5UC-M54 #demography

The acting CDC director has now approved ACIP recs allowing anyone 6 months+ to receive an updated Covid-19 shot after discussing w/ their provider. If you are on the fence about getting an updated shot, read my in-depth take on the evidence we've accumulated on these vaccines. #publichealth

🚨 The Economist has been telling you for years that polygamy causes civil war by locking men out of marriage. A new article with @rebeccasear.bsky.social and @anthrolog.bsky.social explains that the demography of marriage markets doesn't actually work that way. 🧵 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

If one man marries two women, another man must go unmarried, right? No. Demography matters. If sex ratios are skewed towards women, then polygyny can exist alongside universal marriage for men (who want to marry women). If only more people understood demography 😊

The HPV vaccine is doing what had been promised. 17 years after it became available, HPV infections decreased significantly in vaccinated people and unvaccinated people because of herd immunity. buff.ly/WvjQ1BS h/t @boghuma.bsky.social #medsky #pedsky 🛟🧪

With apologies to Jimmy Buffett.... jenndowd.substack.com/p/wasting-yo... #episky #medsky #dementia

New Bluesky rule: you can’t post a figure showing dramatic decline in the TFR without either explaining what TFR can, and can’t tell us, or posting the excellent explainer by @scientificdiscovery.dev on the topic.

1/ BlueSky peeps-I can't believe it's been 6 months since my 1st Data for Health post. From Ozempic to the shingles vaccine to population collapse, you guys have been game for it all. Please consider sharing to help me reach more people w/ accessible, data-driven science info!🙏 jenndowd.substack.com

📢 The #REVES2026 Call for Papers is OPEN! Join us to discuss about aging, longevity, and population health — with a focus on health expectancy and policy impact! 📆 11–13 March 2026|Tokyo, Japan 🔗 www.reves2026.com 📌 Submit by 30 November 2025 reves-network.org #demography #LifeExpectancy

“The big perspective change from ancient DNA study is that people living today are almost never the descendants of the people in the same place thousands of years before” news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

In case this hasn't made it into your feeds, @lesja.bsky.social @karenguzzo.bsky.social @shelleydclark.bsky.social @drjenndowd.bsky.social Going straight into my lecture slides for this quarter!

"Our study found that preference for two children was not significantly stronger than preference for zero, one, or three children when competing work, financial, and family demands were taken into account"

The Graduate Group in Demography at the University of Pennsylvania is now accepting applications for its PhD program in Demography. We look forward to recruiting a strong and diverse cohort for Fall 2026! ➡️ Applications are due December 15, 2025 ⬅️ Learn More:

A must read from @drjenndowd.bsky.social When “Stuff Happens” After Vaccination open.substack.com/pub/jenndowd...

"Fundamentally, having a child is making a decision about the future." Great piece by @karenguzzo.bsky.social #demography #birthrates www.newsweek.com/low-birth-ra...

🎉 Big congrats to @wensu221.bsky.social Su, Postdoc at LCDS, for winning the Charles Price Prize in #Demography! 🏆 His work bridges national & subpopulation #mortality to reveal hidden patterns in health outcomes. A true star demographer in the making! 🌟 www.demography.ox.ac.uk/news/wen-su-...

If you missed @phbocquier.bsky.social's presentation at the Formal Demography working group last week, you can now watch the recording! ⏬

A secular transition is happening in countries around the world. Detailed explanation🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41.... Many Muslim-majority countries, Hindu-majority India in early stage. Countries with large Buddhist & Christian populations in later stages. Blog: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

1/ Contrary to recent claims by two political scientists, new work by @adrianraftery.bsky.social & Nick Irons estimates that COVID non-pharmacuetical interventions (NPIs) saved an estimated 860,000 lives in the US *in 2020 alone*. bmcglobalpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

We're hiring in wonderful Copenhagen 🇩🇰 Two or more open rank sociology professorships (tt assistant, associate with tenure, or full prof with tenure). You'll join a leading sociology department in Europe with many core fields represented! #sociology More 👇 jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabeli...

If you read 1 thing today, please make it this: my so-talented colleague @ericboodman.bsky.social explains why babies in the US are vaccinated at birth against hep B — and what the human costs of changing that policy would be. www.statnews.com/2025/09/11/n...