My PhD research focuses on developing a reusable and validated spatial agent-based modelling framework for simulating behavioural exposure interventions, addressing both active exposures, such as physical activity and dietary behaviour, and passive exposures such as air and heat pollution. The project aims to advance how we represent and analyse interactions between individuals, behaviours, spatial environments, and spatial and/or behavioural interventions by establishing a modular framework that can be adapted across diverse exposure contexts.

By integrating behavioural components, spatial data, and intervention scenarios into a coherent workflow, the framework will support the design and evaluation of policy-relevant health interventions. A key contribution of this research will be to address the uncertainty and complexity inherent in spatially explicit behavioural models, providing tools to understand better how model structure, data, and intervention design influence health impact outcomes. Ultimately, the goal is to develop a framework that improves understanding of the exposome concept in general, and more specifically, scenario testing using agent-based modelling.

Before starting my PhD, I completed a Master’s degree in Engineering and Policy Analysis at Delft University of Technology, where I learned how to use computational modelling techniques to improve decision-making for various socio-technical problems. During my thesis, I developed an agent-based model to examine evacuation decision-making behaviour for Hurricane Irma (2017) in Miami-Dade County and how different warning communication strategies could improve the evacuation decision-making process.