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Alyssa Lin
Alyssa is a MSc student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. She earned a BA in Psychology and Cinema and Cultural Studies from Stony Brook University and an MBA from Fordham Gabelli School of Business. She is also an EFFAS Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA) and Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) credential holder. Alyssa has almost 13 years of experience in the financial industry, with 5 years in Sustainable Finance. Her research aims to understand the diverse stakeholder discourses surrounding blue carbon credit initiatives in relation to their drivers, barriers, opportunities and impacts, with a focus on Japan and Indonesia. |
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Battsetseg Banzragch
Battsetseg is a MSc student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. She holds a BA in International Relations from the Ural Federal University, Russia. She previously worked at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia. Her research explores how nature-based solutions can provide provide sustainable solutions in Mongolia, and identify ways to implement them to enhance sustainable development. |
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Jie Su
Jie Su is a Project Assistant Professor at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo. She holds a Ph.D. in Sustainability Science from the University of Tokyo (2022), an MSc in Environment Management from Xiamen University (2019) and a BSc in Environmental Science from Fudan University (2016) in China. She has dedicated her studies and research to applying social-ecological system approaches to understand the complex interactions between human societies and natural ecosystems, and to develop holistic solutions for sustainable mangrove restoration. Her current research focuses on elucidating the intricate interplay between climate change and small-scale aquaculture, viewing it through the lens of social-ecological systems. Through interdisciplinary collaborations and participatory research methodologies, she aims to enhance the adaptive capacity of small-scale aquaculture communities in the face of the challenges posed by climate change, particularly in the Global South. |
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Lam Thi Mai Huyhn
Lam Huynh is currently a PhD candidate at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. She obtained an MSc in Sustainability Science from the University of Tokyo and a BSc in Sustainability and Environmental Management from the University of Leeds. She previously served as a public officer in Vietnam between 2016 and 2019, specialising in urban planning and natural resources management. She is interested in the evaluation of ecosystem services and human wellbeing, urban planning and sustainability, and the assessment of adaptation and vulnerability to climate change. Her current PhD research focuses on mapping the current evidence about the effectiveness of ecosystem-based adaptation globally. Furthermore, she compares the local effectiveness of different coastal ecosystem-based adaptations and traditional engineering solutions in China, Singapore and Vietnam. |
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Michael Murawski
Michael is a research student in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. Prior to joining GPSS-GLI, he completed a M.A. in Environmental Studies at Sophia University and obtained a Joint Degree Diploma from the United Nations University in Tokyo. Originally an Economics and Finance graduate (B.Sc. from Goethe University, Frankfurt), Michael gathered a wealth of experience across consulting firms and international banks, working on renewable energy infrastructure and sustainable agroforestry investments in Sub-Sahara Africa and Europe. Building on his professional experience, Michael’s current research seeks to evaluate and monetize natural capital and ecosystem services in urban green spaces. His second area of research, considers various policy incentive schemes to promote biodiversity-oriented, mixed-species forest restoration investments. |
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Quanli Wang
Quanli Wang is a Project Researcher at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo. He holds a PhD in Sustainability Science from the University of Tokyo (GPSS-GLI) , an MSc in Environmental Science from Xiamen University, and a BSc in Resources, Environment & Urban-Rural Planning Management from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in China. During his PhD he focused on the sustainability performance of diversification and better management practices for small-scale aquaculture in Bangladesh and Myanmar. In his current research, Quanli is interested in sustainable and resilient food systems in low-income countries. He collaborates with WorldFish to investigate the characteristics and sustainability impacts of different aquatic food systems in South and Southeast Asian Countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, and India. He also explores food security and livelihood resilience from neglected and underutilized plant species (NUS) in Western African countries such as Senegal and Burkina Faso. |
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Van-Thien Nguyen (Dorothie) Van-Thien Nguyen, is a MSc student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science, the University of Tokyo. She holds a BSc in Global Innovation Studies from Toyo University, where she graduated at the top of her class and received the Best Thesis Award for her research on applying machine learning to understand Japan’s research and innovation landscape. She has supported sustainability consulting projects at a climate-tech start-up, and is an active youth advocate for climate action in various organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme in Vietnam, where she focuses on climate education, energy transition, and sustainable development initiatives. Her research interests include corporate sustainability, innovation, public-private partnerships, and climate change. Her current work explores the adoption of sustainability assessments among Japanese startups, aiming to promote sustainable practices in the startup ecosystem. |
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Vinamra Mathur
Vinamra Mathur is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. Prior to joining GPSS-GLI, he was Program Assistant at the Responsible Asia Forestry and Trade Program (RAFT) at the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Bangkok, Thailand. He holds a BSc (Hons.) in Environmental Science from the University of Manchester (2013) and an MSc in Environmental Governance from the United Nations University, Tokyo (2014). Vinamra’s research stems from his professional experience at the Nature Conservancy, which provided capacity-building and knowledge-sharing services to several Asia-Pacific countries in support of their efforts to promote trade in responsibly harvested and manufactured wood products. Through his research, he aims to understand the role of Japanese timber procurement and logging processes and practices, in order to better estimate their impact in the Sarawak region of Malaysia. |
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Yuichi Tsuchibuchi
Yuichi Tsuchibuchi is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS) at the University of Tokyo. Yuichi holds an MSc in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science from Lund University (Sweden) and a BA in Global Business from Akita International University (Japan). Before his MAs, he worked on the corporate sector and served as a financial analyst in the tourism industry. His has very diverse research interests including degrowth, well-being, inner transformation, social/environmental justice, disaster management, and biodiversity and ecosystem conservation. His current PhD research focuses on degrowth pathways in the Japanese social welfare sectors. . |
Past members
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Abhishek Bhattarai was an MSc student at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2019-2021).
His MSc thesis focused on Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) systems in Nepal. |
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Abubakari Ahmed was a PhD student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2015-2018).
His PhD thesis explored the sustainability impacts of different biofuel feedstock options in Ghana |
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Alice Karanja was a PhD student at GPSS-GLI and Project Researcher at IFI, University of Tokyo (2016-2020).
Her research focused on the factors influencing clean stove adoption in rural Kenya, and its sustainability impacts. |
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Boubacar Siddighi Balde was a Project Researcher for the Belmont Forum project FICESSA at IR3S, University of Tokyo (2015-2018).
His research focused on the food security outcomes of industrial crop production in Sub-Sahara Africa. |
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Dalelan Anderson was an MSc Research Student in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science - Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2019-2021).
His research focused on critical aspects of parrot-fish fisheries management in Jamaica, with a specific focus on the perspectives of multiple stakeholders and local communities. |
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Denise Lozano was a PhD student at GPSS-GLI , University of Tokyo (2017-2020).
Her research focused on the systematic understanding of municipal solid waste management systems in Bolivian cities. |
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Ei Thwe was an MSc student in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science - Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo.
Her MSc research focused on the assessment of the effectiveness of the EIA system in the industrial sector of Myanmar. |
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Enzo Bossard was a visiting research student at the Institute of Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo (2024).
He assisted in the analysis of urban dietary change patterns in cities of Sub-Saharan Africa. |
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Eric Brako Dompreh was a PhD student at GPSS-GLI and Project Assistant Professor at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo (2017-2023).
His PhD thesis explored the adoption and impact of sustainability standards in the cocoa and oil palm sector in Ghana/ |
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Gayara Rathnabarana was an MSc student at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2020-2022).
Her MSc thesis explored the factors affecting the adoption and the impacts of protected agriculture in Sri Lanka. |
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Helen was a PhD student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2016-2020).
Her PhD research focused on how urban ecosystems are contributing a green economy transition in Myanmar, undertaking an economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by green spaces in Pyin Oo Lwin, a secondary city of Myanmar. |
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Himangana Gupta was a Visiting Research Fellow at IFI, and a JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow at the United Nations University-Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2019-2021).
She conducted research on mountain social-ecological systems, especially trying to understand the drivers of change and its impacts in the Indian Himalayan region. |
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Hongru Hong was a PhD student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2017-2020).
His PhD research focused on the sustainability outcomes of upgrading to eco-industrial park status in China. |
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Jasmine Black was a UNU-JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo and the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS).
She conducted research on alternative food systems in Sado island, Japan |
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Jelena Aleksejeva was a PhD student in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo.
Her PhD research focused on scenarios of green roof deployment in Sumida ward, Tokyo. |
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Letícia dos Muchangos was a Project Researcher at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo (2020).
She conducted research on the sustainability of different sanitation systems in neighborhoods of Shanghai, P.R. China. |
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Linda Chinangwa was a Visiting Research Fellow at IR3S, and a JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow at the United Nations University-Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2015-2017).
She conducted research on the potential of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes in sugarcane and tobacco landscapes of Malawi. |
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Marcin Jarzebski was a Project Researcher at IR3S, University of Tokyo (2015-2019)
He conducted research on the impacts of commodity crop production in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
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Melvis Apoh was an MSc student at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2019-2021).
Her MSc thesis focused on the values of indigenous Baka communities in Cameroon, as well as how they are affected by forest conservation and large development projects. |
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Merle Naidoo was a PhD student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2015-2018).
Her PhD research explored the adoption, visibility, and sustainability outcomes of Corporate Environmental Sustainability (CES) practices in supermarket retailers in Japan and South Africa. |
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Mizan Bisri was a Visiting Research Fellow at IFI, and a JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow at the United Nations University-Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2018-2020).
For his research he explored the networked-politics of science and policy nexus on disaster management and climate change adaptation in Southeast Asian countries. |
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Nikole Roland was an MSc student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science - Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS - GLI), University of Tokyo (2017-2019).
Her MSc thesis explored conflicts over water in sugarcane areas of Swaziland and how they are exacerbated by the 2015-2016 drought. |
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Robert Massimo Alfonsi was a PhD student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2017-2024).
His PhD thesis focused on the development of an ICT framework for the South African food system. |
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Rodolfo Dam Lam was a PhD student at GPSS-GLI , University of Tokyo (2016-2020).
His PhD research focused on the identification of development challenges for indigenous communities in Guna Yala, Panama. |
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Shamik Chakraborty was a Visiting Research Fellow at IR3S, and a JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow at the United Nations University-Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2015-2017).
He conducted research on ecosystem change and how it affects the ecosystem services provision in traditional Japanese seascapes. |
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Spencer Sibanda was an MSc student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2017-2019).
His MSc thesis studied the sustainability impacts of Conservation Agriculture in Zimbabwe. |
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Yin Long was a Project Assistant Professor at IFI, University of Tokyo (2020-2021).
She conducted research on the livability of residential clusters in Shanghai through big data, as well as carbon emissions in Japan from different economic sectors and at different spatial and temporal resolutions. |
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Kamaldeen Yussif was a PhD student at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2020-2023).
His PhD thesis explored the characteristics, drivers and impacts of impacts of urban expansion in the cities of Tamale and Wa in Ghana. |
