Teresa Janz is a postdoctoral researcher at UNU-MERIT.
She works with Dr. Zina Nimeh on a research study examining the impacts of cash-transfer programmes on household well-being in Jordan during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Her broader research interests centre on poverty, social protection systems, and climate change. She defended her PhD at UNU-MERIT in September 2025. Her doctoral research explored urban poverty traps, the impacts of weather shocks on poverty, and the links between social protection programmes and poverty across various country contexts. She was supervised by Prof. Dr. Franziska Gassmann, Dr. Zina Nimeh, and Dr. Britta Augsburg (IFS, UK). Before starting her PhD, Teresa worked in the Social Protection and Policy department at UNICEF Jordan, where she contributed to national cash-transfer programming as well as several research studies and reports. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Human Development with a specialisation in Social Protection Policy from UNU-MERIT, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Business with a specialisation in Emerging Markets from Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics.