Shengjie Lai

Principal Research Fellow @WorldPopProject. Interested in infectious disease dynamics, human behaviour and environmental drivers.

[Geography & Environmental Science at Southampton @UoSGeogEnv]

A new study using data from one billion mobile phones has shown how wealth and age create a hidden divide in how people respond to heatwaves.
The data showed whether people were able to stay at home or forced to travel for work and essentials.
Read more: https://t.co/4B0x8IMpti

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

Early warnings save lives - but only if they reach the right people in time.

🌍📊 New research shows how WorldPop data and multi-hazard alerts reduce cyclone risk, exposure, and recovery time.

Learn more: https://t.co/uTf02dpn4e

#EarlyWarningSystems #DataForGood #ClimateRisk

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🔥 Do heat adaptation strategies really work?

A study of 1.1 billion devices across 366 Chinese cities shows cooling centres matter - but impacts vary by heat, wealth & age.

🔗Read and listen:  https://t.co/8CeNKQgx1P

#ClimateChange #ExtremeHeat #Cities #Adaptation

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🦠 Pandemics don’t spread randomly - they follow the paths we create through our social lives and movements.

📖 🔊 Read + listen about how networks shape outbreaks: https://t.co/brNQ6awiit

#InfectiousDisease #NetworkScience #HealthBehaviours #Epidemics #DataScience

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🌍 New review paper by Prof Xin Lu & co-authored by WorldPop’s Dr Shengjie Lai shows how high-resolution population & #mobility data are transforming #epidemic modelling & public health.

📊#DataForGood #GlobalHealth

Read and listen: https://t.co/Cy8O1vqyX3

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🌍New global 1 km population projections (2025–2100) under SSP1–5, supporting climate, health & development research. Explore the #FuturePop dataset! #OpenData #Population

📊 0.2 version release, updates coming soon.

📰🔊Read and listen: https://t.co/ZbWEnZFV9w

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

📰 The November 2025 edition of the WorldPop Newsletter is out!

🌍Explore new data releases, research updates & impact stories.

✒️Don't miss out - sign up for our next edition!

🔗https://t.co/SDIJlPeFE0

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🔬 A new #MOOD #HorizonEU study reveals how #COVID19 modelling, data use & collaboration evolved across #Europe - offering key lessons for future pandemics.

📖 🔊 Read more + listen: https://t.co/peSiynfVuy

[SSRN @SSRN]

This study uses #data from over 1.1 billion devices in #China to show that multi-hazard early-warning systems boost #disaster resilience by reducing population exposure & speeding recovery after tropical cyclones.

Read: https://t.co/YJlgvOzNPH
Subscribe: https://t.co/lYQ1PGQ7dA

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

📹 Dr Natalia Tejedor Garavito presents WorldPop’s cutting-edge work at CrisisReady’s Café Catastrófico ☕

🌍 From mapping war-torn Ukraine to guiding flood relief, this data saves lives.

Watch her talk (🇪🇸 w/ 🇬🇧 subs): https://t.co/ddbFUtrSWI

#DataForGood @crisisreadiness

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

Missed The Power of Population Data webinar?

🎥 The recording & presentation slides are now available! Dive into the latest on WorldPop’s Global 2 dataset and how it's shaping smarter decisions worldwide. 🌍📊

🔗 https://t.co/2zFgVwt7m0

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🌍 Tomorrow we launch WorldPop Global 2: A new era of global high-resolution #populationdata (2015–2030)!

Built with AI & satellite imagery, it's open, powerful & ready for use in health, planning & disaster response.

🔗https://t.co/GJPhUczAga

#Geospatial #DataForGood

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

WorldPop & #UNICEF team up to map zero‑dose children using #AI, satellite data & #geospatial analytics so we can locate and vaccinate those who've never received routine immunisations.

Turning high‑resolution data into lifesaving action. #vaccination

https://t.co/BPAYjocDuX

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🌍 Big data, big impact! Join us on 4 Sep for the launch of WorldPop Global 2015–2030 - a new open-access, high-res, age & sex-disaggregated population estimate dataset covering 242 countries

📅 4 Sep | 🕒 3 pm BST
🔗 Register: https://t.co/wEh2ZoAx2m
#PopulationData #OpenData

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🔥 As extreme heat & aging populations collide #Europe faces a deadly future. A new study using WorldPop data warns heat-related deaths could soar - especially among the elderly - unless bold measures are taken. #ClimateCrisis #HeatRisk #PublicHealth
https://t.co/LKzEQ8CfuQ

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🚨 New preprint: 73 high-res, global, multi-temporal geospatial datasets! Covering 2015–2023 at ~100m resolution, these open data power better population modelling for health, policy & more. https://t.co/DvK3XYVOaI

[DSN - Data Science Nigeria @dsn_ai_network]

We are excited to be co-creating the future of AI-powered geospatial intelligence through a transformational knowledge partnership with @WorldPopProject and geospatial research hub at @unisouthampton.

Over the last 3 days, we explored how the fusion of AI, human geography, and location-informed intelligence can power inclusive economies, especially in underserved communities across the Global South.

By integrating population dynamics, spatial mobility, and settlement characterization with real-time, contextual AI models, this collaboration aims to bring global research to local relevance and impact. This is what it means to truly localize AI for good.

Our delegation, represented by @bayoadekanmbi of @EqualyzAI and @rKyrian of @dsn_ai_network engaged in high-impact ideation and applied solution-building sessions with some of the UK’s brightest minds.

The trip also presented a great opportunity to engage with the legendary @DameWendyDBE, Regius Professor of Computer Science at @unisouthampton, and are deeply grateful to our host @andytatem, Director of @WorldPopProject and leading expert in spatial demography and epidemiology.

Special thanks to other brilliant contributors including Sada Saxton, Ian Coady, Dr. Jessica Espey, @Lai_CDC, @SarchilQ, Dr. Edson Utazi, @ChibuzorNnanatu, @NatuTejedor, @yankeyortis, Alexandra Frosch, Dr. Somnath Chaudhuri, Dr. Winfred Dotse-Gborgbortsi, Dr. Krishnaveni K.S, Dr. Mohamed Megheib, Safia Siddiqi-Hibbert and many others.

Together, we are building a future where AI is not just intelligent, but location-aware, context-sensitive, and impact-driven. Indeed, emerging markets deserve tailored solutions and this collaboration is a step forward.

#AIforGood #GeospatialAI #EqualyzAI #WorldPop #UniversityOfSouthampton #DataScienceNigeria #SpatialDemography

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🚀 A true honour to welcome Professor Dame Wendy Hall to WorldPop!

We had an inspiring & wide-ranging conversation on using AI to fill global demographic data gaps🌍- plus insights into UK data sharing initiatives & the power of interdisciplinary collaboration 💡🔬

#AIforGood

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🌍 Introducing the new WorldPop #QGIS Plugin for Population Disaggregation
✅ Disaggregate population data top-down using spatial covariates
✅ Generate gridded pop estimates at 100m res
✅ Disaggregate population by age/sex
✅ No need to program!
https://t.co/GHGOhqy1ru

[WorldPopProject @WorldPopProject]

🚨 New preprint led by Dorothea Woods describing 🌍 global gridded multi-temporal datasets to support human population distribution #modelling

🔗 https://t.co/AIAlBUNCol

💻 Data: https://t.co/iHT6WwGxbU

🧮 Code: https://t.co/Hb4EhMi7lr