Umair is a microeconomist specialising in the economics of public health, the economics of education, and social policy. He has joined Professor Atherton's research team as a Research Fellow at The School of Health and Social Care at Napier University.

Dr Ali’s research focuses on administrative data analysis, integrating administrative datasets with census data to examine the socioeconomic circumstances of Scottish veterans—a key demographic within public policy priorities. This work also seeks to compare and assess the accuracy and reliability of existing datasets for 'veteran-centred research'.