Emily is an assistant professor jointly appointed in HDSI and the School of Global Policy and Strategy. Her research interests are at the intersection of data science and development economics, with a focus on analyzing large digital traces to inform the design of social protection and humanitarian aid programs. Her work centers on the implementation and evaluation of data-driven allocation systems for aid delivery in low-income countries.

Prior to joining UC San Diego, Emily was a postdoctoral scholar at Carnegie Mellon University Africa. She received her PhD from the UC Berkeley School of Information, and holds an MS in computer science from UC Berkeley and a BA in computer science from Harvard University.

Website: emilylaiken.github.io