Lei (Alice) Bian

About

Lei (Alice) Bian is pursuing a PhD in Environmental Policy and Development at the Department of Geography and Environment at LSE.

Alice joined the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (GRI) in 2022. She is leading policy-oriented applied research and engagement activities linked to the LSE’s Global School of Sustainability’s “Building sustainable societies” theme, with a focus on terrestrial and marine food and nutritional security in a climate-insecure world.

Alice is co-leading the Climate Change and Health theme with Professor Elizabeth Robinson at GRI. Her policy-relevant research expertise and interest focus on the health co-benefits of climate action, particularly in the context of blue economy and food trade. She is co-leading the GSoS research programme on Financing the Blue Economy for mangrove livelihoods, protection and restoration, contributing to the field of blue food security at the GSoS Climate Food (In)security Lab. She is PI for a British Academy ODA Challenge-Oriented research project on Tackling climate change through health-oriented policy interventions in coastal marinescapes in the Philippines. She is also PI for the LSE – Tsinghua University Sustainability Research Seed Fund on Strengthening the resilience of food supply chains through international cooperation.

She is Associate at the LSE Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, as well as a member of the Steering Committee of the LSE Global Health Initiative, and a member of the Ageing@LSE.

Background

Alice has previously worked at the China Center for Agricultural Policy, Asian Development Bank, the World Health Organization, and Clean Air Asia, with expertise in regional trade integration, climate change and health, and air pollution, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region.

Alice holds a BA in History and Philosophy of Science, and Economics and a Master of Food and Resource Economics from the University of British Columbia. She also holds an MSc in Global Energy and Climate Policy from the SOAS University of London.

Research interests

• Climate change and food security
• Climate change and health
• Sustainable finance
• Regional cooperation and integration