
Emilie Vansant
I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen in Denmark. For my PhD research (within the FORESTDIET project), I investigated how trees in agricultural landscapes are linked to people’s dietary quality in rural Malawi. My results laid the foundation for my postdoctoral research (TREETOOL project) – where I am building a toolkit to support nutrition-oriented tree planting projects in Malawi.
Overall, I have a strong passion for strengthening the link between food security policy and agriculture research to improve our ecologically unsustainable and socially inequitable food system. Throughout my studies and professional experiences, I have had the chance to conduct fieldwork in many different countries, including Malawi, India, Norway, France, Guatemala, and Malaysia. In doing so, I have developed a strong capacity to holistically address agrifood system issues, using a research approach that emphasizes cross-disciplinary collaboration and stakeholder engagement.
2023 PhD, Geography, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
2019 Dual Degree MSc, Agroecology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in partnership
with ISARA-Lyon, France
2016 BS, International Relations and Environmental Studies, Tufts University, Boston, USA
2023-2025 Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, UCPH
2020-2023 PhD Fellow, Dept. of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, UCPH
2020 Research Fellow, International Center for Agriculture Research in Dry Areas
2016-2017 Agricultural Research Fellow, Semilla Nueva, Guatemala
2015 Student in International Training, SIT Food Lab: Sikkim, India
2015 Research/Translation Intern, Alianza Por la Solidaridad, Spain
2020 International Center for Agriculture Research in Dry Areas, Research Fellow – Remote
2016-2017 Semilla Nueva, Agricultural Research Fellow – Guatemala City, Guatemala
Office: 6.2.641
emilie.vansant@gmail.com


