Dr. Jayeel Cornelio is the director of the DOST-Science Education Institute (SEI). He remains attached to the Ateneo de Manila University as Professor (on leave) of Development Studies. He specializes in youth studies, generational change, and religion and public life. His writings have appeared in leading journals including Social Compass, Politics, Religion & Ideology, and the Journal of Youth Studies. He has also authored or edited seven books, two of which won Best Book in the Social Sciences and in Spirituality and Theology in the National Book Awards.

For his extensive publications, he received the 2015 Virginia A Miralao Excellence in Research Award from the Philippine Social Science Council and was named one of the 2017 Outstanding Young Scientists by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), as well as The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines in 2021. And in 2024 and 2025, he was included on the Stanford List of the world’s top 2% scientists.

Dr. Cornelio received the PhD in sociology from the National University of Singapore and has held academic positions at various institutions, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Louisville, and the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity.