Our researchers work globally to produce research and evidence-based policy recommendations to create positive change.
Below is a selection of our staff and their respective expertise. Please contact our media team at [email protected] to arrange an interview with any of our experts.
Professor Peter Taylor – Director of IDS
As Director of IDS, Peter Taylor can speak on the latest news relating to the international development sector, including the current funding landscape, both in the UK, Europe and the US. His expertise also includes building more equitable partnerships for research and decolonising knowledge for development and the importance of science, research and innovation for tackling global challenges.
Philip Proudfoot – Research Fellow
Philip’s work has engaged with economic inequality, forced migration, humanitarianism, intersectionality, protracted conflicts, and political movements.
His geographic interests centre on Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, as well as the United Kingdom.
Prof Stephen Devereux – Professorial Research Fellow
Stephen is an expert on food security, famine, rural livelihoods, social protection and poverty reduction issues. His research focuses especially on eastern and southern Africa, especially Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa and Namibia. He has also undertaken research on food insecurity in Gaza and commented on Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war.
Stephen is also a member of the Food Equity Centre based at IDS.
Professor Mariz Tadros – Research Fellow
Professor Mariz Tadros specialises in the areas of democratisation, Islamist politics, gender (gender-based violence and sexual harassment), sectarianism, human security and religion in the Middle East. Mariz also has expertise on the impact of discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief – particularly how it impacts poverty and exclusion, as director of the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID).
Dr Amrita Saha – Research Fellow
Amrita Saha is an economist with a focus on political economy of international trade, agricultural policy, innovation and gender.
Amrita is an expert on trade and development, including Aid for Trade, progressive trade policies, South-South trade, environmentally-just trade policies and UK-India trade negotiations.
Dr Shilpi Shrivastava – Research Fellow
Shilpi is a political sociologist studying the the lens of water and climate to understand issues of power and patterns of authority to explore spaces of justice, rights and accountability.
Shilpi also focuses on the impact of climate change on women and communities living on the frontlines.
Professor Jeremy Allouche – Research Fellow
Jeremy is a political sociologist with research on resource politics (water, mining), the difficulties of aid delivery in conflict areas, and peacebuilding.
Jeremy is co-director of the Humanitarian Learning Centre based at IDS, looking at how to rethink humanitarian diplomacy in the face of current global challenges.
Jeremy is also an expert on the Great Green Wall project in Africa and his research looks at the flaws in how the project has development since it was first launched.
Dr Jing Gu – Research Fellow
Jing Gu is a political economist and works on China’s development policy, BRICS and South South Cooperation.
Jing is an expert on development diplomacy for the UK-China relationship, China’s outward investment in Africa and China-UK Cooperation on African Trade and Investment for Poverty Reduction.
Giulia Mascagni – Research Fellow
Giulia Mascagni’s is a research fellow in taxation, public finance, evaluation of public policy, and aid effectiveness.
Giulia has field experience in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Rwanda, amongst others.
Giulia is also the Executive Director of the International Centre for Taxation and Development (ICTD) since July 2024.
Dr Max Gallien – Research Fellow
Max is a political scientist specialising in the politics of informal and illegal economies, taxation, and smuggling and border politics.
His focus is on the political economy of development and the modern politics of the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Tunisia and Morocco.
Max is also a Research fellow at the International Centre for Tax and Development
Giovanni Occhiali – Research Fellow
Giovanni’s research focuses on Tax Administration and Compliance, Tax and Governance, and Climate and Environmental Tax. His areas of works are Sub-Saharan Africa. outside of the field of taxation his main interests are energy economics and industrial policies.
Gio is also a Research fellow at the International Centre for Tax and Development
Dr Martin Hearson – Research Fellow
Martin leads on the International Tax Programme also the Research Director of the International Centre for Tax and Development. Martin’s research focuses on the politics of international business taxation and the impact of tax treaties on African countries.
Martin can comment on the negotiations around the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework and the United Nations Framework Convention on Tax.
Dr Phil Mader – Research Fellow
Philip Mader is a research fellow in include digital finance, taxation, youth employment, financial inclusion and the implications of moving to ‘cash less’ society.
Dr Dolf te Lintelo – Research Fellow
Dolf’s research focuses on urban informality; food/nutrition insecurity, poverty, and wellbeing. Dolf investigates the global challenges of protracted displacement and the urbanisation of refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, India, Finland, Norway and the UK.
Professor Deepta Chopra – Research Fellow
Deepta is a feminist social scientist and senior researcher at IDS on gender equality, women led struggles for rights in South Asia and many aspects of the backlash against women’s rights. Deepta is also an expert unpaid care and domestic work (UCDW) and the care economy. Her work is focused in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr Sohela Nazneen – Research Fellow
Sohela’s research focuses on gender and politics, feminist movements, women’s empowerment and violence against women in South Asia and sub Saharan Africa.
Dr Shandana Mohmand – Research Fellow
Shandana’s work focuses on democratisation, inclusive politics, voter politics, local governance and informal institutions in Pakistan and South Asia. Her works also focuses on political participation, inequality and accountability in fragile and conflict settings.
Shandana is the leader of the IDS Pakistan Hub and IDS Governance Research Cluster.
Dr Tony Roberts – Research Fellow
Tony Roberts works at the intersection of digital technologies, international development and social justice. His work focuses on digital rights, digital surveillance, the closing of online civic spaces in Africa and digital citzenship.
Tony Roberts also co-leads the African Digital Rights Network
Dr Becky Faith – Research Fellow
Beck’s research interests include gender and technology, mobile communication studies, human computer interaction and technology for social change.
She is also Co-Lead of RT4 of the ESRC Digital Futures at Work Research Centre.
Dr Hayley MacGregor – Research Fellow
Hayley’s research interests include emerging infectious disease, COVID-19 impacts, health and wellbeing in informal settlements in low-income countries, and concepts of care and chronicity in responses to lifelong illness, principally HIV. Hayley’s research primarily focuses on South Africa and South East Asia.
Dr Amber Huff – Research Fellow
Amber’s research focuses on mining conflicts and natural resource marketisation in southern Africa and land grabbing. It also looks at the critique of market environmentalism and impacts of environmental and conservation policies and large initiatives like Terra Carta on marginalised peoples.
Prof Nick Nisbett – Professorial Research Fellow
Nick’s research focuses on food and nutrition policy, food equity and politics in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. He also works on national and community level drivers of nutrition and community accountability in India, Bangladesh and West Africa.
Nick is also a member of the Food Equity Centre based at IDS.
Dr Mary Wickenden – Research Fellow
Mary Wickenden’s research focuses on disability and development, with a particular interest in inclusive and participatory research. Her work is mostly in the global South or in disadvantaged contexts.
Lidia Cabral – Research Fellow
Lidia Cabral is a research fellow with interest in politics of aid and public policy, particularly in relation to agriculture and rural development in Africa. She has also contributed to the research on Brazil’s engagement in African agriculture.
Nasreen Jessani – Head of the Knowledge, Impact and Policy Cluster
Nasreen’s primary research and practice sits at the nexus of health policy and systems research, health system governance, and innovations in evidence-informed policy and practice.