Research project staff

Research associates and fellows

Dr Jonathan Barnes
Research Fellow in Climate Change Adaptation
Email: jonathan.barnes@ucl.ac.uk

I am a critical human geographer researching the politics of knowledge in climate change adaptation, with particular interest in climate finance, social transitions and questions of equity. My work draws on post‑structural theory to examine how adaptation knowledge is produced, circulated and used in policy and practice.

I am currently funded by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship and lead research on how governance and finance shape adaptation outcomes. My project Accountable adaptation explores accountability, effectiveness and justice in climate finance mechanisms.

I hold a PhD in Geography (LSE), an MSc in Environmental Technology (Imperial College London) and a BA in Archaeology and Anthropology (University of Oxford). Before joining UCL I worked at IIED, the OECD and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Projects: 

• Accountable adaptation

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Dr Afrah Daham
Research Fellow in Earth Observation for High-Impact Multi-Hazards, EO4MULTIHAZARDS
Email: a.daham@ucl.ac.uk

I am a Research Fellow on the EO4MULTIHAZARDS project at UCL Risk & Disaster Reduction. My expertise spans remote sensing, photogrammetry, geospatial modelling, GIS, environmental impact assessment and the use of Earth observation data in disaster management.

I specialise in image processing, climate change modelling, sand mining issues, meteorological datasets and vegetation analysis. My research focuses on improving understanding of multi‑hazard risks through integrated, mixed‑method approaches, active stakeholder engagement and comprehensive quantitative assessments of hazard, exposure and vulnerability.

I hold a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Bristol, an MSc in Surveying Engineering (Photogrammetry) from the University of Baghdad and a BSc in Surveying Engineering from the University of Baghdad. I also serve as a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Bristol.

Dr Susannah Fisher
Future Leaders Fellow in Climate Change Adaptation
Email: susannah.fisher@ucl.ac.uk

I work across research, policy and practice on adapting to climate change. My interest lies in ensuring that climate finance supports effective and equitable adaptation, and that adaptation reaches the scale and ambition needed for the escalating impacts of climate change.

I am the principal investigator of a five‑year research programme exploring the politics of knowledge in climate change adaptation, funded by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.

Before joining UCL Risk & Disaster Reduction, I led a research portfolio in Europe’s climate innovation agency and provided technical support on adaptation to climate funds, philanthropy and civil society. I have also been a team leader at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and an adaptation expert at the UN African Climate Policy Centre in Addis Ababa (UNECA).

I was previously a lecturer in the UCL Development Planning Unit and hold a PhD from the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge.

Projects: 

• Accountable adaptation

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Dr Md Touhidul Islam
Research Fellow in Genocide Diplomacy
Email: touhid.islam@ucl.ac.uk

I am working with Dr Bayes Ahmed on the project, ‘Politics of denial and non‑recognition of genocide’, funded by the British Academy.

Projects:

• Politics of denial and non‑recognition of genocide
   

Dr Femke Mulder
Senior Research Fellow in Resilience to Low Probability High Impact Events, AGILE
Email: f.mulder@ucl.ac.uk

I specialise in disaster management science, the sociology of disasters and humanitarian studies. My research focuses on localised, participatory and inclusive approaches to risk communication and disaster knowledge management.

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Dr Jingren Wu
Research Fellow in Damage-Dependent Fragility and Consequence Modelling
Email: jingren.wu@ucl.ac.uk

I hold a PhD in Earthquake and Structural Engineering. My research focuses on the seismic and tsunami risk assessment of buildings and infrastructure, as well as approaches to structural retrofitting.

My current work explores the damage‑dependent fragility of buildings under earthquakes and tsunamis.

Projects:

• ENFRAG: ENhancing state‑dependent FRAGility through experimentally validated energy‑based approaches

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Project staff

Roquia Salam
Research Assistant for Earth Observation for High-Impact Multi-Hazards, EO4MULTIHAZARDS
Email: roquia.salam.22@ucl.ac.uk

I am a PhD student UCL Risk & Disaster Reduction, supported by the UCL Research Excellence Scholarship (RES). My research focuses on developing a web‑based forecasting system for rainfall‑induced landslide disasters.

My wider research interests include natural hazards, climate change adaptation, vulnerability assessment and disaster risk management.

I hold an MSc in Geospatial Technologies, awarded through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Scholarship, as well as an MSc and BSc in Disaster Management from Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR), Bangladesh.

I have contributed to key projects including the EO4MULTIHAZARDS initiative funded by the European Space Agency. I also work as a postgraduate teaching assistant at UCL, supporting modules such as ‘Data Analysis and Interpretation’ and ‘Statistical and Geospatial Data Analysis’.

Projects:

• Resilient futures for the Rohingya refugees

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