I am a computational social scientist working at the intersection of gender studies, science of science, and migration research. My work uses large-scale bibliometric, digital trace, and survey data to understand gender disparities in academic careers in an era of globalization and digitalization.
Zhao, X., Akbaritabar, A., Kashyap, R., and Zagheni, E. (2026). "Gender differences in online visibility of early career researchers." Forthcoming, accepted by Nature Communications
🏆 3rd Place & Audience Favorite – Oxford Sociology Poster CompetitionZhao, X., Derrick, G., Larivière, V., and Sugimoto, C.R. (2026). "Gender Differences in the Conflict between the Beginning of an Academic Career and Parenthood." Higher Education. DOI ↗
🏆 Best Poster Award – IMPRS-PHDS Annual AcademyBreen, C.F., Fatehkia, M., Yan, J., Zhao, X., et al. (2025). "Mapping subnational gender gaps in internet and mobile adoption using social media data." PNAS. DOI ↗
Jacobs, E., Theile, T., Perrotta, D., Zhao, X., et al. (2025). "Global Gender Gaps in the International Migration of Professionals on LinkedIn." Population and Development Review. DOI ↗
Akbaritabar, A., Dańko, M.J., Zhao, X., and Zagheni, E. (2025). "Global subnational estimates of migration of scientists reveal large disparities in internal and international flows." PNAS. DOI ↗
Yin, Y., Pu, Y., Zhao, X., Chi, G., and Ye, C. (2023). "The Spatiotemporal Elasticity of Age Structure in China's Interprovincial Migration System." Sustainability. DOI ↗
Zhao, X., Akbaritabar, A., Kashyap, R., and Zagheni, E. (2023). "A gender perspective on the global migration of scholars." PNAS. DOI ↗
🏆 Jan Hoem Award – MPIDR Best Early Career PaperZhao, X., Aref, S., Zagheni, E., and Stecklov, G. (2022). "Return migration of German-affiliated researchers: Analyzing departure and return by gender, cohort, and discipline." Scientometrics. DOI ↗
Pu, Y., Zhao, X., Chi, G., et al. (2019). "A Spatial Dynamic Panel Approach to Modelling the Space-time Dynamic of Interprovincial Migration Flows in China." Demographic Research 41(31). DOI ↗
Pu, Y., Zhao, X., Chi, G., et al. (2019). "Design and Implementation of a Parallel Geographically Weighted k-Nearest Neighbor Classifier." Computers and Geosciences 127. DOI ↗
Zhao, X., Thoma, A.I., Hertwig, R., and Wulff, D.U. "Mapping the gender attrition gap in academic psychology." Revise & resubmit – American Psychologist. ArXiv ↗
Zhao, X., Hertwig, R., and Wulff, D. "Sustainable Development Goals in Psychology: A Century of Progress in Publications." Revise & resubmit – American Psychologist. ArXiv ↗
Lin, Y., Gu, H., Zhao, X., et al. "Sino-US Trade War has hindered bilateral scientific mobility." Co-first author, In progress
Kashyap, R., … Zhao, X. et al. (2023). "Digital and computational demography." In Research Handbook on Digital Sociology, pp. 48–86. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Zimmer, K. (2025). “A structured system: the secrets of Germany’s scientific reputation.” Nature. Article ↗
📰 Featured in Nature – comments from Xinyi ZhaoPopulation and Development Review (2025) · Quantitative Science Studies (2024, 2025) · Comparative Migration Studies (2024) · F1000Research (2024) · Information Processing and Management (2023) · Higher Education Policy (2022)
Nature Humanities & Social Sciences Editorial Community · Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science Affiliate Researcher· MPIDR Affiliated Researcher · IMISCOE PhD Academy · IUSSP · Population Association of America · Migration Oxford
Python · R · C++ · C# · JavaScript · Matlab
ArcGIS · MapGIS · Erdas · GeoDa · SPSS · Flex
English (proficient) · Chinese (native)
Information System Project Manager (Senior) · Software Developer · MapGIS Development Engineer
Xinyi Zhao
Adaptive Rationality Center
Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin, Germany
✉ zhao@demogr.mpg.de · zhao@mpib-berlin.mpg.de
🔗 ORCID: 0000-0002-2552-7795