Social Demographer, University of Chicago
A Sociology Ph.D., Nell is a social demographer at NORC at the University of Chicago with more than 10 years of academic research in the social sciences. She leverages industry-leading panel studies of older adults, including the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (Co-I) and the Chicago Health and Activity in Real-Time study, to examine links between social connectivity, family structure, and health in later life, with a focus on loneliness and social isolation. She currently serves as PI on a study with Mather Institute that maps older adults’ social wellness and neighborhood social connectability across Chicago’s neighborhoods. In separate studies, she explores links between social media and older adults’ social networks and feelings of loneliness (PI), and investigates how dimensions of older adults’ social connectedness shape their caregiving experiences (Co-I). Nell also leverages her recent experience in the technology industry to design and test the efficacy of interventions.