I am a social scientist working on demographic processes, kinship dynamics, inequality, and demographic estimation in the context of crises and armed conflicts. I lead the Kinship Inequalities Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR). I also serve as Chair of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) panel on Kinship Structures, Dynamics, and Inequalities.

My research examines how changing demographic regimes shape bereavement, family support, and intergenerational outcomes across countries and historical contexts.

Selected Publications

  1. Acosta, E.; Alburez-Gutierrez, D.; Gargiulo, M.; Torres, C. (in press). "Weaponizing Kinship: A Demographic Analysis of Bereavement in the Colombian Conflict" Population and Development Review. DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/p87aw_v1. Joint first authorship with E. Acosta
  2. Gómez Ugarte, A.; Chen, I.; Acosta, E.; Basellini, U.; Alburez-Gutierrez, D. (2025). "Accounting for uncertainty in conflict mortality estimation: An application to the Gaza War in 2023-2024" Population Health Metrics, 23:55. DOI: 10.1186/s12963-025-00422-9.
  3. van Damme, M.; Alburez-Gutierrez, D.; Castro, A. (2025). "Research Note: Estimating Kinship Size of Older Adults in Europe with Models and Surveys" Demography, 11961236. DOI: 10.1215/00703370-11961236.

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