I am Professor of Demography & International Social Policy at the University of Southampton and since 2009 have been the Director of the ESRC Centre for Population Change. My research spans both developed and developing countries with a consistent theme being understanding the interaction between population change, well-being and public policy. I am currently engaged in research within CPC nvestigating the changing life course, intergenerational relations and exchange in the UK. I am also collaborating on an on-going project with colleagues at the Centre for on Research on Ageing (University of Southampton) and APHRC on ageing in the slums of Nairobi and with colleagues in Zhejiang University on ageing, health and long term care in China. During the 2000s I also worked extensively on poverty, health and well-being in Central Asia, most notably in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

I have published over 200 books, contributions to edited volumes and articles in leading peer reviewed scientific journals.