Institute for Sustainable Futures HDR Candidates

Fiona Armstrong is a PhD student at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF). Her research explores how the cultivation of imagination can help shift mindsets and facilitate ambitious responses towards sustainability transformations. Her supervisors are: Professor Chris Riedy (ISF); Dr Susanne Pratt (TD School); and Professor Rob Raven (Monash). 

Fiona is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at Monash University. She is the former Executive Director of the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA), Australia's peak body on climate change and health, an organisation she founded and led from 2010-2023.

I am a PhD student at the Institute for Sustainable Futures undertaking transdisciplinary research with a focus on embodied practices for transformative learning and social change. I have 15 years of combined professional experience in research consultancy and project management roles in the areas of sustainability, international development, and mental health. I am also a qualified yoga teacher and dance movement therapist.

I have research interests in the following areas: embodiment/somatics and social change, sustainability transformations, transformative learning, and social movements.

Zoe is an interdisciplinary researcher interested in the transition towards food systems which are resilient, ecologically sound and socially just. 

She is a current PhD candidate at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Her research explores the ways in which culturally diverse communities procure food in Greater Western Sydney. Zoe aims to interrogate how local food environments promote food justice outcomes for community. This research will be guided under the supervision of Dr Federico Davila Cisneros, Laure-Elise Ruoso and Dr Anja Bless. 

Her previous research work with various university bodies and civil society organisations has given her a keen interest and specialisation in agri-food systems sustainability, food security, food justice, food sovereignty, regenerative agriculture, and environmental governance. 

Zoe holds a double degree in a Bachelor of Arts and Politics and International Relations from the University of Sydney. She also holds a Masters of Agricultural Science, specialising in Food Sustainability, from the University of Melbourne. 

Melita Grant specialises in integrated water resources management (IWRM), and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in international development, with a focus on gender equality and inclusion. She has worked in governments, universities, and civil society organisations. With an academic background in Political Science and Environmental Management, Melita has expertise in water governance and policy development, and has applied this in Australian and Indo Pacific contexts. Melita has a technical background in applying inclusion frameworks; rural water management policy; urban water conservation and demand management technologies, behaviours and policy; transboundary water politics; and integrated water resources management through roles at the NSW Office of Water, local government and at the Institute for Sustainable Futures. 

Melita has led a number of gender equality and social inclusion projects, including the Gender Action Piece for the Global Water Partnership, and authored ‘Gender Equality and Goal 6 – The Critical Connection’ for the Australian Water Partnership. She has led multi-year research projects in Vanuatu, Kiribati, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Myanmar and India. Melita has extensive experience in designing, implementing and evaluating stakeholder and community engagement processes within civil society organisations, and has synthesised and translated research into practical and actionable policy and practice recommendations for civil society, multilaterals and governments. 

Melita is the Co-Chair of the Australian WASH Reference Group, an AsiaLink alumna, a former member of the Australian Water Partnership's Expert Review Panel (6 years), and a Board Member of the Australian Network for Art & Technology (ANAT). She has recently joined the Research Advisory Group of the Australian Public Policy Institute (APPI), and has joined Climate-KIC as a board member. She holds a Bachelor of Arts - Government (Honours first class) from Sydney University, and a Master of Environment from The University of Melbourne and is a PhD candidate at UTS. 

Jiaying Li is a PhD Candidate at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney. Her research explores how sustainability is translated into practice across places, communities and resource systems. Her current doctoral research, Grassroots Governance for Plastic Circularity in Urban China and Vietnam, examines how grassroots and community-based initiatives contribute to plastic circularity and how they interact with governments and other actors within broader circular economy and environmental governance systems.

Before commencing her PhD, Jiaying gained extensive professional experience in China spanning built-environment research and practice, urban–rural development, nature-based solutions and participatory approaches. This interdisciplinary background informs her current interest in applied and place-based approaches to sustainability.

Jiayun Li is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), undertaking research through the UTS–SILC Shanghai University Collaborative PhD Program. Jiayun’s doctoral research examines the relationship between urban biophilic design, greenway environments and residents’ mental wellbeing through comparative research in Australia and China.

Institutue For Sustainable Futures - PhD Student 

Transdisciplinary School - Casual Academic

Hannah is a transdisciplinary researcher interested in the transition to a safe circular economy for fashion, textiles and packaging. Specifically in elimination of hazardous chemicals, product stewardship, and circular design.

She is a current PhD candidate at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Her research explores how clothing brands can have product stewardship over hazardous chemicals in their clothing, with a specific focus on silver nanoparticles. Her research seeks to understand the current role brands play in chemical management, the challenges they face and the enablers to transition to pro-active chemicals management strategies. Hannah’s supervisor team consists of A/Prof. Nick Florin, Dr Rachael Wakefield-Rann and Dr Taylor Brydges.

She has over 7 years' experience working in sustainability within the fashion industry, ranging from small scale start-ups to large corporations, which informs her research and teaching experience.

Hannah holds a double degree in a Bachelor of Design in Fashion and Textiles, and a Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation, at UTS.

Please contact via student email: hannah.mullen@student.uts.edu.au

Lailly Prihatiningtyas is a PhD student and Research Consultant at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), specializing in climate change and labour market governance. Her doctoral research examines the institutionalization of social dialogue mechanisms for just energy transition through a comparative study of Australia and Indonesia. It explores different institutional frameworks that can facilitate deliberative process to achieve an equitable transitions to a lower-carbon economy, while creating sustainable and decent employment opportunities.

Lailly’s broader research interests encompass sustainable development issues, particularly in green jobs and just transition, and good governance frameworks. Her transdisciplinary  approach draws from environmental policy, labour economics, socio-technical transition, industrial relations, and governance studies, reflecting the complex nature of just transition challenges. She has been involved in various public policy advocacy and projects, specifically on analysing socio-economic implications of climate change and climate actions, especially in South-East Asia region. She had assisted various international organisations including ILO, UNDP, ASEAN Secretariate, the World Bank, and C40.

Jason Prior is Professor of Planning, Health and Environment at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) UTS. Jason is also the lead of the cross-university Healthy Populations and Environments Platform in Maridulu Budyari Gumal: Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE) and co-convenor of the Climate Change and Health Collaborative within the Research Institute for Innovative Solutions for Wellbeing and Health (INSIGHT) UTS.

As an architect, planner, and geographer, Jason's research program focuses on the environment, planning, and human and planetary health. Jason has attracted over $12M in competitive external funding through this research program. He has led 54 national and international research projects through productive collaborations with research organisations, government, industry, NGOs, communities and the professions. Jason's research has been published widely in various journals, edited collections, and through public reports and interactive tools.

Jason is the lead of the Graduate Research Program at ISF and a Responsible Academic Officer. He is currently the principal supervisor of 8 HDR students. 

Jason is also a member of the Global Alliance for Inter- and Transdisciplinarity Leadership Board. Jason is also a registered planner and architect.

Jordan Roods is a PhD candidate for the Australian Research Council Research Hub for Nutrients in a Circular Economy (ARC NiCE Hub). He is conducting research on the governance of a new circular nutrient economy in Australia which is based on the recovery and recycling of the macro nutrients contained in human-urine for use in safe/effective renewable fertilisers.  

A core focus of Jordan's research is to investigate how the circular economy could be more effectively governed to improve outcomes for the natural environment. While ‘regenerating nature’ is the third principle of the circular economy, there has been limited engagement with how this could be achieved in practice. Jordan is advancing the call for an ‘earth-centred’ governance framework that reprioritises nature in circular economy discourse.

Jordan also works in the Resource Stewardship team at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, where he assists organisations to identify and evaluate opportunities to avoid, reuse and recover resources and adopt new circular economy business models.

Jordan is passionate about law reform, policy development and socio-ecological justice. He holds a combined Bachelor of Communication (Social & Political Sciences) and Bachelor of Laws, First Class Honours, UTS, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Professional Legal Practice, UTS. 

Maryam is an interdisciplinary researcher interested in reclaimed water, greenhouse gas assessment, sustainable agriculture, resource recovery, and climate change. Her research explores the intersection of agriculture, water, sanitation, and environmental sustainability, with a particular focus on greenhouse gas emissions, wastewater reuse, and the agricultural use of faecal sludge.

She is currently a PhD candidate at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Her research investigates greenhouse gas emissions associated with the agricultural use of wastewater and faecal sludge. Maryam's supervisor team consists of Dr Jeremy Kohlitz and Prof Juliet Willetts.

Prior to joining UTS, Maryam completed a PhD in Agricultural Development at the University of Tehran and was a Visiting Researcher at the University of Queensland, where she conducted research on climate-smart agriculture and sustainability transitions.

Tara brings a multidisciplinary skillset spanning life‑cycle assessment (LCA) analysis and consulting, LCA critical review, economic and sustainability assessments, and metallurgical engineering. She also holds a Dual Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering (Honours) and Economics from The University of Queensland.

Tara has delivered, refined, and project‑managed LCA consultancy services for clients across the global battery supply chain, including Apple and Rio Tinto. Her work spans the full value chain - from raw material extraction through battery manufacturing, use‑phase modelling, and end‑of‑life recycling pathways. She also brings broad technical depth from the mining and minerals processing sectors. Her experience includes on‑site operational exposure at a Glencore underground copper mine and concentrator in Queensland, followed by tenure at Glencore Technology, where she contributed to smelter decarbonisation initiatives and circularity‑focused process development.

At UTS, Tara has joined the Resource Stewardship team as a PhD candidate, where her research focuses on scenario modelling, environmental impact assessment, and the economic dynamics of commodities and energy‑transition minerals. Her initial research examines the emerging global sulfuric acid supply deficit and its consequences for sectors that depend on sulfuric acid as a critical input, including the mining, electronics and battery industries.

Driven by a passion for nature and creating better places for people, Somayeh is a transdisciplinary researcher with a background in urban planning and design, focused on climate-responsive and sustainable cities and built environments across scales. She is a PhD candidate and Research Assistant at the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF).

For her PhD, she is investigating transition pathways for mainstreaming Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) in cities through a soci-technical transition lens and incorporating systems thinking practices. Her doctoral research examines how planning systems, governance structures and socio-technical factors influence the adoption of BGI and nature-based solutions, with a focus on Sydney’s urban and environmental context.

Alongside her PhD, she has been contributing to several ISF projects, including climate adaptation outcome frameworks for government, resilience toolkits for communities, sustainability and fitout guidelines, and sector-wide climate risk and vulnerability assessments. Her work has spanned qualitative research, literature reviews, systems mapping, policy analysis, spatial mapping and co-design workshops with government and community partners.

Prior to joining ISF, Somayeh worked as an urban planner and designer in both government and consultancy settings, where she delivered master plans, regeneration strategies, environmental and spatial analyses, and transport- and housing-related planning projects.

Hansika Singh's research at ISF explores the gap and tension between ambition and collective action when using systems approach in sustainability transformations. She is a also a Director at Socratus and leads the systems and futures practice to catalyse collective action on complex development and sustainability challenges. With over 14 years of experience, she has led transformative projects in key systems like Food & Land-based commodities, energy, cities, as well as themes like gender, climate change, adaptation and resilience. She has worked closely with business, government, and civil society across different countries and contexts.

Amensisa Hailu Tesfaye is a Public Health researcher and PhD Candidate at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), University of Technology Sydney (UTS). His doctoral research explores innovative strategies to enhance the resilience of community health workers (CHWs) to the impacts of climate change, advancing efforts to build sustainable, adaptive, and climate-resilient health systems in Australia and beyond.

With a multidisciplinary background in environmental and occupational health, Amensisa’s research explores the intersections between work environments, health systems, and climate-related risks. His work focuses on building workforce resilience, advancing planetary health, and promoting evidence-based approaches to improve population wellbeing.

Prior to joining UTS, Amensisa served as a Lecturer and Researcher at the Institute of Public Health, University of Gondar, Ethiopia. In this role, he taught undergraduate and postgraduate students, supervised 15 undergraduate and 8 Master of Public Health theses, and coordinated several national and international research projects. His scholarly contributions span occupational health, musculoskeletal disorders, mental health, environmental epidemiology, and public health systems, with over 50 peer-reviewed publications in reputable international journals.

Amensisa has led and collaborated on multiple international projects with partners including The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW), and WaterAid UK. His research has informed practical interventions and policy recommendations aimed at improving the health and well-being of working populations and communities.

Amensisa enjoys working within multidisciplinary and multicultural research teams. He has a collaborative spirit, adaptability, and commitment to continuous learning, and is deeply dedicated to creating meaningful societal impact through research, teaching, and community engagement.