Bren Neale is Emeritus Professor of Life Course and Family Research at the University of Leeds, UK, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. She was the director of the ESRC-funded Timescapes Study from 2007 to 2012. She has contributed to advances in Qualitative Longitudinal methods across academia, government and the voluntary sector, both in the UK and internationally, and continues to provide training and support in this methodology for new and established researchers.