Dr M.B. Balaj, Project Leader

Dr. Mirza Balaj is a Project Leader in the “Health, Skills and Inequality” theme at ROA /Maastricht University. She studied Political Science at the University of Tirana and has a MSc in European Politics & Policies (Magna cum laude) from KU Leuven.  She holds a PhD in Sociology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)  on the topic of social inequalities in health and welfare states. Before joining ROA in September 2025, she was the Scientific Coordinator of CHAIN (Centre for Health Inequality Analytics) at NTNU from 2018-2025. Her research examines how institutional and policy factors shape health and social inequalities. Her work was recognized in 2024 when she won a GBD Emerging Researcher Award for her contributions to understanding socioeconomic drivers of health and longevity.

She has published in journals such as The Lancet,  The Lancet Public Health, Sociology of Health and Illness, Social Theory & Health, Social Science and Medicine, The  European Journal of Public Health, Cancer Medicine, Scandinavian journal of public health, The Lancet Regional Health–Europe.