Ian Deary is Professor of Differential Psychology at the University of Edinburgh, and Director of the Medical Research Council-administered Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology. He graduated in Psychology and Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and studied there for his PhD. He practised psychiatry in London and Edinburgh before moving to academic psychology.

Hoyt Bleakley is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. He studies economic development, human capital, economic history, economic geography, and international macroeconomics. This has led him to do research ranging from the eradication of tropical diseases to language skills and immigration. He is also Research Associate Professor at the Institute for Survey Research and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.