Three E's Lab

The Environmental Economics and Ecology Lab

Welcome to the Three E's Lab website! Research in our lab spans environmental economics, ecology, applied sociology and data science. We are co-located in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (Faculty of Science) and in the Food and Resource Economics group (Faculty of Land and Food Systems) at the University of British Columbia. Scroll down to learn more about who we are, what we do, and how to join the lab.

People

Joséphine Gantois

Assistant Professor

Research and teaching interests: environmental economics, global environmental change, landscape ecology, sociology in agriculture, everything causal inference, deep learning and remote sensing applications in ecology.

Samantha Gorle

MSc IRES, 2023-

co-advised with Claire Kremen

My Master’s project looks at connectivity and habitat restoration in southern Ontario, and evaluates how hedgerow restoration in agricultural landscapes impacts wildlife movement using simulations. Broadly, I am interested in landscape ecology, wildlife conservation, and ecological restoration, particularly in intensively human-modified landscapes and working lands. Outside of the lab, I enjoy reading, spending time in nature, and painting.

Chloë Chang

MSc IRES, 2024-

My current work explores sustainable agricultural practices and conservation potential from farmers using a precision agriculture technology called profit-mapping. Overall, I am interested in wildlife conservation and ecology, ecological principles in agricultural contexts, sustainable food production, and socioeconomically practical biodiversity conservation with local communities.

Natalia Goncharova

PhD IRES, 2025-

co-advised with Holly Caggiano

I am a PhD student working with Joséphine on energy transitions within agriculture. My bachelor's and master's degrees are in Political Science from Colorado State University, where I specialized in agrivoltaics. Looking ahead, I plan to continue exploring wind and solar energy development within the U.S. context, particularly where it intersects with rural and agricultural landscapes.

Riddhi Battu

Research and data scientist, 2025-

I focus on agroecological data systems and climate-smart agriculture, building open-source, data-driven tools that integrate geospatial analysis, biodiversity metrics, and GHG modeling. My work translates complex farm and environmental data into actionable dashboards that support farmers, researchers, and policymakers in advancing sustainable food systems.

Nathan Senyard

Work-learn (BA Computer Science), 2025-

Lab alumni

Research interns: Salem Hamdani (MSc research thesis, Software Engineering, INSAT Tunisia, 2025), Bastien Gless (MSc research thesis, AI and Computer Vision, ENSTA Paris, 2024)
Research assistants: Aloysio Campos da Paz (work-learn, MSc IRES, 2024-2025), Laura Castrejon Violante (PhD research assistant, IRES, 2024), Guillermo Parra (work-learn, MA Vancouver School of Economics, 2024), Zhanerke Zhumash (work-learn, BSc Applied Mathematics, 2024)
Undergraduate students: Wenwen Wang (directed studies, Applied Biology, 2024)

How to join the lab

Current opportunities

Fully funded PhD position in Environmental Economics for September 2026: see here for the description and application details.

General guidelines

Prospective graduate students interested in joining the lab should take time to browse through this website. If you find that our research interests overlap, please email me with a personal statement, CV, and unofficial transcript well in advance of the application deadlines (mid-December for RES, early January for ISLFS). The personal statement should describe concisely your current research interests (proposed research), past research experience, and motivation for joining the graduate program and this lab specifically.

Students seeking a degree in environmental economics will be encouraged to apply via the ISLFS program and will be integrated in the broader Food and Resource Economics research group.
Students with interdisciplinary profiles will be encouraged to apply via the RES program, housed in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability.

Prospective postdoctoral researchers: Funding is occasionally available for specific projects (see 'current opportunities' below), but there are several postdoctoral fellowships that can fund independent projects. If you would like to collaborate on a project and plan to apply for independent funding, please email me for more information, in advance of the fellowship application deadlines.

Undergraduate students seeking research experience in the Three E's Lab (e.g. directed studies) should email me, and monitor the 'current opportunities' section below.

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