UNU Experts

Expert Associate Professor / Head Capacity Development Office

Dr. Mindel van de Laar

Dr. Mindel van de Laar is director of the capacity development office at UNU-MERIT and Maastricht University. She manages the offering of executive certificate programmes and tailor made projects that aim to train working professionals in the field of public policy and development.

Expert Associate Research Fellow

Adolfo Alberto Laborde Carranco

Adolfo Alberto Laborde Carranco is an Associate Research Fellow at UNU-CRIS.

Expert Secretary to the Board of Examiners

Lena Ladniak

Secretary to the Board of Examiners

Expert Project Manager

Vedran Lalić

Vedran Lalić has been with the United Nations University (UNU-EGOV) since 2025. Vedran's core expertise includes the intersection of regulation, technology, and governance, combining policy leadership with deep technical expertise.

Expert Research Intern

Jarre Lambert

Jarre Lambert is a Research Intern at UNU-CRIS.

Expert Senior Research Consultant

Mariana Lameiras

Mariana Lameiras has been a Senior Research Consultant at the United Nations University since 2026.

Expert Senior Associate Expert

Beatriz Lanza

Beatriz Barreto Brasileiro Lanza is a consultant on Digital Government at IDB and Senior Associate Expert at UNU-EGOV.

Expert Executive Director, UNU Hub on Water in a Changing Environment (WICE)

Dr. Rolf Larsson

Dr. Rolf Larsson is a water resources researcher with a diverse background spanning computational fluid dynamics (CFD), snow hydrology, urban hydrology, and urban flood management.

Expert Research Associate

Jesse Lastunen

Jesse Lastunen is a research associate at UNU-WIDER, specialising in tax-benefit microsimulation modelling. His research focuses on public economics, especially social policy, taxation, and employment.

Expert Post-Doctoral Fellow

Farhan Latif

Farhan is a Research Fellow at the United Nations University Institute in Macau. Farhan’s work explores how digital technology intersects with various aspects of sustainability, with a particular focus on the future of work.

Expert PhD Fellow

Kevin Le Merle

Kevin Le Merle is a PhD Fellow at UNU-CRIS

Expert Associate Research Fellow

Gaëlle Le Pavic

Gaëlle is an Associate Research Fellow at UNU-CRIS

Expert Academic Programme Director - MPP / Researcher

Dr. Elaine Lebon-McGregor

Elaine Lebon-McGregor is the Academic Programme Director of the MSc Public Policy and Human Development (MPP) and a researcher at UNU-MERIT, United Nations University and Maastricht University.

Expert Professor

Prof. Dr. Arjen Leerkes

Prof. Dr. Arjen Leerkes is Professor at UNU-MERIT.

Expert Associate Research Fellow

Thomas Legler

Thomas Legler is an Associate Research Fellow at UNU-CRIS.

Expert UNU Professorial Fellow

Prof. Dr. Rasmus Lema

Rasmus Lema is a development economist with 20 years of experience in research, consultancy and teaching. His areas of specialisation are sustainable industrialisation, technological learning and green transformations.

Expert Professorial Fellow

Dries Lesage

Dries Lesage is a Professorial Fellow at UNU-CRIS.

Expert Professor of Practice in Human and Environmental Security

Prof. Gary Lewis

Professor Gary Lewis' work focuses on environmental security, the complex interlinkages between climate change, nature loss and human security with a focus on the role of ecological diplomacy in fostering sustainable peace.

Expert Professorial Fellow

Ine Lietaert

Ine Lietaert is a Professorial Fellow at UNU-CRIS since November 2018.

Expert Project Assistant

Connor Lindenberg

Connor is working as a Project Assistant on the Climate Analytics team for the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII), hosted by UNU-EHS, contributing to the application of the Economics in Climate Adaptation (ECA) methodology in project countries with comprehensive literature research, data collection and climate risk analysis. His responsibilities include supporting the Analytics team with report preparation, policy review and workshop coordination.