I’m Sonia Petrini, a PhD researcher in Sociology at the University of Lausanne, and member of the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Life Course Research (LIVES). I am part of the Liberal and Radical Equality of Opportunity (EQUALOPP) project, led by Michael Grätz.

My work lies at the intersection of social inequality, genetics, and political philosophy, focusing on the relevance of genetic and environmental differences for the understanding of inequality of opportunity.

The nature of my research is highly quantitative, mapping empirical findings on genetic and environmental influences to conceptually different notions of what constitutes inequality.

Trained in Data Science and Economics, I combine quantitative rigor with a sociological perspective to study fairness and and opportunity.

Before my PhD, I published in computational linguistics at the Polytechnic University of Catalunya in Barcelona, investigating the structure and efficiency of human language.

In doing research I support the integration of Data Science in the Social Sciences, by promoting engagement in best coding practices and the use of machine learning applications.

Beyond academia, I practice hand-balancing and acro-yoga, play the violin and the ukulele, and sing in a choir.

My work

Education

• 2020 – Bachelor’s in Economics and Management at the University of Milan
• 2022 – Master’s in Data Science and Economics at the University of Milan
• 2022–2023 – Research Assistant at the Quantitative, Mathematical, and Computational Linguistics group at the Polytechnic University of Catalunya
• 2023–present – Ongoing PhD in Sociology at the University of Lausanne, on the Liberal and Radical Equality of Opportunity (EQUALOPP) project, led by Michael Grätz

Activities

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Conferences

• ECSR. University of Cologne, 2025.
• European Social Science Genetics Network IV. University of Bristol, 2025.
• ISA RC28. University of Milan, 2025.
• **Keynote - LIVES & nccr – on the move International Conference.** University of Geneva, 2024.
• ECSR. Pompeu Fabra University, 2024.
• ISA RC28. Brown University, 2024.
• European Social Science Genetics Network III. Erasmus University Rotterdam, 2024.
• 12th International Quantitative Linguistics Conference (QUALICO). University of Lausanne, 2023.

Teaching

Teacher Assistant on the Master’s course “International Comparison in Social Inequalities” (in French). February 2024 - ongoing.

Invited Lecture on “Introduction to Sociogenomics” (in French) at the University of Lausanne. March 2026.

Additional training

• Genomics for Social Scientists – Epigenetics. Michigan University, 2025.
• ECSR Spring School. Collegio Carlo Alberto, 2024.
• Using genetics to understand social structures. University of Oslo, 2024.

Organized Seminars

“Ctrl + R: refresh your coding”. University of Lausanne. Co-organized with Claire Mariano. September 2024 - ongoing.

Academic Exchange

• University of Oslo, Department of Sociology and Human Geography. September 2025 - February 2026.
• University of Oxford, Nuffield College. January 2025. </aside>