Dr. Yumiko Kamiya

Dr. Kamiya is a social scientist who has been working with TILDA since 2006. She received her Master's and Ph.D. degrees in demography from the University of California, Berkeley (USA). Prior to her doctoral studies, she completed an M.A. in Economics at Chiba National University (Japan) and a B.A. in Social Science at Pontifice Catholic University of Sao Paulo (Brazil).

Kamiya's current research interests lie in the relationship between differentials in socioeconomic status and morbidity/mortality, unobserved heterogeneity and mortality patterns, social determinants of health, international comparative health and intergenerational relationships and transfers in developing countries. Dr. Kamiya has vast experience using data from developing countries, the United States, England and Ireland. Her most recent published papers examined the relationship between social engagement, cardiovascular risk markers, frailty and mortality in older adults in England.

Along with Dr. Virpi Timonen, Dr. Kamiya has been responsible for the design and development of the social modules in the TILDA questionnaire. In TILDA, her recent research examines the long-term effects of early life conditions on objective physical and mental health and the psycho-social factors associated with different models of frailty in older Irish persons.