My name is Qixin Cai, currently a Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Population Aging Research Center (PARC). I aspire to emerge as a next-generation scholar in the demography of aging.
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Research Areas: My research focuses on the intersection of demography, sociology, social policy, and social welfare, aiming to explore core issues related to population dynamics and societal well-being.
Research Expertise: I specialize in the study of population aging, with a particular focus on utilizing longitudinal data to analyze the economic and health implications of aging. Additionally, my research delves into issues of income, poverty, and welfare, aiming to identify patterns and propose interventions to improve the quality of life for older adults.
Geographic Focus: My work primarily concentrates on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), examining the challenges and opportunities posed by aging within diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts.
Teaching Areas: The courses I teach cover various aspects of aging, including: “Aging China”, which explores population aging trends and policy frameworks in China; “Social Policy and Social Care for an Aging Society”, focusing on the development and implementation of care systems; and “Sociology of Aging”, which examines the social dimensions of aging across life stages and cultures.
Qixin Cai is a Ph.D. candidate at Renmin University of China. He was a visiting Ph.D. student at the Penn Population Studies Center under the supervision of Professor Emily Hannum. He received professional training from the Collaborative for Innovation in Data & Measurement in Aging (CIDMA) Institute at the University of Chicago (2023-2024) and Peking University Institute of Population Research (2025), participated in the “Summer Institute on Ageing: The Value of Longitudinal Data to Study Ageing” at Venice International University (2024), and completed professional courses in Public Management at the University of Lausanne (2023) and Demographic Analysis from Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) & United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (2024). He has also received pre-doctoral training from Nankai University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, and Nanjing University. Qixin holds an M.P.A. in Social Welfare from the University of Macau, where he gained valuable experience in administrative, teaching, and research roles.
His research focuses on the intricate dynamics of population aging and health in LMICs. He is dedicated to using interdisciplinary approaches to generate insights that inform policymakers, especially concerning aging populations.
As a recognized IPL Expert in Health and Wellbeing, Social Policy, and Social Protection, Qixin is affiliated with the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab. He is currently leading several research projects, including “Intergenerational Reciprocity, Old-age Poverty, and Subjective Well-being from the Perspective of Family Structure Heterogeneity” (China Scholarship Council, 2022-2025) and “The Impact of Parental Migration on the Health of School-Aged Left-behind Children” (Renmin University of China Scientific Research Fund, 2022-2025). Additionally, he is the principal investigator for projects on “Climate Change, Population Aging, and Health of Older Adults in LMICs” and “Early-Life Conditions and Health Disparities of Older Adults in LMICs”, both expected to conclude by December 2027. He is also leading the project “Aging and Digital (In)Equality in LMICs” (2025-2028), which examines the digital divide and its impact on older adults in LMICs.
Additionally, Qixin has participated in prestigious research collaborations as a Research Affiliate with the Collaborative for Innovation in Data & Measurement in Aging (CIDMA) Network at the University of Chicago, the Network for Innovative Methods in Longitudinal Aging Studies (NIMLAS) at the University of Michigan, and the Network for Data-Intensive Research on Aging (NDIRA) at the University of Minnesota.
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