The Department's new starters for September

Dr Jerry Chen has joined us as an Isaac Newton Trust Academic Career Development Fellow. Dr Chen's research covers the determinants of regional inequalities, and he is especially interested in the relationship between the built environment and subjective wellbeing. Dr Chen is also a researcher at ai@cam - the University of Cambridge's flagship mission on artificial intelligence - and a Bye-Fellow of Queens’ College, Cambridge.

Dr Zhiwu Wei has joined us as a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow. Dr Wei was previously a PhD Candidate at the Department of Land Economy, and has held roles at other institutions: the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Judge Business School, the Institute of New Structural Economics (Peking University), and the Institute for China Sustainable Urbanization (Tsinghua University).

Dr Lovleen Bhullar has joined us as Assistant Professor in Environmental Law. Dr Bhullar was previously Assistant Professor at Birmingham Law School and a Research Fellow in Regulation and Antimicrobial Resistance at Edinburgh Law School. Dr Bhullar's research focuses on the role of law and policy in addressing antimicrobial resistance, climate change, environmental degradation and water pollution, with a focus on the global majority regions. Dr Bhullar is a Fellow at Queens' College, Cambridge.

Dr Ilona Kater is a Teaching Associate on the new MSt in Climate, Environmental and Urban Policy. Dr Kater's research focuses on using interdisciplinary and systems approaches to understanding land-use changes, particularly in Northern and Arctic environments. Alongside her role at Land Economy, she is an Institute Associate at the Scott Polar Research Institute, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a member of the Herbivory Network.

Dr Rosalyn Old has also joined the Department as a Teaching Associate on the MSt in Climate, Environmental and Urban Policy. Having studied for her BA and PhD at the Department of Land Economy, Dr Old's research now covers areas including the role of civic crowdfunding models in community ownership and governance of local assets; the function of data commons in the use and sharing of personal data for the public good; democratic innovations for increased civic participation; and how to understand the wider value of people-powered approaches. Outside of teaching, Rosalyn works on several European research projects.

Professor Emma Lees has returned to the Department as Professor of Environmental and Property Law. Professor Lees's environmental law research largely focuses on controls on the use and quality of land, including biodiversity protection, contaminated land, waste regulations, and planning law, combined with research on land law and landlord and tenant law. More recently, Professor Lees's research has expanded to cover the use of scientific information by courts, and the relationship between different national courts in relation to climate change. Professor Lees is a Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge.

Finally, we are delighted to welcome Dr Johan Larsson and Dr Özge Öner back from their sabbatical leave.