Leilai is a PhD Researcher based in the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester. Her research draws on social practice theories to understand the challenges of reducing household water demand in an increasingly water-scarce future. During her PhD, Leilai has developed and tested a novel futures methodology, Practice-Oriented Horizon Scanning, which explores signals of change in everyday practices to anticipate possible futures. She is testing the methodology through a case study of showering, using video data from the social media platform TikTok to identify possible future trajectories of body washing practices. Her PhD is co-funded by Northumbrian Water Group and is supervised by Dr Claire Hoolohan and Professor Alison Browne.
Leilai’s broader research interests lie in understanding how and why our everyday lives change, and how this understanding can inform transitions towards less resource-intensive futures.
Prior to her PhD, Leilai held Research Assistant positions at the University of Oxford and the University of East Anglia. She also has a professional background in Operations Management in the energy utilities sector.
