Professor Timothy J. Power is Head of the Social Sciences Division and Professor of Latin American Politics at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) and the Department of Politics. He previously directed the Latin American Centre from 2008 to 2012 and has been a leading scholar in comparative politics since 2005. Research Interests: Democratization, political institutions (parties, legislatures, elections), coalitional presidentialism, Brazil, Latin America, new democracies. Awards: None listed in provided text. Advising: No specific students mentioned. Grants: No explicit grants listed, but research involves long-term projects like the Brazilian Legislative Surveys. Labs/Teams: Co-directs the Brazilian Legislative Surveys with Fundação Getúlio Vargas and contributes to cross-regional comparative studies at OSGA. His work analyzes democratization in Latin America, particularly Brazil, focusing on legislative dynamics, coalition governments, and political institutions. Recent articles explore cabinet proportionality, portfolio allocation, and ideological shifts in post-authoritarian settings.
Elizabeth Frood is an Associate Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. She holds dual college fellowships as a Fellow of St Cross College and Honorary Fellow of The Queen's College, with research centered on ancient Egyptian self-presentation, sacred landscapes, and social experience including gender and disability studies. Her academic journey began with first degrees completed in Aotearoa New Zealand, establishing her foundation in Egyptology before her current Oxford appointment. Professor Frood's scholarship uniquely reconstructs non-royal Egyptian lives through biographical texts, graffiti, and visual culture, specializing in the late New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period (mid-second to early first millennium BCE). Her work bridges textual analysis with material culture studies, examining how individuals expressed identity through sacred spaces, ritual practices, and social interactions. This approach has generated significant insights into elite self-representation and non-elite participation in religious contexts. Analysis of her 14 most recent publications (2007-2023) reveals consistent thematic threads: sustained focus on Karnak temple graffiti projects, evolving methodologies in biographical text interpretation, and increasing interdisciplinary engagement with gender/disability studies. Her collaborative work with the Centre Franco-Égyptien d’Étude des Temples de Karnak demonstrates fieldwork integration with epigraphic analysis. Her academic distinctions include: Fellow of St Cross College Honorary Fellow of The Queen's College Professor Frood actively mentors doctoral researchers across diverse topics including Deir el-Medina statuary, Hatshepsut's iconoclasm, ancient graffiti contexts, gendered domestic spaces, and kinship practices. Her Karnak Graffiti Project (2011-present), co-directed with Chiara Salvador and supported by CFEETK, represents a major sustained research initiative involving fieldwork at the temple of Ptah and eighth pylon, yielding publications, media features, and international scholarly collaborations. She co-directs the Karnak Graffiti Project, a decade-long international collaboration with the Centre Franco-Égyptien d’Étude des Temples de Karnak and Montpellier-based scholars, combining archaeological documentation, epigraphic recording, and digital analysis of temple graffiti across multiple Karnak sectors.
Professor Stephen Graham at Newcastle University is a leading scholar in critical urban studies, focusing on the intersections of militarism, surveillance, and urban infrastructure. His work explores how cities are shaped by and become sites of geopolitical conflict, technological control, and social inequality. Research spans urban verticality , military urbanism , and digital surveillance . Key themes include infrastructure disruption , elite spatial practices , and post-conflict urbanism . Recent publications analyze the militarization of urban space , robotic imperialism , and surveillance societies . His "Splintering Urbanism" framework remains foundational for understanding fragmented urban networks. Current work investigates vertical geopolitics , elite bunkering , and smart city security , with a focus on planetary-scale urban systems and their vulnerabilities.
Melissa Coyle is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Marjon University. She specializes in sport and exercise psychology, focusing on applications in sport science, coaching, physical education, outdoor education, and health and well-being. Her qualifications include HCPC registration as a sport and exercise psychologist, BASES chartered scientist, and BASES-accredited sport scientist (Psychology), alongside a PGCert, MSc, and BSc. Her research explores psychological factors in high-stakes environments, including military training, cancer patient exercise programs, and aging populations. Notable studies include a qualitative evaluation of an 8-week exercise referral program for cancer patients and an investigation into psychological factors in Royal Artillery Army Commando training. She has also examined motivations and barriers to indoor bowls participation among over-65s and mental health transitions in university students. Dr. Coyle has been awarded grants for studies like 'Psychological factors in Army Commando training' and 'Exercise adherence for cancer recovery.' Her publications span journals like Psychology of Sport and Exercise and conferences such as the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. She actively contributes to professional bodies like HCPC and BASES. Her teaching emphasizes practical applications of psychology in sports and health, complemented by research-driven insights. Beyond academia, she is an avid golfer and hill walker.
Maryam Alemzadeh is Associate Professor in History and Politics of Iran at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA), University of Oxford, and a Middle East Centre Fellow. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago (2018) and previously held postdoctoral positions at Brandeis University and Princeton University. Education Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Chicago (2018) Research Interests Dr. Alemzadeh specializes in revolutions, state-building, militias, and modern Iran, examining how individual actions shape political structures through micro-level analysis. Her work integrates sociological theory with Middle Eastern studies to explore the interplay of religion, military institutions, and everyday practice in revolutionary contexts, with a current focus on the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Publication Trends Her recent publications analyze Iran's regional dynamics following Soleimani's assassination and review scholarly works on Iranian history. These demonstrate consistent expertise in military institutions, gender dynamics, and post-revolutionary state consolidation, bridging sociology and Middle Eastern studies while emphasizing micro-foundations of political phenomena.
Professor Mark King is a leading academic in Sports Biomechanics at Loughborough University, affiliated with the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, where he serves as Lead for the Sport Performance Research Theme. He holds a BSc (1993) and PhD (1998) in Mathematics and Sports Science from Loughborough, with career progression from Lecturer (1999) to Senior Lecturer (2006), Reader (2012), and Professor (2019). He is also Warden of Royce Hall since 1999, overseeing 375 students' welfare. Education: BSc in Mathematics and Sports Science (1993), PhD in subject-specific computer simulation of dynamic jumping (1998). Affiliations: England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), International Cricket Council (ICC), Badminton World Federation, Lawn Tennis Association. His research focuses on optimizing elite sport performance through biomechanical analysis, particularly in cricket and badminton. Key areas include injury prevention (e.g., ACL risks in badminton, lumbar stress injuries in cricket bowlers) and technique optimization. He has pioneered ICC-accredited testing for illegal bowling actions and explored machine learning applications in data collection. His work highlights trends in cricket fast bowling kinematics, racket sports smash mechanics, and gender-specific performance metrics. He actively collaborates with national and international sports organizations to translate research into practical guidelines for athletes and coaches. Awards: None explicitly mentioned in the text. Grants/Advising: No listed advisees, but extensive industry partnerships support his research. Labs/Teams: National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM), part of his research infrastructure.
Professor Sara Baker is a Professor of Developmental Psychology and Education at the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Education and a Fellow at Darwin College, where she served as Vice Master from 2021-2024. She is also a 2022 Senior Fellow in the Science of Learning with UNESCO-IBE/IBRO. Her work bridges cognitive science and educational practice, focusing on how children develop executive functions and self-regulation skills. Baker leads the Early Years Library project, co-founded the Research Centre for Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL), and is a founding member of the Global Executive Functions Initiative. Sara Baker specializes in the science of learning, with research aimed at improving children's lives by identifying factors at home and school that support their agency over learning. Her work emphasizes developing executive functions and self-regulation through playful learning approaches. She uses lab-based experiments and collaborates with educators to translate cognitive science research into educational contexts. Her research spans multiple countries including the UK, USA, Mexico, Denmark, Slovakia, South Korea, Ghana, Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and more, reflecting a strong commitment to culturally relevant and globally applicable educational practices. Analysis of Professor Baker's recent publications reveals a strong focus on executive functions, self-regulation, and playful learning across diverse cultural contexts. Her work increasingly addresses cultural adaptation of assessment tools and educational practices, particularly for Global Majority countries. There's a clear trajectory from basic cognitive research toward practical applications in educational settings, with growing emphasis on teacher training, culturally relevant assessment, and the role of play in early childhood development. Her interdisciplinary approach connects developmental psychology, educational theory, and practical classroom applications. 2022 Senior Fellow in the Science of Learning with UNESCO-IBE/IBRO Professor Baker leads the doctoral program in the Faculty of Education and serves as an Academic Project Director in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is the Cambridge academic lead on the Close the Gap partnership between Cambridge and Oxford, focused on postgraduate widening participation. Her research has been funded by prestigious organizations including the Newton Trust, Cambridge Humanities Research Grant, Economic and Social Research Council, LEGO Foundation, Nuffield Foundation, and Office for Students/Research England. She actively supervises doctoral students and seeks highly motivated candidates for October 2026 entry whose research aligns with her focus areas. Professor Baker co-founded and is actively involved with the Research Centre for Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL), which investigates how children's play affects their development. She leads the Early Years Library project, a curated collection of evidence-based practices for early years educators, and is a founding member of the Global Executive Functions Initiative. Her work with the Connections international professional learning network focuses on self-regulation, while the Close the Gap project addresses widening participation in postgraduate education between Oxford and Cambridge.
Marianna Patrick is a Research Fellow at the School of Education, Learning and Communication Sciences (SELCS), University of Warwick. She holds a PhD in Intercultural Communication (2025), MA in Global Communication from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2013), and BA (Hons) in Politics and International Studies from Warwick University (2012). Her research focuses on generative AI in academic writing, migration narratives, and intercultural communication. She leads a Leverhulme Trust-funded project on AI chatbots' impact on academic writing practices, collaborating with the University of Edinburgh and Sophia University Tokyo. Research & Education: Her doctoral work explored language and place construction in serial migration narratives, supervised by Prof. Stephanie Schnurr and Prof. Steve Mann. She also contributed to Monash-Warwick Alliance projects on multicultural cricket team inclusivity. She teaches professional skills and research methods across Computer Science and Applied Linguistics departments, supervising MSc dissertations in intercultural communication. Awards & Engagement: Received the People's Choice Prize at the Warwick Research Festival. Actively promotes interdisciplinary collaboration through initiatives like the Social Sciences Research Exchange Group (co-founder) and chairs the Applied Linguistics PGR Student-Staff Liaison Committee. She also contributed to EDI efforts as part of the Athena Swan team and served as Assistant Director of Student Experience and Progression for the Faculty of Arts.
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)United Kingdom
Sam Friedman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His research focuses on social mobility, social class, elites, and cultural distinction. He co-authored the influential book Born to Rule , examining the transformation of the British elite over 120 years using biographical data and interviews. Friedman also explores the 'class ceiling' in professional and managerial occupations, revealing persistent class-based pay disparities. His work bridges sociology with cultural analysis, addressing how elites construct their identities and legitimize their status through 'ordinary' narratives. He directs the MSc in Inequalities and Social Science at LSE and teaches courses on class, culture, and meritocracy. Friedman has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the 2018 European Academy of Sociology Best Article Award and the 2016 ASA Inequality, Poverty and Mobility Section Best Article Award. Notable contributions include analyzing the role of private schools in elite recruitment, the gendered experiences of upward mobility, and the impact of inherited wealth ('the bank of mum and dad'). His interdisciplinary approach combines historical analysis, statistical data, and ethnographic insights to understand systemic social inequalities.
Professor Sarah Hall serves as the 1931 Professor of Geography and a Fellow at St John’s College, University of Cambridge. She is a Senior Fellow and Deputy Director at UK in a Changing Europe , where she examines UK-EU relations and the economic geography of post-Brexit financial services. Her research integrates cultural economy and political economy frameworks to analyze the spatial impacts of global financial shifts on cities, particularly focusing on London’s role as a financial hub and its evolving ties with China and the EU. Education: MA, PhD Her work, funded by the ESRC, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, and Nuffield Foundation, explores how macroeconomic transitions—such as Brexit, China’s financial rise, and finance-led capitalism—reshape regional economies. She employs geographically sensitive approaches to bridge academic, public, and policy debates. Research Trends across her 2023–2015 publications emphasize: Post-Brexit financial services job displacement and regulatory divergence State capitalism’s role in Chinese banking expansion into London Interlocking corporate-policy networks between EU financial centres Offshore RMB market dynamics in the UK Marketization of higher education and elite recruitment Scientific Recognition : British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship (2016–17) Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (2020) She contributes to Geoforum as Co-Editor-in-Chief and mentors prospective PhD students in economic geography and financial geopolitics.
Professor Masooda Bano serves as William Golding Senior Research Fellow at Brasenose College and Professor of Development Studies at the University of Oxford's Department of International Development. She leads the five-year ERC-funded Changing Structures of Islamic Authority (CSIA) project examining Islamic scholarly debates and their societal impacts. Her academic credentials include an MPhil in Development Studies from Cambridge and a DPhil from Oxford. These qualifications underpin her expertise in development theory and field research methodologies. Bano's research centers on the interplay between ideas, beliefs, and material incentives in development processes . She investigates how psycho-social factors shape individual choices and collective outcomes, with particular focus on Islamic authority structures, female education movements, and aid effectiveness. Her work combines large-scale comparative studies using ethnographic and survey data across Muslim-majority contexts. Recent publications reveal a concentrated focus on education policy in developing nations , especially Pakistan, Nigeria, and Indonesia. Key themes include decentralized education planning, low-fee private tuition markets, community participation models, and Islamic education systems. The research consistently examines religion-development intersections and institutional responses to social change. Her scientific recognition includes: Two competitive ESRC Fellowships A 1.4 million euro ERC Starting Grant for the CSIA project ESRC Best Social Science Impact award for Nigeria education interventions Bano supervises MPhil/DPhil theses at Oxford and has advised major development agencies, notably designing DfID's education reforms in northern Nigeria. Her CSIA project coordinates a multinational team conducting textual analysis, surveys, and ethnographic fieldwork to map evolving Islamic authority structures.
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)United Kingdom
Tomila Lankina is a Professor of Politics and International Relations at the London School of Economics (LSE), specializing in democratization, popular protest, and Russian and Eastern European politics. She holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford and has held research appointments at institutions such as Stanford University and Humboldt University in Berlin. Her work examines historical legacies of social structure and their implications for democracy, inequality, and political regimes. Her groundbreaking book The Estate Origins of Democracy in Russia (Cambridge University Press, 2022) explores how pre-communist social stratification in Russia shapes contemporary political outcomes. The book has received major accolades, including the 2023 J. David Greenstone Prize and Davis Center Book Prize. Lankina’s research also addresses modern issues like Russian media manipulation, post-communist social resilience, and the impact of historical institutions on modern governance. Active in supporting Ukrainian scholars during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lankina co-founded an LSE Taskforce to assist displaced students and researchers. She has been recognized for her excellence in PhD supervision by LSE and has published widely in top journals like the American Political Science Review and World Politics . Her interdisciplinary approach combines historical analysis with contemporary political dynamics, emphasizing the persistence of social hierarchies and their role in shaping autocracy and democracy. Current projects include a book on Russian dissent history and comparative studies of post-colonial and post-communist societies.
Professor D Graham J Shipley is the Professor of Ancient History at the University of Leicester's School of Archaeology and Ancient History since 2002. His research focuses on Hellenistic and Classical antiquity, particularly on political landscapes, environmental studies, and urban planning. He holds a D.Litt. from the University of Oxford (2020) and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2014). Education: Graduated in Classics from Oxford University. Academic roles include serving on the Oxford Classical Texts Committee and the UK Education Honours Committee. Previously chaired the Council of University Classical Departments and convened the Dorothy Buchan Memorial lectures. Research interests emphasize ancient geography, socio-political structures, and environmental interactions. His work spans studies of Sparta, Greek urban planning, and the cultural impact of Hellenistic expansion. Recent publications examine Pseudo-Skylax's geographical texts and post-Alexandrian political dynamics. Scientific Awards: Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2014) D.Litt. (Doctor of Letters) from University of Oxford (2020) Advising and Grants: No specific advisees listed, but supervises research in ancient history and archaeology. Active in collaborative projects such as the Laconia Survey. Grants have supported archaeological fieldwork and publication initiatives. Labs/Teams: Collaborates with the Oxford Classical Texts Committee and has led interdisciplinary teams in regional archaeological surveys.
Mark de Rond is Professor of Organisational Ethnography at Cambridge Judge Business School and Fellow of Darwin College, University of Cambridge. His work focuses on immersive ethnographic studies of human behavior in extreme contexts including war zones, high-stakes sports, and controversial social movements, revealing how individuals navigate challenging circumstances through compromise and sensemaking. His educational background includes a DPhil from the University of Oxford alongside advanced degrees in management and economics, photojournalism, documentary photography, biography, creative nonfiction, and prose fiction. This multidisciplinary training informs his unconventional methodological approach. De Rond's research centers on extreme context ethnography, examining how pressure-cooker environments expose fundamental organizational dynamics. His work spans military medicine (Camp Bastion fieldwork), elite sports (Cambridge Boat Race), Amazon river expeditions, and controversial practices like paedophile hunting. Key contributions explore negotiation, conflict resolution, serendipity, institutional persistence, and the emotional toll of fieldwork, often employing innovative methods like enactive ethnography and linguistic analysis of digital communities. His recent publications reveal a growing focus on digital vigilantism and the societal implications of extreme practices, with increasing interdisciplinary reach across organizational studies, criminology, medical anthropology, and sociology. The work demonstrates methodological creativity through linguistic analysis of Facebook groups, embodiment studies in extreme environments, and dream-based reflexive techniques. Scientific recognition includes: BEST ARTICLE AWARD FOR 2016 Favorite MBA Professor honors from Poets & Quants (2021, 2022) Guinness World Record for first unsupported Amazon row De Rond advises MBA students and delivers executive education to top law firms (Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy), professional services (McKinsey, KPMG), corporations (Sky, BT, Diageo), and NGOs (UNICEF, NHS). His negotiation training from Harvard Law School informs both academic work and university mediation practice. Current research involves collaborative teams studying paedophile hunting (featured in Sundance-nominated documentary Predators ) and high-performance sports organizations, with fieldwork requiring deep immersion in challenging environments. His research methodology involves embedded collaboration with diverse teams including medical personnel in conflict zones, elite rowers, and controversial activist groups, often pushing methodological boundaries through photojournalism and creative nonfiction approaches.
Professor Helena Sanson is a Full Professor of Italian, History of Linguistics, and Women's Studies at the University of Cambridge , where she is also a Fellow of Clare College and serves as Postgraduate Teaching and Examining Officer for the Italian Section. She joined Cambridge in 2005 after teaching at University College London (1998-2003) following her British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship. PhD from University of Reading (2002) Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the intersection of Italian linguistic history , literary culture , and gender studies from the Renaissance to post-Unification period. Particular emphasis includes women's contributions to linguistic thought , conduct literature analysis , and female roles in translation networks . Her work examines how women navigated language standardization, educational access, and literary production across social strata. Recent projects include Leverhulme-funded research on women's linguistic experiences in 18th-19th century Italy and co-edited volumes on transnational travelers' accounts and early modern female education . She founded the Women and Gender in Italy (1500-1900) book series and the journal Women Language Literature in Italy . Scientific awards include: British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship Leverhulme Research Fellowship Philip Leverhulme Prize CRASSH Early Career Fellowship Isaac Newton Trust grant Senior Visiting Fellowship at University of Bologna She supervises graduate research in topics spanning women's writing , linguistic thought , translation history , and cultural marginalization in 16th-20th century Italy. Her work bridges philology, literary criticism, and social history through rigorous textual analysis.
