Current members
Yann le Polain de Waroux (Associate Professor)
I am an Associate Professor at McGill University, jointly appointed by the Institute for the Study of International Development and the Department of Geography. I am a development and environmental geographer specializing in issues of land use and livelihood changes in rural areas. I have a PhD in Geography from the Georges Lemaître Centre for Earth and Climate Research (TECLIM) at Uclouvain, Belgium, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and the School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University before joining McGill (see my Curriculum Vitae).
Louise Fontan-Ducret (PhD)
I am interested in frontier dynamics and the socio-economic dynamics behind deforestation and land-use change in South America. My background in literature, sociology and anthropology has made me a strong advocate of multidisciplinary approaches. I have previously worked on the Chiquitanía region in Bolivia, and have now shifted to the Gran Chaco region, shared between Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, for my PhD research. Contact Louise.
Ariadna Mora (MSc)
I hold a degree in architecture from the University of Panama, where I have conducted research projects in the former Panama Canal Zone on topics such as urbanism, thermal comfort, land cover, public spaces, transitional spaces, heritage, revitalization of public spaces, and sustainability. In 2023, I collaborated on projects with the Research Center of Social and Political Science (CIEPS AIP) in Panama. For my Master's degree, I am working on land-use frontiers in the Darién region of Panama. Contact Ariadna.
Hugo Steiner (MA)
I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Environment from McGill University. I have previously worked on projects related to governance in the Santa Maria watershed in Panama and the intersection between micromobility and urban vitality in Montreal/Laval. Currently, I am interested in borderland dynamics and their relationship with livelihood activities. My master's research will focus on cross-border influences in the Pilcomayo region of the Paraguayan Chaco, examining how they interact with local and Indigenous peoples in the context of a rapidly expanding agricultural frontier. Contact Hugo.
Jamie Silverman (MSc, co-supervised Soper Lab)
I obtained my undergraduate degree (B.A. & Sc.) at McGill in Sustainability, Science & Society, with minors in International Development and Urban Studies. I have conducted research on topics such as the creation of an urban imaginary in Montreal, coral abundance and health in Barbados, material, energy and economic fluxes in and out of agricultural systems in rural Panama, and more. My current research seeks to understand the swidden-fallow agricultural system in Indigenous (Emberá) communities in the Darién region of Panama, particularly as changing weather patterns have started affecting crop productivity and peoples’ food security. Contact Jamie.
Jordana Curnoe (BA&Sc Honours)
I am in my last year of my undergraduate program in Honours Sustainability, Science & Society at McGill University. For my honour’s project, I am working with the LENDEV Lab to create a typology of the urban form of Mennonite settlements in Latin America. The aim of the project is to identify distinguishing physical variables among the settlements, and to analyze what factors influence these differences. Contact Jordana.
Lou-Mai Plusquellec-François (BA&Sc Honours)
I am an undergraduate student in Sustainability, Science and Society, with a minor in International Development at McGill University. My academic interests lie in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of environmental, social, and political systems. My honours research focuses on the geography of conservation and development projects in the Gran Chaco region. After my bachelor's degree, I plan to pursue graduate studies in science diplomacy and environmental policy. Contact Lou-Mai.

Lab Alumni and past members

Graduate students
Undergraduate honours
  • Aris Kalofoutis (B.A. Hons. Geography,  2022-2023)         
  • Lucy MacKinnon (B.A. Hons. International Development Studies, 2021)       
  • Anna O’Driscoll (B.Sc. Hons. Geography, 2020-2021)     
  • Marine Loison (B.A. Hons. International Development Studies, 2019)
  • Sidney Kreimes (B.A. Hons. International Development Studies, 2018)

Visiting scholars
  • Mauricio Suárez (PhD, visiting from Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero, Argentina, Fall 2025-Winter 2026)
  • Ana Laura Llanes (PhD, visiting from Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Argentina, Fall 2025)
  • Mayra Elena Gavito (Researcher, visit for a year on sabbatical from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2024-2025) 
  • Christian Levers (Postdoctoral scholar, visiting from University of British Columbia, Summer 2019)
  • Diego Cabrol (Postdoctoral scholar, visiting from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Summer 2019 and Winter 2021)
  • Victoria Junquera (PhD, visiting from ETH Zürich, Spring 2019)
  • Vivian Valencia (Postdoctoral scholar, visiting from University of Michigan, Spring & Summer 2018)

Independent studies projects
Research assistants
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