Meet the Team
We are a boutique research consultancy that specialises in exploratory research. Our strengths are in behavioural, design and data-driven research across all industries.
Senior Research Consultants

Nationality: Nigerian and Jamaican
Geographical regions of interest: UK, Europe, Jamaica, Nigeria, Kenya, China
Language(s): English, Efik and Basic Cantonese
Dr Jim Coke
Jim is a banker turned behavioural economist. He started his career as a risk manager at HSBC before moving to China after the Global Financial Crisis. He continued in wealth management and then launched Hilmann Reinier Commodities Ltd in 2012, developing the Lily Kerridge Coffee brand, which was sold in supermarkets throughout Hong Kong. Dr Coke holds a BA and MA in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in Behavioural Economics from King’s College London – his thesis focused on the behavioural economic theory of choice under risk and uncertainty in China. Professionally, he became a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments in 2010 and a Chartered Banker in 2020. As a banker, he has worked in two global financial centres (London and Hong Kong) for several institutions, namely HSBC, Lloyds, JP Morgan, and NatWest. Jim is undertaking his second PhD in Computer Science at Durham University, due to complete in 2024. His thesis looks at developing a facial recognition model designed for sub-Saharan Africans to counter the algorithmic racial biases found in prevalent Silicon Valley models.
Interests
Risk, behavioural science, artificial intelligence, facial recognition algorithms
Nationality
Nigerian and Jamaican
Geographical areas of interest
UK, Europe, Jamaica, Nigeria, Kenya, China
Language(s)
English, Efik and Basic Cantonese

Nationality: Chinese (PRC)
Geographical areas of interest:UK, Europe and Asia
Language(s): English, Mandarin.
yiheng_yu
Yiheng is a thorough and meticulous academic researcher who’s always been looking for new ways to approach old problems, identify trends, and build theories. Graduating from the University of Bristol with a PhD in Experimental Psychology, Yiheng is an expert who works behind the scenes to collect quantitative and qualitative data, analyse findings via different means, and write fully-professional reports. He spent the past decade learning and developing human research, he also has a proven ability to manage and execute large-scale research projects of different kinds, develop highly professional research proposals, and write manuscripts for publication. In addition, Yiheng is also highly proficient in various software programs and systems, including research databases, citation management software, statistical analysis software, and data visualization software.
Interests
Behavioural science, quantitive & qualitative data analysis, visual perception, questionnaire design & analysis.
Nationality
Chinese (PRC)
Geographical areas of interest
UK, Europe and Asia
Language(s)
English, Mandarin.

Nationality: Scottish
Geographical areas of interest: UK & Europe
Language(s): English
Dr Flynn Lachendro

Interests
Mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, quantitative & qualitative data analysis, project planning, survey design & budgeting.
Nationality
Scottish
Geographical areas of interest
UK & Europe
Language(s)
English

Nationality: Nigerian and German
Geographical areas of interest: Sub-Sahara Africa, Central Asia, UK and Europe
Language(s): English and German
Dr. Babatunde Osunmadewa
Babatunde is a well-rounded and highly motivated researcher with professional experience in the field of Environmental Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS). He specialises in diverse aspects of environmental science, geospatial analysis, REDD+, and climate-related issues. Babatunde obtained a doctoral degree at the Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. He co-developed a research project in North Africa (University of Sfax, Tunisia) for research, teaching/ capacity development, and field campaigns. Babatunde is a guest editor for Special Issue “Land for Balance: The Advanced Methods and Trends for Land Degradation” (MDPI).
Interests
Climate change and Environmental issues
Nationality
Nigerian and German
Geographical areas of interest
Sub-Sahara Africa, Central Asia, UK and Europe
Language(s)
English and German

Nationality: Nigerian
Geographical Areas of Interests: UK & Africa
Language(s):Engli sh, Yoruba
Dr Adebayo Ajala

Interests
Social Policy, Demography/Population Issues, Inequality, Social Protection, Reproductive Health, Gender-Based Violence, Gender, HIV/AIDS, Nutrition, Monitoring & Evaluation.
Nationality
Nigerian
Geographical Areas of Interests
UK & Africa
Language(s)
Engli sh, Yoruba

Nationality: Sri Lankan
Geographical Areas of Interests: UK, Europe, Asia, & USA
Language(s): English, Sinhalese
Dr Isuru Muthkudaarachchi
Isuru completed his PhD in Physical-Inorganic Chemistry at The University of Sheffield. During his PhD he worked on a metal based antimicrobial to combat the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance. Due to the highly interdisciplinary nature of the project he was exposed to a wide variety of techniques from a broad range of scientific disciplines. This includes techniques in synthetic chemistry, photochemistry, laser physics, microscopy, microbiology and cell biology. He was also involved in the commercialisation of his research. This allowed him to gain deep insights into the commercial aspects of the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Isuru also has extensive market research experience which he gained during his participation in the Lean Launch Programme.
Interests
Chemistry, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Renewable Energy, Electrochemistry
Nationality
Sri Lankan
Geographical Areas of Interests
UK, Europe, Asia, & USA
Language(s)
English, Sinhalese
Research Consultants

Nationality: Brazilian and Italian
Geographical areas of interest: UK, Europe, South America, and Sub-Saharan Africa
Language(s): English, Portuguese, and intermediate Spanish
Amanda Capucci Polzin

Interests
Modern slavery, migration issues, Corporate Social Responsibility, and public policy.
Nationality
Brazilian and Italian
Geographical areas of interest
UK, Europe, South America, and Sub-Saharan Africa
Language(s)
English, Portuguese, and intermediate Spanish

Nationality: British
Geographical areas of interest: UK, Europe, Japan
Language(s): English
Abigail Miller
Abigail is a motivated and determined individual. Having achieved a BSc in Pharmaceutical Science and an MSc in Cancer Biology from Kingston University, she is ready to put her research skills to the test. Her most recent university project looked at drug resistance within cervical cancer and the potential targets researchers could use to design new therapeutics.
Interests
Pharmaceuticals, Human and Animal Biology, Organic Chemistry
Nationality
British
Geographical areas of interest
UK, Europe, Japan
Language(s)
English

Nationality: Tanzanian
Geographical areas of interest: Global
Language(s): English, Swahili, Gujarati, Khach, and Hindi
Zainita Meherally

Interests
Mixed method research, clinical trials and project management
Nationality
Tanzanian
Geographical areas of interest
Global
Language(s)
English, Swahili, Gujarati, Khach, and Hindi

Nationality:Indian
Geographical areas of interest: UK, India, Southeast Asia, Europe
Language(s): English, Hindi
Utkarsha Mehdiratta
Utkarsha is a First Class Honours graduate from the London College of Fashion, where she studied BSc (Hons) Psychology of Fashion. She is now pursuing her postgraduate studies and research at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is a recipient of the prestigious Research Assistantship awarded by the British Psychological Society. Her research includes understanding consumer behaviour and attitude, with specific expertise in sustainable & inclusive fashion, the psychological principles of affect and persuasion involved in consumer decision-making, and the evolving relationship between technology, data and consumer behaviour.
Interests
Experimental research, sustainability, fashion consumption, consumer behaviour
Nationality
Indian
Geographical areas of interest
UK, India, Southeast Asia, Europe
Language(s)
English, Hindi

Nationality: British
Geographical areas of Interest: UK & Europe
Language(s): English and French
Fabian Demosthenous

Interests
Income Inequality, Unemployment and Financial Markets
Nationality
British
Geographical areas of Interest
UK & Europe
Language(s)
English and French

Nationality: Pakistani
Geographical Areas of Interest: South Asia, Southeast Asia
Language(s): English, Urdu, Sindhi
Asra Memon

Interests
Public Health, User Experience Research, Social Development, Migration
Nationality
Pakistani
Geographical Areas of Interest
South Asia, Southeast Asia
Language(s)
English, Urdu, Sindhi

Nationality: Pakistani
Geographical Areas of Interests: UK & South Asia
Language(s): English, Pashto, Punjabi, Urdu
Syed Aurangzeb

Interests
Social policy, social strategy, and social impact assessment
Nationality
Pakistani
Geographical Areas of Interests
UK & South Asia
Language(s)
English, Pashto, Punjabi, Urdu

Nationality: Indian
Geographical Areas of Interests: UK, Asia and West Africa
Language(s): English, Bengali, Hindi
Anindita Bhattacharya

Interests
Agriculture, Rural Development, Gender Issues, Women Empowerment, Sustainable Development, Natural Resource Management
Nationality
Indian
Geographical Areas of Interests
UK, Asia and West Africa
Language(s)
English, Bengali, Hindi

Nationality: Nigeria
Geographical Areas of Interests: UK & EMEA
Language(s): English
John Ndem
John Ndem is a Research Manager at Melian Dialogue Research Limited. He has multiple years in business and research development, quality, health, safety and the environment, logistics and procurement in the oil and gas upstream and downstream sector, FGMC. He was a pioneer staff of TPS International in Nigeria as Research and Business Development Director for the Middle East and Africa for over ten years. He is a member of the Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN) and member of the Nigeria Environmental Society; and member Nigeria. He obtained his first degree in Pure Chemistry in 2000.
Interests
Business development, quality health and safety, international procurement and logistics
Nationality
Nigeria
Geographical Areas of Interests
UK & EMEA
Language(s)
English

Nationality: Nigeria
Geographical Areas of Interests: UK, EU, Africa and the United States
Language(s): English, Igbo
Prosper Nwachukwu
Prosper Nwachukwu is a Research Consultant at Melian Dialogue. Prosper trained as a legal and business professional. Prior to joining Melian Dialogue, Prosper worked in the legal sector as an Associate, advising and supporting businesses to achieve compliance with local laws. In his previous role as an Associate, he conducted compliance and AML checks and negotiated breach of simple contracts on behalf of clients. Prosper has a keen interest in interdisciplinary research across business and law, specifically corporate governance and regulatory law. In addition, Prosper is interested and committed to social impact research in diverse fields. Mr Prosper who is a foreign trained lawyer completed his Master of Laws at Coventry University specialising in Business law and his MBA at the University of Bedfordshire.
Interests
Legal research, corporate governance, data privacy, policy review and social impact
Nationality
Nigeria
Geographical Areas of Interests
UK, EU, Africa and the United States
Language(s)
English, Igbo
Work for us as a researcher or intern
If you have a Ph.D. (or about to complete a doctorate) and feel your research interests are aligned with ours, come and talk to us. We are particularly interested in unconventional thinkers. Write to us and answer this paradox: when you look at a glass mirror, what do you see?
Dr Jim Coke
Head of Research