Lea is passionate about contemporary urbanism and the intricate interplay between technical city designs and their social consequences. She grew up in Beirut, a city that was destroyed and rebuilt eight times. The history of this city has fueled her fascination with urban dynamics.

Moving to a developed city like Paris in 2014 prompted her to reflect on the key concepts that define a city and the diverse array of social, economic, environmental, and political dynamics that shape it. Her research is written in part to quench her thirst for understanding these complexities.

Her research focuses on urban-related public policies, with a particular emphasis on environmental and transportation aspects. She is intrigued by the pivotal role of transportation in contemporary cities, how it shapes residential sorting, and the distributional effects of new traffic-calming policies.

She aims to understand how transportation infrastructure influences urban development and the socioeconomic dynamics within cities. Her work is highly policy-relevant and has been featured in prominent French newspapers such as Le Monde, Marianne, and La Tribune.

Throughout her academic journey, she has received several accolades for her research, including the RIEF Best Paper Award 2023, the GIORGIO ROTA Best Paper Award 2023, and a special mention from the AFSE 2024 Best PhD Award.

Currently, Lea is an Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, where she continues to delve into the complexities of urban, environmental, and transportation economics.

Before joining the National University of Singapore, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the NBER and an associate at Harvard. She obtained her PhD from CREST-École Polytechnique in 2023.