Find Academic Supervisors

Suzanna BräuerView profile

Professor

• Microbial Ecology
• Biogeochemistry
• Environmental Microbiology
• +3 more

Dr. Suzanna Bräuer serves as a Professor in the Department of Biology at Appalachian State University, where she has maintained an active research and teaching position since 2008. Her work bridges microbial ecology and biogeochemistry across diverse environments including wetlands, caves, rivers, and coastal ecosystems. Her educational background includes a Ph.D. from Cornell University, where she developed foundational expertise in biogeochemical processes. This training directly informs her current research on microbial roles in elemental cycling. Bräuer's research focuses on the intersection of microbial community dynamics and biogeochemical cycling, particularly examining how microorganisms influence carbon, iron, and manganese transformations in extreme environments like deep-sea vents and cave systems. Her work integrates molecular techniques with field-based biogeochemical analysis to unravel microbial contributions to global element cycles. Recent publications (2019-2022) demonstrate a concentrated focus on peatland ecosystems, revealing how climate gradients and trace metals shape methanogenic communities and organic matter chemistry. These studies highlight methodological innovations in studying uncultured organisms and establish connections between microbial diversity and large-scale biogeochemical patterns. Her scientific recognition includes prestigious awards such as the Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Award (received twice) and leadership roles in significant grants. Honors reflect both her speleological contributions and environmental science impact: Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Award in Health & Environmental Science (2015, 2021) National Science Foundation MRI grant (Co-PI, 2020) Cave Conservancy Foundation Grant (PI, 2019-2022) GRAM Award and 100 Scholars Award from Appalachian State University Extraordinary Woman Leader in Speleology designation (2015) Bräuer actively contributes to academic service through departmental committees and professional organizations including the American Society for Microbiology and Society of Wetland Scientists. Her grant portfolio demonstrates sustained funding for cave microbiology and wetland biogeochemistry research, supporting both fieldwork and advanced laboratory analyses. Her professional network extends through affiliations with NSF's Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction and the American Geophysical Union, facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations that examine microbial processes across aquatic and terrestrial interfaces.

• Practice Theory
• Organizational Studies
• Healthcare Innovation
• +3 more

Davide Nicolini is a Professor of Organization Studies and Director of the IKON Organisation and Work Group at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick. He concurrently serves as a Visiting Professor at BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo. His prior affiliations include faculty positions at the University of Trento (Italy) and a senior social scientist role at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London, where he developed extensive experience in action-learning program design and action-research interventions. Professor Nicolini's research centers on practice-based approaches to understanding organizational phenomena through the lens of everyday work practices. He investigates how knowing, learning, and change emerge in complex environments—particularly healthcare systems—with significant contributions to innovation processes, safety management, and ethical decision-making frameworks. His work bridges theoretical rigor with practical application, employing ethnographic methods to uncover the micro-foundations of organizational life while advancing action-based methodologies for systemic change. His recent scholarly output reveals strong thematic continuity across publications spanning ethics, attention dynamics, and evidence mobilization. Articles like 'What is the right thing to do?' and 'Towards a practice-theoretical view of attention' demonstrate his focus on situated ethical sensemaking and cognitive processes in organizational contexts. The recurring healthcare setting in his work highlights practical relevance, while methodological innovations in video-based research and diffraction approaches showcase theoretical advancement. As Director of the IKON Organisation and Work Group, Professor Nicolini leads a research collective dedicated to exploring practice theory applications in organizational transformation. The group actively engages in collaborative projects that translate theoretical insights into practical interventions, particularly for improving complex systems like healthcare organizations through action-research methodologies.

Steve NicolleView profile

Professor

• African languages
• Bible translation
• language change
• +2 more

Dr. Steve Nicolle is a Professor specializing in Linguistics with extensive field experience in African language development and Bible translation. He teaches advanced courses including Discourse Analysis, Semantics & Pragmatics, and Historical & Comparative Linguistics, drawing on decades of practical translation work across East Africa. 1993–1996: D.Phil. in Linguistics, University of York, UK 1992–1993: Postgraduate Certificate in Education (UK teaching qualification) in English as a Second/Foreign Language, University College of North Wales, Bangor, UK 1988–1992: B.A. in Linguistics with Philosophy, University of York, UK Nicolle's research centers on African languages (particularly Bantu languages like Digo), Bible translation methodologies, language change processes, and text-level linguistic analysis. His work bridges theoretical linguistics with practical translation challenges, emphasizing how cultural context shapes discourse structures and semantic interpretation in low-resource languages. He has direct involvement with over 60 languages including Deaf Sign Languages through his consultancy work. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals consistent focus on eastern Bantu narrative structures (2012-2017), with recurring themes of grammaticalization, demonstrative functions, and discourse analysis applied to translation. His work uniquely combines Bible translation training materials with academic research on language change, demonstrating how theoretical linguistics directly informs practical language development projects in African communities.

• Classical Archaeology
• Greek Iconography
• Ancient Ceramics
• +3 more

Dr. Bettina Reichardt serves as a Research Associate at the Seminar for Classical Archaeology within the Faculty of Philosophy I at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Her work focuses on Greek iconography and ancient ceramics, particularly through her involvement in the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences project 'Cults within the Cult' examining Greek extra-urban sanctuaries. Her research interests center on Greek vase painting , Archaic period iconography , and religious structures , with specialization in Eastern Greek ceramics and Byzantine church architecture at Didyma. She has conducted extensive excavation work at Didyma since 2001 through the German Archaeological Institute. Analysis of her publications reveals a consistent trajectory from early studies of mythical mothers in Attic imagery (2007) to specialized ceramic analysis (2009-2016), culminating in systematic documentation of Didyma's religious landscape. Her work bridges iconographic detail with broader cult structural analysis. Dr. Reichardt actively participates in major excavation projects and scholarly networks including the Berlin Sculpture Network. Her fieldwork spans Germany since 1995 and Anatolian sites since 2001, contributing significantly to understanding sanctuary development from Archaic through Byzantine periods.

Laura MeekView profile

Assistant Professor

• Cultural Anthropology
• Medical Anthropology
• Feminist Science and Technology Studies
• +12 more

Laura Meek is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community, Culture, and Global Studies at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan, situated on Syilx Okanagan Nation Territory. She is a cultural and medical anthropologist whose research centers on counterfeit pharmaceuticals, bodily epistemologies, and the politics of healing in East Africa. Prior to joining UBC in 2022, she was a faculty member at the University of Hong Kong's Centre for the Humanities and Medicine. Dr. Meek received her PhD and MA in Anthropology from the University of California, Davis, an MA in Women's Studies from George Washington University, and a BA in Comparative Human Development from the University of Chicago. Her academic journey includes significant fieldwork experience in Tanzania and Hong Kong, with additional professional experience in the nonprofit sector focusing on prison abolition, women's empowerment, and environmental conservation. Her research interests span a wide range of topics including Africa, Black studies, bodily epistemologies, counterfeits, critical public health, cultural anthropology, decolonization, disease elimination, ethnography, feminist STS, fugitivity, global health, Hong Kong, leprosy, medical anthropology, ontology, pharmaceuticals, postcolonial technoscience, sensoriums, storytelling, Tanzania, temporality, and traditional medicine. Her work is characterized by a commitment to addressing structural inequalities in knowledge production and advancing liberatory social transformation. Dr. Meek's publications reveal consistent engagement with decolonial approaches to medical anthropology, pharmaceutical studies, and global health. Her recent work explores themes of fugitive science, bodily epistemologies, and the politics of healing across multiple contexts including Tanzania and Hong Kong. She has developed innovative frameworks for understanding counterfeit pharmaceuticals not merely as public health challenges but as sites of world-making innovation and radical uncertainty. 2021 MAE–MAT Early Career Paper Award 2021 Creative Ethnographic Prose Competition, 3rd Prize 2020 Early Career Scheme Grant & Award (Hong Kong) 2018 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award 2017 Rudolf Virchow Graduate Student Award Dr. Meek supervises M.A. and Ph.D. students through UBC Okanagan's Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies programs in Global Studies, Power Conflict and Ideas, and Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity. She is also the Co-Director of Storying Otherwise: A Hub for Creative Ethnographic Writing and serves on the Steering Committee for the UBC-O Science and Technology Studies Collective. Her teaching encompasses cultural and medical anthropology, African & Africana studies, global health, embodiment, feminist/anti-racist/decolonial STS, global studies, and post/anticolonial theory.

Rowan FladView profile

Professor

• Chinese Archaeology
• Emergence of Complex Societies
• Interregional Interaction
• +5 more

Rowan Flad is the John E. Hudson Professor of Archaeology at Harvard University, affiliated with the Peabody Museum. His research focuses on the emergence of complex societies in Bronze Age and Neolithic China, particularly in the Sichuan Basin and Gansu regions. He has conducted extensive fieldwork, including surveys in the Chengdu Plain and excavations at salt production sites. His work integrates zooarchaeology, ceramic analysis, and geochemical studies to explore technological change, ritual practices, and interregional interaction. Key projects include the Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey and the Tao River Archaeological Project. Flad critiques media bias in archaeological reporting and emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to understanding past societies. He has authored influential books such as Salt Production and Social Hierarchy in Ancient China (2011) and co-edited volumes on ritual and economy in East Asian archaeology. His recent research examines horse domestication, burial practices, and ceramic exchange networks. Flad’s work bridges theoretical archaeology with empirical fieldwork, addressing questions of specialization, value systems, and cultural transmission in early Chinese societies.

Will TownesView profile

Assistant Professor

• Biostatistics
• Epidemiology
• Infectious Disease Forecasting
• +7 more

Will Townes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at Carnegie Mellon University's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. He joined CMU in 2022 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in computer science at Princeton University with Barbara Engelhardt. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. in biostatistics from Harvard University under Rafael Irizarry's supervision, an M.S. in math and statistics from Georgetown, and earlier work in tropical ecology fieldwork in the Philippines. Dr. Townes specializes in applied statistics with primary focus areas in biomedical and public health domains. His research centers on wastewater-based epidemiology, wearable devices, and auxiliary signals for infectious disease tracking and forecasting as part of the Delphi research group. He has developed normalization, feature selection, and dimension reduction methods for single cell RNA-Seq and spatial transcriptomics data analysis. His broader research interests span biostatistics, epidemiology, genomics, time series forecasting, and theoretical aspects of Tweedie distributions. His recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on wastewater surveillance methodologies, single-cell data analysis techniques, and infectious disease forecasting models. The research demonstrates a consistent focus on computational scalability and efficiency through approximate inference techniques. Dr. Townes approaches statistical problems with a pragmatic perspective, comfortable with probabilistic (Bayesian) models while drawing inspiration from diverse statistical perspectives. Member of DELPHI Lab Group at CMU Active contributor to genomics and biostatistics research Focus on computational efficiency in statistical methods Dr. Townes mentors several students including Gabrielle Thivierge (PhD candidate working on infectious disease forecasting methods), Julia Elrod, and Anna Rosengart. He teaches data science courses at CMU, including a field course in Costa Rica where students work with community partners on real-world data projects involving water quality indicators, spring flow rates, and ecological monitoring.

• Genomics
• Primate Evolution
• Computational Biology
• +5 more

Timothy H. Webster is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Utah, where he directs the Primate Evolution and Genomics Lab (PEGL). He holds an adjunct faculty position at Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences. Webster earned his PhD in Anthropology from Yale University in 2015, following an M.Phil from Yale and a BA in Anthropology and Zoology from Miami University. His research integrates genomics, computational biology, and evolutionary anthropology to study primate behavior, ecology, and adaptation. Key focus areas include: Primate genomics and speciation mechanisms Evolution of immune genes in response to pathogens Development of bioinformatics tools for NGS data Conservation genomics of endangered species 3D genome architecture in hominids Webster's publications emphasize computational approaches to evolutionary questions, with recurring themes in comparative genomics, host-pathogen interactions, and methodological innovations. His work spans diverse taxa including primates, reptiles, and humans. He has secured multiple grants including NSF funding for projects on social integration in primates and Leakey Foundation awards for microbiome and X-inactivation studies. Current doctoral students focus on primate genomics and desert tortoise ecology. The PEGL lab develops open-source bioinformatics tools and collaborates internationally on conservation genomics initiatives.

• Global History
• Atlantic History
• Labor History
• +4 more

Holger Weiss serves as Professor of General History at Åbo Akademi University's Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology within the Department of Culture, History and Philosophy. Since January 2025, he has held an affiliated professorship at Gothenburg University, following prior guest professorships at Dalarna University (2015-2019) and Gothenburg University (2022). A member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, Weiss maintains active research collaborations across multiple institutions. Doctor of Philosophy (1997), University of Helsinki Licentiate of Philosophy (1994), University of Helsinki M.A. (fil.kand.) (1991), University of Helsinki Docent of African History (1998), University of Helsinki Docent of Global History (2003), Åbo Akademi University Weiss's research explores global and Atlantic historical entanglements , with specialized focus on Danish Gold Coast possessions and Swedish Saint Barthélemy colony dynamics. His work examines Caribbean/Atlantic cotton flows in early modern Sweden, West African environmental history (particularly Ghana), and Islamic studies in Ghana . Current projects analyze transnational labor movements including the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers and International of Seamen and Harbour Workers during the Interwar period, alongside contemporary Muslim social mobilization in Ghana. Recent publications reveal evolving research trajectories toward digital-era Muslim empowerment and transnational solidarity networks . His 2023-2025 output demonstrates increased focus on Ghanaian Islamic organizations, Atlantic labor history, and Nordic slavery heritage, with methodological emphasis on archival research across nine countries and fieldwork in Ghana. Weiss leads the active Muslim Empowerment in Ghana (MEG) project and Radikala sjötransportarbetare initiative, while previously directing projects on Ghanaian rhetoric analysis and Swedish class struggle. His supervised works include five academic projects examining West African history and Islamic studies. Fieldwork spans Ghana, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Nigeria, Norway, Russia and Sweden, with recent institutional visits to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (2024) and Sweden's National Archives (2024).

Sophie ElixhauserView profile

Research Fellow

• Environmental Anthropology
• Phenomenological Anthropology
• Sensory Ethnography
• +11 more

Sophie Elixhauser is a Research Fellow at the University of Vienna’s Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology within the Faculty of Social Sciences. She leads the citizen science project Snow2School, collaborating with climatologists and schools in Greenland and Austria to study snow-cover changes. Her work also includes the ERC Advanced Grant Project InfraNorth, focusing on infrastructure and social dynamics in East Greenland. Dr. Elixhauser holds a PhD from the University of Aberdeen and an MA from the University of Munich, with over 20 years of fieldwork in Greenland, the European Alps, and the Philippines. Her research interests span environmental anthropology, climate change, sensory ethnography, and Indigenous studies. Key projects include documenting personal autonomy in East Greenlandic communication and exploring infrastructural hope around airport developments. She has published widely on Arctic communities, climate perceptions, and interdisciplinary research challenges. Recent articles address citizen science’s role in bridging social and natural sciences, Indigenous disability rights, and climate change’s socio-material impacts. Her work emphasizes ethical collaboration, local knowledge integration, and transdisciplinary frameworks for sustainability. Elixhauser’s research has been supported by grants from the Research Council of Norway and the Nordland Research Institute. She has organized workshops on Indigenous disability issues and contributed to documentaries, such as *Sermiligaaq*, winning the Wiley-Blackwell Film Prize in 2009.

Daniel AgnessView profile

Assistant Professor

• Development Economics
• Urban Economics
• Labor Economics
• +3 more

Dr. Daniel Agness is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on development economics, urbanization, agricultural transformation, and social networks, with a regional emphasis on East Africa. He holds a PhD and MA in Agricultural and Resource Economics from UC Berkeley and a BA in Economics from Stanford University. His work addresses critical issues such as housing policy in Ethiopia, technology adoption in Kenya and Rwanda, and labor market dynamics. Key projects include analyzing condominium development impacts in Ethiopia and evaluating self-employed workers' time valuation in collaboration with leading economists. Agness has conducted fieldwork in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda, with notable studies published in the Review of Economic Studies and other peer-reviewed journals. His research integrates experimental and observational methods to understand structural transformation processes in developing economies. He has collaborated with institutions like the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and contributes to initiatives such as the African Urbanization and Development Research Initiative. His teaching and advising emphasize applied microeconomics and development fieldwork methodologies.

Mandy SadanView profile

Professor

• Southeast Asian History
• Anthropology
• Art History
• +6 more

Professor Mandy Sadan is a globally recognized scholar specializing in Southeast Asian history, anthropology, and cultural heritage. She holds a Professorship at the University of Warwick’s Department of Global Sustainable Development (GSD), having joined in August 2020. Previously, she was a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford School of Global & Area Studies (OSGA) and affiliated with St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. Her academic journey includes roles at SOAS University of London (2008–2018) and extensive fieldwork in Myanmar’s Kachin region. Education: BA (Hons) Modern History, University of Oxford MA Art History & Archaeology, SOAS University of London PhD History, SOAS University of London PGCert ODE (Technology Enhanced Learning), Open University PGCE Post-Compulsory Education, Oxford Brookes University Research Interests: Mandy Sadan’s work bridges history, anthropology, and development studies, focusing on Myanmar’s border regions. She explores cultural heritage’s role in community well-being, oral history methodologies, and interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development. Her Leverhulme Trust-funded research (2022–2025) examines the socio-cultural history of ultra-processed foods in the UK, linking war, technology, and flavor change. Key Projects: Rare Earths in the Just Transition (British Academy, £94k) Sustainable Lives in Scarred Landscapes (British Academy GCRF, £300k) Drugs and (Dis)order (ESRC GCRF, £7.2M) Awards: Her book Being and Becoming Kachin won the EuroSEAS Nikkei Asian Review Prize (2015). She also received a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship (2017–2018) for research on Burma’s Frontier Areas Administration. Teaching & Supervision: While currently on research leave, she has supervised numerous PhD students on Myanmar’s history, anthropology, and development. Future supervision will resume post-2026. Labs/Teams: Collaborates with Kachinland Research Centre (Myanmar), Yunnan University, and international partners on projects addressing resource extraction, drug economies, and cultural heritage preservation.

• Linguistic Typology
• Amazonian Languages
• Arawak Languages
• +5 more

Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald is a Professor affiliated with James Cook University, recognized as a leading scholar in linguistic typology, Amazonian languages, and language contact. Her research focuses on grammatical structures, evidentiality, and endangered language documentation. She has authored over 160 publications, including seminal works like The Oxford Handbook of Evidentiality and The Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Typology . Her work spans multiple languages, including Tariana (Amazonia), Manambu (Papua New Guinea), and Paumarí. She explores topics such as noun categorization, serial verbs, and multilingualism. Aikhenvald has edited volumes on grammaticalization, gender systems, and clause linking semantics. Her contributions bridge fieldwork, theoretical linguistics, and sociolinguistics, emphasizing cross-linguistic comparison. Key themes include language obsolescence in Papua New Guinea, areal diffusion in Amazonia, and the typology of evidentiality and possession. Her research highlights endangered language documentation and the sociocultural dimensions of linguistic diversity.

• Comparative Physiology
• Avian Biology
• Thermal Biology
• +3 more

Dr. Andreas Nord is an Affiliate Researcher at the University of Glasgow's School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine. His work focuses on avian physiology, thermal biology, and environmental stressors. Nord has contributed to over 13 peer-reviewed publications since 2015, with recent emphasis on avian thermoregulation mechanisms, urbanization impacts on wildlife, and methodological advancements in thermal imaging. He served as a Guest Editor for the 2021 Special Issue on thermal imaging in the Journal of Thermal Biology . Research interests include comparative physiology, urban ecology, and the physiological responses of birds to environmental changes. His studies combine fieldwork with laboratory techniques to explore topics like mitochondrial thermogenesis in birds, oxidative stress in urban environments, and plumage development effects on heat loss. Nord collaborates extensively with international researchers across ornithology, thermal biology, and conservation science. Publications consistently demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches, linking molecular biology (e.g., telomere dynamics) with ecological observations (e.g., food restriction effects). His methodological contributions include evaluating body temperature measurement techniques for free-ranging animals, published in Animal Biotelemetry (2015) and Journal of Avian Biology (2015). No academic awards or grants are explicitly listed, though his editorial role highlights scholarly influence. Advising/mentoring relationships aren't detailed in the provided materials. Lab affiliations or team projects aren't specified, though collaborative work with institutions like the University of Glasgow and international partners is evident through co-authorship networks.

• Prehistoric Archaeology
• Historical Archaeology
• Near Eastern Archaeology
• +3 more

Marta Luciani is an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology , University of Vienna. Her research focuses on the archaeology of Arabia and the Ancient Near East, with particular emphasis on Bronze and Iron Age societies, funerary practices, and oasis urbanization. She leads the Saudi Arabian-Austrian Archaeological Project at Qurayyah, exploring ancient settlements and material culture in northwest Arabia. Teaching includes courses like Thesis Seminar and Introduction into the Archaeology of Western Asia . Her work integrates interdisciplinary methods, such as geochemical analysis and hydroarchaeology, to study ancient technologies and environmental adaptation. Key projects include investigations at Qurayyah, Nuzi, Qatna, and Chemchemal, emphasizing Bronze Age transitions and cultural connectivity. Publications highlight topics like oasis sustainability, palatial architecture, and ritual practices. She participates in international conferences and edited volumes, contributing to discussions on ancient urbanism and material culture. Ongoing research bridges archaeological fieldwork with lab-based analyses to reconstruct past human-environment interactions.