Dr. Irene Selwaness, a labor economist, was a tenure-track assistant professor at Cairo University looking to broaden and strengthen her research training.
Through her participation in the Fred H. Bixby Fellowship program—which matched early-career social and biomedical scientists from low and middle-income countries with experienced Population Council mentors—she contributed to several of the Council’s landmark research projects in Egypt, including the 2014 Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) and Neqdar Nesharek, a women’s empowerment project.
After completing her fellowship, Dr. Selwaness returned to her faculty position at Cairo University, with a focus on conducting empirical studies that provide a foundation for evidence-based government policies.
Today, she is an associate professor at Cairo University and a research fellow at ODI, a global affairs think tank. Her research focuses on the care economy, social protection, school-to-work transition, and marriage and employment issues in the Middle East. She continues to collaborate with the Population Council’s Egypt office and dedicates time to the development of other researchers in Egypt.
Learn more about our Fellows.