Melanie Wagner holds a degree in psychology from TU Berlin and in social science from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She earned her doctorate in 2018 from TU Dortmund University.

Her research focuses on the challenges faced in later life, such as grey divorce, informal caregiving (both co-residential and long-distance), and socio-economic inequalities among older adults. At VID, she works on the CONDIV project, which examines the consequences of divorce in areas such as economic resources and poverty, residential mobility, and repartnering. This project uses newly accessible Austrian register data, with a special focus on variations by gender, age, and comparisons between same-sex and different-sex couples as well as cohabiting versus married couples.

From 2013 to 2024, Melanie Wagner was part of the Central Coordination team for the SHARE survey, where she worked in the fields of operations, questionnaire development, survey methodology, and scientific dissemination.

Levinsky, M., Wagner, M., Schmitz, A., et al. (2025). Introducing the social integration index for older Europeans: The role of gender and care regimes. Social Indicators Research, 179, 759–779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-025-03635-5

Brandt, M., Deindl, C., Floridi, G., Heidemann, R., Kaschowitz, J., Quashie, N., ... Wagner, M. (2023). Social inequalities and the wellbeing of family caregivers across European care regimes. JFR - Journal of Family Research, 35, 181-195. https://doi.org/10.20377/jfr-861

Bergmann, M., & Wagner, M. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on informal caregiving and care receiving across Europe during the first phase of the pandemic. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 673874. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.673874

Wagner, M., & Brandt, M. (2018). Long-term care provision and the well-being of spousal caregivers: An analysis of 138 European regions. The Journals of Gerontology Series B, 73(4), e24–e34. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx133