Emilio Zàgheni, born in Italy, is a prominent demographer recognized for integrating digital trace data with traditional demographic methods to study human migration and population dynamics. He earned degrees in economics, statistics, and social sciences from Bocconi University in Milan, followed by an M.A. in Statistics (2008) and a Ph.D. in Demography (2010) from the University of California, Berkeley. After completing his doctorate, Zagheni served as a research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock, Germany, from 2010 to 2012. He then joined the University of Washington in Seattle, where he progressed from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Sociology and served as Training Director of the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. In September 2018, Zagheni returned to MPIDR as Director, leading research on migration and population dynamics. His innovative work has earned him accolades, including the Trailblazer Award for Demographic Analysis from the European Association for Population Studies in 2016. Zagheni continues to advance the field of demography through his interdisciplinary approach and leadership.