Ali Ünlü is an interdisciplinary researcher and policy analyst with a strong commitment to integrating AI methodologies into social science to address complex societal challenges. With extensive international experience, he bridges qualitative and quantitative research, focusing on the intersection of public policy, public health, criminal justice, and advanced computational techniques.
As a former national expert in Turkey, Ali Ünlü specialized in youth mental health, substance use, and delinquency, designing prevention projects recognized as best practices by the European Drug Agency (EUDA). At the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and Aalto University in Finland, he expanded his research to include public health communication, foresight research, and the innovative application of AI in social science.
Currently, Ünlü’s research focuses on the application of AI in health analytics and the analysis of public opinion on social media. His interests include identifying risk factors for mental health, substance use, violence, and crime. Additionally, he explores how polarization, misinformation, algorithms, and social media bots affect youth mental health and well-being, as well as their role in societal and political discussions, including school shootings, the treatment of violent offenders with mental health issues, drug policy reform, vaccine hesitancy, and hate speech.
Ali Ünlü is actively contributing to various teams at UVA, enhancing AI and machine learning research capacities. He collaborates with Youth-Nex, Integrative Data Analysis (IDA) for Coping Power Projects, the PIT-CREW (Preventive Interventions Team: Collaborative Research on Engagement and Wellbeing) Lab, and the UVA Precision Health Initiative. Committed to advancing academia, he is dedicated to teaching these cutting-edge methods to students, preparing the next generation of researchers to leverage AI in social science.