Dr. Merve Uzunalioğlu is a Social Policy Researcher with a focus on parental leave policies and their societal impacts, fathers' involvement in childcare, and how workplaces could be transformed from enablers to promoters of fathers' parental leave take-up. Currently, she is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford Department of Social Policy and Intervention. Prior to her doctoral studies, she served as a full-time team member at Development Analytics, contributing to various research projects in the realms of early childhood care and education, as well as women's economic and social empowerment. Merve actively participated in and conducted focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with public servants and bureaucrats in Turkey, Pakistan, Jordan, and Lebanon. Merve's interdisciplinary background and research expertise showcase her commitment to exploring.

She received her PhD in the Social Sciences Department at UCL’s Institute of Education. She holds a Master's in Social Policy Analysis from KU Leuven in Leuven, Belgium.