Professor Michaela Benzeval awarded CBE

The director of the world-leading Understanding Society study at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex has received a CBE.

The King's New Year Honours list for 2024, published yesterday, recognised Professor Michaela Benzeval for services to social science.

Professor Benzeval is a leading authority on longitudinal research and is the director and principal investigator for Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study, which provides vital and rich evidence about life in the UK in the 21st century.

She said: "Receiving a CBE is a highlight of my social science career – it’s not something that I ever expected to receive, but I am very pleased to do so.

"I see this honour as something that reflects the value of Understanding Society as an internationally important study, and the skills and enthusiasm of all the people working on it, who make it such a success.

"High-quality, long-term data is vital for good decision making – I’m incredibly proud of everything that Understanding Society is achieving now and the data we’re building for future generations of social scientists."

Professor Chris Greer, Pro-Vice Chancellor Research at Essex, said: “We are very proud that Professor Benzeval has received recognition for her outstanding work as Director of Understanding Society at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

“Professor Benzeval has helped Understanding Society establish its reputation as one of the largest and most significant studies of its kind in the world - delivering important insights into how we live our lives.

“We are very pleased that such an important member of the research community at Essex has been honoured in this way.”

The Understanding Society team based at ISER follows participants over a long period of time, providing a long-term perspective on people’s lives.

As a longitudinal study, Understanding Society helps us explore how life in the UK changes and what stays the same over many years. As a household panel study, Understanding Society interviews everyone in a household to see how different generations experience life in the UK. The Study helps us find out about parents and children, siblings, new family formation and our wider family and community links.

Alongside her role at Understanding Society, Professor Benzeval is Visiting Professor at the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow.

Before joining ISER, Professor Benzeval was a Programme Leader, and Research Project Director of the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study, at the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow. She has also worked at Queen Mary University of London, East London and City Health Authority, the London School of Economics and the King’s Fund. In 2022 she was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

ISER was originally established in 1989 at the University of Essex to house the British Household Panel Survey which Understanding Society has built upon. ISER is now  recognised as a leading centre for the production and analysis of longitudinal studies and is also home to the ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change and the Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis. A range of postgraduate study opportunities are offered at ISER.

Recognition for our alumni

Members of our alumni community have also received recognition in the King's New Year Honours.

Siobhain McDonagh, MP for Mitcham and Morden, was made a Dame for parliamentary and political service. She completed a BA in Government in 1981. Dame Siobhain has served as an MP since 1997 and established the Glioblastoma Campaign with her sister Baroness Margaret McDonagh to improve outcomes for people who are diagnosed with a Glioblastoma brain tumour. Dame Siobhain is now continuing the campaign to get better treatment for Glioblastoma patients and to find a cure for Glioblastoma brain cancer within ten years. 

Professor Mark Watson-Gandy, Chair of the Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group, received an OBE for public and voluntary services. He completed a LLB in Law in 1989. The Group is an independent, non-departmental body sponsored by the Home Office. The group provides advice on the ethical impact to society of matters relating to biometrics, forensics and large or complex datasets. Professor Watson-Gandy has served as chair of the Group since October 2019.

Wing Commander Sam Haley from the Royal Air Force received a MBE for distinguished service. He completed a BSc in Computing and Management in 2003.

Antony Lishak, Chief Executive of Learning from the Righteous, received a MBE for services to Holocaust education. He completed a BA in Sociology in 1981. An author and educationalist, Anthony leads Learning from the Righteous which gained charitable status in February 2017. His career-long involvement in the field of Holocaust Education has been defined by the conviction that considering the stark choices made by rescuers and resisters during the Holocaust encourages us to reflect upon on our own place in world.