MPC supports research in the key areas identified by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child and Human Development Population Dynamics Branch:

In demography, the branch supports research on the scientific study of human populations, including fertility, mortality and morbidity, migration, population distribution, nuptiality, family demography, population growth and decline, and the causes and consequences of demographic change. In reproductive health, the branch supports behavioral and social science research on sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, family planning, and infertility. In population health, the branch supports data collection and research on human health, productivity, behavior, and development at the population level, using such methods as inferential statistics, natural experiments, policy experiments, statistical modeling, and gene/environment interaction studies.

While MPC members have wide-ranging research interests, the Center has five primary research areas of particular focus: population health and health systems; spatial and environmental demography; reproductive health; work, family, and time, and structural racism and health inequities.