Chris Heitzig

I am a New Map of Life Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University. An economist by training, my research develops models to examine healthy aging across the life course, with a particular emphasis on identifying causal pathways and key points of policy intervention to improve well-being in later life. A central focus of my work is the socioeconomic impact of undiagnosed metabolic disorders—how these conditions manifest, the costs of leaving them untreated, and the potential for interventions to improve detection and outcomes. My research combines insights from economics and public health with machine learning methods for causal inference. Before joining Stanford, I served in research roles at the Brookings Institution and the World Bank. At Brookings, I managed a $1.5 million research grant investigating how technological change is reshaping employment in Africa. At the World Bank, I designed randomized controlled trials to measure the causal effects of health and employment programs and served in an operational role as the day-to-day lead for a $20 million job transition program. I hold a PhD in Economics from the Institute of Development Studies, an MPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford, and a BA in Economics from Saint John’s University.