UNU Experts

Expert Senior Researcher

Dr. Lisa Thalheimer-Prezyna

Lisa Thalheimer is a climate economist with a focus on the impacts of climate change and resulting human responses including migration and conflict.

Expert JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Sawaros Thanapornsangsuth

Sawaros (Sam) Thanapornsangsuth is a JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow at UNU-IAS.

Expert Manager, Food, Land and Ecosystem Program

Richard Thomas is a globally recognized expert in natural resources management with broad research interests in integrated soil, water and nutrient management in crop-livestock systems in Latin America, Africa, West and Central Asia.

Expert Research Assistant

Quynh Tieu

Quynh Tieu is a Research Assistant at UNU-WIDER, where she works on taxation.

Expert Affiliated Researcher

Nyasha Juliana Tirivayi

Nyasha Juliana Tirivayi is an Affiliated Researcher at UNU-MERIT and a Social Policy Manager at UNICEF’s Office of Research-Innocenti, where she manages social policy research, including impact evaluations and social protection system research.

Expert Senior Analyst Outreach and Programme Development

Eliane Torres

Eliane Torres is a Senior Analyst Outreach and Programme Development at the United Nations University (UNU-EGOV) since 2019.

Expert Professorial Fellow

Florian Trauner

Florian Trauner is a Professorial Fellow at UNU-CRIS.

Expert Senior Research Associate – Zero-Carbon Trajectories

Lucas Turmena

Lucas Turmena is a Project Associate for the Transformative Urban Coalitions project.

Expert Lead, Resilient and Equitable Infrastructure

Prof. Farshid Vahedifard

Professor Farshid Vahedifard's work has centered around studying the resilience and adaptation of critical infrastructure, including levees and dams, in the face of extreme events (e.g., droughts, floods, wildfires, and cascading hazards) in a changing climate.

Expert PhD Fellow

Domenico Valenza

Domenico Valenza is a PhD Fellow with UNU-CRIS label since January 2019.

Expert Senior Fellow (Non-Resident)

Kato Van Broeckhoven

Kato Van Broeckhoven is Senior Fellow (Non-Resident) and the former Senior Project Manager of the Managing Exits from Armed Conflict project at the Centre for Policy Research.

Expert Researcher

Adriana van Cruysen

Adriana van Cruysen is a researcher at the UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT).

Expert Professorial Fellow

Thijs Van de Graaf

Professor Dr. Thijs Van de Graaf is a part-time Professorial Fellow at UNU-CRIS.

Expert Researcher

Mindel van de Laar

Dr. Mindel van de Laar is an international economist, specialized in strategic development of firms and the impact of firm strategy on country development.

Expert Director of UNU-MERIT

Prof. Dr. Bartel Van de Walle

Bartel Van de Walle is the Director of the United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT).

Expert Academic Officer / Head of EMIC Section

Dr. Kees van der Geest

Dr. Kees van der Geest is Head of the “Environment and Migration: Interactions and Choices” (EMIC) Section at United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS).

Expert Project Associate

Sophie van der Heijden

Sophie van der Heijden is a Project Associate for the NOWATER project.

Expert Professorial Fellow

Sven Van Kerckhoven

Dr. Sven Van Kerckhoven is Professorial Fellow at UNU-CRIS.

Expert Professorial Fellow

Luk Van Langenhove

Luk Van Langenhove is a part-time Professorial Fellow at UNU-CRIS.

Expert Senior Research Assistant

Douwe Van Schie

Douwe is a Senior Research Assistant at the EMIC Division at UNU-EHS and a PhD Candidate in Loss and Damage at the University of Bonn. He works on topics as Non-Economic Loss and Damage, Social Inequality, Social and Climate Justice, Capabilities and Intersectionality, predominantly focusing on Bangladesh and Suriname.