Academic staff
The Global Development Institute is made up of over 60 academics from over five continents. We are driven by the desire to advance social justice by conducting world-class, interdisciplinary research that achieves real impact.
Find out more about our staff and visit their profile pages for further information. A number of our researchers offer PhD supervision, find out more about some of our PhD supervisors.
Academic staff
Dr Adam Aboobaker
Lecturer in Development Economics
Research specialism: growth and distribution, structural transformation, inflation, climate change
Dr Lawrence Ado-Kofie
Lecturer in Development Economics
Research specialism: development economics.
Prof Bina Agarwal
Professor in Development Economics and Environment
Research specialisms: gender inequality, agrarian change, environmental governance, property and land rights, group farming.
Dr Shamel Azmeh
Senior Lecturer in Technology, Labour and Production
Research specialisms: global value chains, political economy, trade, labour, technology.
Dr Oliver Bakewell
Reader in Migration Studies
Research specialisms: migration, mobility and refugees, Africa, migration and development, diasporas, integration and belonging.
Dr Nicola Banks
Senior Lecturer in International Development: Urban Development and Global Urbanism
Research specialisms: Tanzania, employment, youth, urban, NGOs.
Prof Armando Barrientos
Emeritus Professor of Poverty and Social Justice
Research specialisms: development economics, social protection, social assistance, Latin America.
Prof Stephanie Barrientos
Emeritus Professor in Development Policy, Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow
Research specialisms: global value chains, gender, corporate responsibility, production labour.
Prof Tanja Bastia
Professor of Migration and Development
Research specialisms: migration, Latin America, gender, race and ethnicity, social inequalities.
Prof Anthony Bebbington
Honorary Professorial Research Fellow
Research specialisms: governance.
Dr Pritish Behuria
Senior Lecturer in Politics, Governance and Development
Research specialisms: African political economy, India, industrial policy, finance, state-business relations, energy transitions.
Dr Admos Chimhowu
Senior Lecturer
Research specialisms: land reform, sustainable development, national planning, Zimbabwe.
Dr Katarzyna Cieslik
Lecturer in Global Development
Research specialisms: social and environmental sustainability
Dr Clare Cummings
Lecturer in Politics and Development
Research specialisms: political economy, climate change, environmental justice, power relations
Dr Natalie Cunningham
Lecturer in Leadership for Development
Research specialisms: leadership development, organisational culture, coaching and talent management
Dr Upasak Das
Presidential Fellow in the Economics of Poverty Reduction
Research specialisms: development economics, poverty, poverty reduction.
Prof Ralitza Dimova
Professor in Development Economics
Research specialisms: development economics, labour, food, behaviour.
Dr Richard Duncombe
Senior Lecturer in Information Systems and Development
Research specialisms: ICT4 development, information systems, technology.
Dr Kelechi Ekuma
Lecturer in Governance and Development Leadership
Research specialisms: human resource development, politics of development, the fourth industrial revolution, public policy.
Dr Charis Enns
Presidential Fellow in Socio-Environmental Systems
Research specialisms: human and environmental geography, political ecology, land.
Dr Lujia Feng
Lecturer in Human Resource Management
Research specialisms: human resources, management.
Prof David Fielding
Professor in Development Economics
Research specialisms: economics of ethnic diversity, the economics of violent conflict, monetary unions, altruism.
Dr Chris Foster
Presidential Fellow
Research specialisms: digital development, value chains, digital trade, infrastructure, innovation.
Dr Tomas Frederiksen
Senior Lecturer in International Development
Research specialisms: political ecology, corporate social responsibility, extractive industry, mining, sustainability.
Dr Elisa Gambino
Lecturer in Global Development (Global Political Economy)
Research specialisms: China-Global South engagement, China's political economy, African development
Dr Ping Gao
Senior Lecturer in Information Systems
Research specialisms: information systems.
Dr Tom Gillespie
Lecturer in Global Urban Development and Hallsworth Research Fellow
Research specialisms: urban, Ghana, housing, social movements, urban development.
Prof Richard Heeks
Professor in Digital Development
Research specialisms: digital development, ICT4D, digital economy, digital labour, data justice, China’s digital expansion, resilience
Prof Samuel Hickey
Professor in Politics and Development
Research specialisms: governance, social protection, oil, political development.
Dr Rory Horner
Reader in Globalisation and Political Economy
Research specialisms: global value chains, pharmaceuticals, trade.
Prof Farhad Hossain
Professor in Public Management and International Development
Research specialism: management, public administration and policy, international development, governance reform, capacity building, organisational behaviour.
Prof David Hulme
Professor in Development Studies
Research specialisms: poverty and poverty reduction, the political economy of development, climate change, NGOs and civil society, global inequality.
Dr Gianluca Iazzolino
Lecturer in Digital Development
Research specialisms: digital development, digital finance, digital platforms.
Dr Mohammed Ibrahim
Lecturer in HRM and International Development
Research specialisms: human resources, policy process, governance, state-society relations, sustainable development, Ghana.
Prof Tim Jacoby
Professor
Research specialisms: Middle East, political violence, faith, culture and humanitarianism
Dr Shirley Jenner
Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management
Research specialisms: management, human resources.
Dr Nicholas Jepson
Lecturer in International Development and Leverhulme Early Career Fellow
Research specialisms: globalisation, political economy, China, socio-economic change.
Dr Thuy Duong Khuu
British Academy Fellow
Research specialisms: biodiversity, Vietnam, protected areas, climate change
Prof Uma Kothari
Professor in Migration and Postcolonial Studies
Research specialisms: migration and mobilities, colonialism and postcolonialism, humanitarianism, environmental change, travel and tourism.
Dr Tom Lavers
Reader in Politics, Governance and Management
Research specialisms: Ethiopia, comparative political economy, agrarian change, social policy, state-society relations.
Dr David Lawson
Senior Lecturer in Development Economics and Public Policy
Research specialisms: extreme poverty, access to justice, economic growth, cash transfers.
Prof Aminu Mamman
Professor of Management and International Development
Research specialisms: management, human resources.
Prof Diana Mitlin
Professor in Global Urbanism
Research specialisms: urban, collective action, housing, urban planning.
Dr Negar Monazam Tabrizi
Lecturer in Information Systems and Digital Development
Research specialisms: ICT4 development, information systems, technology.
Prof Caroline Moser
Emeritus Professor
Research specialisms: urban, gender, housing.
Prof Tanja Müller
Professor in Political Sociology
Research specialisms: citizenship, global solidarity, refugees, revolutions, the horn of Africa.
Prof Khalid Nadvi
Professor in International Development
Research specialisms: political economy, global value chains, production, global standards, corporate social responsibility.
Dr Nafisatu Irene Okhade
Lecturer in HRM and International Development
Research specialisms: Public-Private Partnership (PPP) policy and infrastructure development
Dr Johan Oldekop
Reader in Environment and Development
Research specialisms: conversation, sustainability, forests.
Dr Osman Ouattara
Reader in Development Economics
Research specialisms: development economics, environment.
Dr Smith Ouma
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow
Research specialisms: urban planning, urban governance, Kenya, informal settlements, health.
Dr Rose Pritchard
Presidential Fellow in Socio-Environmental Systems
Research specialisms: agriculture, rural livelihoods.
Dr Chris Rees
Reader in Human Resources and Organisational Change
Research specialisms: organisational change, human resources, management.
Dr Dereje Regasa
Lecturer in HRM and International Development
Research specialisms: corporate finance, financial development, banking, economic growth, Finance-Growth Nexus.
Dr Jaco Renken
Senior Lecturer in Information and Communication Technology for Development
Research specialisms: ICT4 development, digital development, data-intensive development, development champions, leadership information systems.
Dr Kate Rowlands
Reader in Human Resource Management
Research specialisms: organisational change, human resources, management.
Dr Maria Rusca
Senior Lecturer in Global Development
Research specialisms: socio-environmental extremes, climate urbanism, natural hazards, experimental political ecology.
Dr Antonio Savoia
Reader in Development Economics
Research specialisms: development economics, governance, development finance.
Prof Seth Schindler
Professor of Urban Politics and Development
Research specialisms: urban, urban planning, deindustrialization, urban transformation.
Prof Kunal Sen
Professor in Development Economics & Policy
Research specialisms: India, development, economics, political economy, growth, social exclusion.
Dr Rory Stanton
Lecturer in Human Resource Development
Research specialisms: Human resource development, human resources.
Dr Alice Sverdlik
Lecturer in Social Development
Research specialisms: informality, shelter, health, climate, and equitable cities.
Dr Gindo Tampubolon
Senior Lecturer in Poverty, Inequality and Growth
Research specialisms: digital health, healthy ageing, blood biomarkers, cognitive function, longitudinal study.
Dr Erla Thrandardottir
Lecturer in Global Development (T&S)
Research specialisms: NGOs, NGO regulation
Dr Vidhya Unnikrishnan
Lecturer in Development Economics
Research specialisms: economics, development economics.
Dr Sophie Van Huellen
Senior Lecturer in Development Economics
Research specialisms: primary commodities, international finance and applied econometrics.
Prof Dale Whittington
Emeritus Professor
Research specialisms: water, dams.
Prof Philip Woodhouse
Emeritus Professor
Research specialisms: irrigation, agriculture, environment.
Dr Yin-Fang Zhang
Senior Lecturer in Development Economics
Research specialisms: development economics, China, corporate governance.
Senior tutors
Dr Mapenzie Tauzie
Senior Tutor
Research associate
Dr Clare Cummings
Research Associate
Research associates - African Cities Research Consortium
Dr Patience Adzande
Research Associate
Dr Elizabeth Dessie
Research Associate
Dr Maurice Hutton
Research Associate
Research associates - Sustainable Forest Transitions
Dr Lucas Alencar
Research Associate
Dr Katie Devenish
Research Associate