Emma Kopp

PhD at University Paris-Dauphine

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Hi! I’m a 3rd year PhD student in Statistics at the CEREMADE lab at Paris-Dauphine University, supervised by Robin Ryder and Christian Robert. My research focuses on Bayesian statistical modelling for complex models with small amounts of data, with applications to interdisciplinary social sciences

My academic journey started in Paris doing a mathematic bachelor followed by a statistics and a computer science master. During my PhD I had the chance to work in London at Imperial with PhD director and at the University of Edinburgh with Grégoire Clarte. This year, I visited Francesca Panero at Sapienza University of Rome to work on food security estimation with Sahoko Ishida, and Rebecca Leygonie.

News

Feb 01, 2026 Back in Paris! After spending 25 years in Paris, traveling is real chance for me. It allows me to discover new cultures and professional environments, while identifying, by contrast, the elements essential to my personal balance. Next step, writing the thesis
Sep 01, 2025 Eating gelato 🍦 in Roma 🇮🇹 and working at La Sapienza as a visiting student with Francesca Panero, Sahoko Ishida and Rebecca Leygonie.
Sep 02, 2021 Awarded a prAIrie excellence scholarship for my Master 2 in Artificial Intelligence, Systems and Data (IASD) at Paris-Dauphine University, marking my first academic victory.

Publications

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    Contrasting modes of cultural evolution: Kra-Dai languages and weaving technologies
    Christopher D Buckley, Emma Kopp, Thomas Pellard, Robin J Ryder, and Guillaume Jacques
    Aug 2024

    The paper investigates the evolution of languages and weaving technologies among Kra-Dai peoples in southwest China and southeast Asia, using Bayesian Markov-Chain Monte Carlo methods to analyze phylogenies. Languages and looms evolved in related but different ways. Hlai speakers of Hainan are outgroups in both linguistic and loom phylogenies. Looms used by speakers of closely related languages tend to be similar.

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Current Project

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    Time depth and the limits of phylogenetic inference in linguistics
    2026
    🏆 Venice ISBA, I won the j-ISBA 2024 talk award for this talk

    A talk discussing the reliability of phylogenetic methods in historical linguistic evolution studies.

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    Predicting food security using secondary data, and a reflection on the links of food and migration
    Emma Kopp and Francesca Panero
    Oct 2025
    Presentation for the Migration and Displacement Action Plan for Sub-Saharan Africa, UNESCO chair. Image © Sahoko Ishida

    A presentation on food consumption score modelling with an efficient Gaussian process and predictions for Chad and Nigeria at the regional level. Presentation made to the MAPS UNESCO chair followed by discussion about migrations in african countries.