Stine Møllegaard

Short presentation

My research interests are diverse and usually interdisciplinary. I am generally interested in genetic, biological, behavioral, and social processes influencing - and generating inequality in - education, aging, and cultural consumption. Common to all my research adventures is a quantitative methodological approach. My current research is mostly focused on cultural consumption and aging.  

As a part of project MoMo (”Mozart with Mom - Family Background, Cultural Participation, and Social Inequality”, PI: Professor Mads Meier Jæger), funded by the Velux foundation, I am studying how genetics and environments shape our cultural preferences and activities. Why do some people prefer going to the opera while others prefer slapstick comedy at the local theatre? What about the people who prefer neither or all of it? And what consequences do differences in people’s cultural preferences and participation have for overall social inequality? Among other things, we are collecting data on Danish twins’ cultural consumption and preferences to explore these questions.  

As part of the CEHA3 project at Center for Health Aging, I am studying the genetic and environmental influences on life quality in old age. In this project, I take advantage of new research combining genetic information with social and demographic longitudinal data to examine the genetic influence on factors related to life quality in old age and how they differ across social environments. I examine genetically heritable and directly measured predispositions that are critical to life quality in old age, for example  cognitive decline, health and mental health, and lifestyle behaviors. These factors are among the most crucial for life quality in old age, but also some of the most expensive for society.