Find Academic Supervisors

Susan Navarro SmelcerView profile

Assistant Professor

• American Constitutional Law
• Judicial Politics and Process
• Computational Text Analysis
• +1 more

Susan Navarro Smelcer is an Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, NC. Her research focuses on how legal actors use non-legal tools to influence law and institutions, with expertise in American Constitutional Law, Judicial Politics, Computational Text Analysis, and Political Methodology. She holds a JD from NYU Law School (2016), a PhD and MA in Political Science from Emory University (2015, 2008), and a BA from UNC Chapel Hill (2003). Before joining Wake Forest, she taught civil procedure and legal analytics at Georgia State University College of Law, practiced antitrust law in Washington DC, and served as an Analyst on the Federal Judiciary at the Congressional Research Service (CRS). At CRS, she advised on judicial appointments, court administration, and participated in Senate Impeachment Trial Committee work. Her work spans legal compliance, judicial behavior, and regulatory frameworks, with publications in top journals like Cornell Law Review and N.Y.U. Law Review. Awards include the Vanderbilt Medal (NYU), Betty Bock Prize (Competition Policy), and Law and Economics Prize. Her current research examines mutual fund disclosures, antitrust dynamics, and judicial dissent patterns. Key professional milestones include advising on judicial impeachment processes, analyzing legislative Twitter adoption, and studying bias in federal judicial nominations. She combines computational methods with legal theory to address contemporary challenges in law and governance.

Jonathan M. KingView profile

Assistant Professor

• American Politics
• Judicial Politics
• Federal Judiciary
• +4 more

Dr. Jonathan M. King is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at West Virginia University, joining in 2023 after earning his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Starting Summer 2025, he will transition to the University of Georgia as an Assistant Professor. His research focuses on the U.S. federal judiciary, examining judicial nomination processes, judge behavior, and public perception of judicial decisions. He teaches courses on constitutional law, judicial politics, and quantitative methods. Key grants include a $159,476 NSF grant (2024–2026) for studying Supreme Court dynamics and a $31,300 NSF dissertation grant (2020–2022) on federal judge personality traits. His work appears in journals like the American Journal of Political Science and Political Research Quarterly. Professor King holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has experience as an academic advisor. He actively mentors undergraduate and graduate students in independent research projects.

Linda Méndez-BarrientosView profile

Assistant Professor

• Environmental Justice
• Institutional Change
• Public Policy Implementation
• +4 more

Linda Méndez-Barrientos is an Assistant Professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. She leads the Environmental Justice & Policy Research Lab (ejpr), focusing on inequality, power asymmetries, and environmental justice in institutional change. She co-founded s2e-Science to Empower, an initiative promoting environmental accountability and inclusive decision-making. Her research spans environmental justice, water policy, and natural resource governance, with emphasis on disadvantaged communities and climate resilience. Key Contributions: Expertise in institutional reforms and policy implementation, particularly in water governance. Pioneer in linking environmental justice to climate policy, including National Climate Assessments (NCAs). Advocate for participatory approaches to address groundwater sustainability challenges in California. Recent Work Trends: Focus on equity in water management, including critiques of local control frameworks and race-based disparities. Development of frameworks to assess environmental justice contributions in policy and research. Analysis of transboundary groundwater governance and community-driven data initiatives. Awards & Recognition: National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2016-2021) NSF Integrative Graduate Education & Research Traineeship (2015-2017) European Commission Agris Mundus Scholarship (2008-2010) Labs & Initiatives: Environmental Justice & Policy Research Lab (ejpr): Analyzes institutional change and policy impacts on marginalized groups. s2e-Science to Empower: Combines data science and grassroots advocacy to amplify underrepresented voices in sustainability decisions.

Rashmi GoelView profile

Professor

• Comparative Law
• Criminal Law
• Restorative Justice
• +5 more

Rashmi Goel is a Professor of Law at the Sturm College of Law, University of Denver, and a member of the Rocky Mountain Collective on Race, Place & Law. Her academic background includes a JSD from Stanford University, alongside degrees in English Literature and Law from the University of Saskatchewan. She is admitted to the Saskatchewan Bar and practices in Colorado and California, focusing on dispute-resolution mechanisms for youth. Her research interests span culturally specific adjudication , international criminal law , and restorative justice . She explores how cultural backgrounds influence legal processes and outcomes, particularly in cases involving marginalized communities. Courses like Multiculturalism, Race and the Law and Comparative Law reflect her interdisciplinary approach to justice systems globally. Her recent work examines intersections of mental health (e.g., dementia and competency assessments) with criminal law, and gender violence across cultural contexts. Pre-2015 scholarship focused on Indigenous justice systems, sentencing circles, and issues faced by Aboriginal women in Canadian law. While no specific awards are listed, her contributions to legal pedagogy and community-based dispute resolution highlight her impact. She advises students and collaborates on projects addressing systemic inequities in criminal justice. Her affiliations with the Rocky Mountain Collective emphasize her commitment to race and place in legal frameworks.

Diane BoletView profile

Lecturer

• Voting Behavior
• Public Opinion
• Far-Right Politics
• +4 more

Dr Diane Bolet is a Lecturer in Political Behaviour at the Department of Government, University of Essex. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the London School of Economics (2020), alongside MSc degrees from the LSE and Sciences Po, and a BA from King's College London. Her research focuses on voting behavior, public opinion, and far-right politics in Europe, particularly how local context, media, and public policy influence political attitudes. She has held academic roles at King’s College London, the University of Zurich, and Durham University before joining Essex in 2023. Her work employs observational and experimental data to explore topics such as legislative responsiveness, radical voting, and Brexit's local impacts. Notable themes in her research include the role of socio-cultural degradation, labor markets, and generational conflicts in shaping political preferences. Recent publications analyze UK MPs' responsiveness, gender backlash effects, and climate policy strategies in Spain. Dr Bolet has no listed scientific awards but has contributed to extensive case studies on Brexit’s regional effects and the normalization of extreme right views through media. Her teaching and supervision roles reflect her expertise in comparative politics and political behavior. While no specific grants or labs are mentioned, her interdisciplinary approach bridges political science with social policy and media studies.

Roi ZurView profile

Lecturer

• Comparative Politics
• Voting Behavior
• Electoral Strategies
• +5 more

Roi Zur is a Lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of Essex. He holds a PhD from the University of California, Davis. His research focuses on comparative politics, particularly voting behavior, electoral strategies of political parties, political representation, and institutional dynamics. He specializes in party politics in established and new democracies, with a particular emphasis on party survival in parliaments and the political landscape of Israel. His work has been published in leading journals like the British Journal of Political Science and Electoral Studies . Dr. Zur teaches courses on democratic institutions, electoral behavior, and Israeli politics at Essex. His teaching emphasizes analytical frameworks for understanding political systems and electoral processes. His research explores formal models of party strategies, the empirical implications of these models, and the structural factors influencing party longevity in legislative bodies. While no specific scientific awards are listed, his extensive publication record reflects scholarly recognition. His research agenda includes two core themes: formal models of electoral strategies and the duration of party parliamentary survival. He currently holds an academic position since 2020 and maintains regular office hours for student support.

Michael BreenView profile

Associate Professor

• International Political Economy
• Corruption Studies
• International Financial Institutions
• +3 more

Dr. Michael Breen is an Associate Professor in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University, part of the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences. He specializes in international political economy, focusing on power dynamics within international financial institutions and the socio-economic impacts of corruption. His research spans over 30 peer-reviewed articles and two books, addressing topics such as IMF governance, regulatory evasion, and corruption in public infrastructure. He co-directs DCU’s Anti-Corruption Research Centre (ARC) and advises the European Commission’s DG Home Affairs on anti-corruption strategies. Notable roles include presenting at the UN and European Commission, as well as supervising numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Dr. Breen has secured significant research funding from bodies like the Irish Research Council and Enterprise Ireland, leading projects on governance reform and financial stability. His work bridges theoretical frameworks with applied policy analysis, emphasizing the interplay between institutional structures and real-world outcomes. Key themes include regulatory compliance in multinational corporations, crisis management in disaster contexts, and transparency in global financial systems.

Markus PauliView profile

Assistant Professor

• Global governance
• Sustainable development
• Climate change policies
• +5 more

Dr. Markus Pauli is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Dublin City University (DCU), affiliated with the School of Law and Government under the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences. He has previously held positions at Yale-NUS, the National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Management University (SMU), and Heidelberg University. His academic journey includes studies at the Free University Berlin and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His research spans global governance, collaborative governance, climate change policies, microfinance, survey experiments, and the political dynamics of India and the European Union. He has published extensively on topics such as the external dimensions of the European Green Deal, international public opinion on world government, EU climate legislation, India's foreign policy evolution, and sustainable development strategies. Recent publications include a 2025 article on the external dimensions of the European Green Deal, a 2024 international survey experiment on world government support, and a 2023 book on Indian statecraft and foreign policy. His work intersects with initiatives like the RETOOL Horizon Europe project and GreenDeal-NET, focusing on democratic climate governance and policy innovations. Dr. Pauli actively engages with academic networks, including calls for papers at conferences like UACES and collaborations with institutions such as the Brussels School of Governance and the University of Oslo. He also promotes educational resources, including open-access books and MOOC modules on the European Green Deal.

Csaba NikolenyiView profile

Professor

• Legislative Studies
• Electoral Systems
• Political Parties and Party Systems
• +3 more

Csaba Nikolenyi is a Professor of Political Science and Director of the Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies at Concordia University. His academic roles include editorial positions such as Series Editor of the McGill-Queen’s-Azrieli Institute Series in Israel Studies, former Co-Editor of the Canadian Journal of Political Science, and current Board member of the Israel Studies Journal and Contemporary Review of the Middle East. He has held visiting professorships at institutions including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Australian National University, and has served on significant committees like the SSHRC Post-Doctoral Fellowship Selection Committee. Education: PhD in Political Science from the University of British Columbia. Research focuses on comparative politics with emphasis on legislative studies, electoral systems, and party systems in Israel, Eastern Europe, and India. Specific interests include anti-defection laws, minority governments, and institutional design in post-communist democracies. Recent work examines party switching in Israel and coalition dynamics in parliamentary systems. Grants: Recipient of multiple SSHRC grants and other research funding. International collaborations include work with institutions in India, Hungary, and Australia. Current service roles include Vice-President of the Association for Israel Studies and Board member of the Association for Israel Studies. Teaching: Offers courses on the Israeli political system, comparative party systems, post-communist societies, and game theory. Oversees the Azrieli Institute’s academic programs integrating Israel studies with interdisciplinary research.

Francesca ScalaView profile

Professor

• Gender and Public Policy
• Reproductive Politics and Policy
• Work-Care Reconciliation Policy
• +3 more

Francesca Scala is a Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at Concordia University's Faculty of Arts & Science. She holds a PhD from Carleton University, an MPPA from Concordia, and a B.A. in Political Science from McGill University. Her research focuses on gender and public policy, with specialties in reproductive politics, work-care reconciliation, and the role of expertise in policy-making. Current research includes SSHRC-funded projects on work-care reconciliation programs and menstrual equity activism, as well as collaborative work on Gender-Based Analysis (GBA) in Canada. She has authored/co-authored articles in journals like the Canadian Journal of Political Science and Policy Sciences, and her 2019 book *Delivering Policy* explores assisted reproductive technologies in Canada. Recipient of the 2018 Faculty of Arts and Science Dean's Award for Excellence in Academic Service Teaches courses including POLI 498 Gender and Public Policy, POLI 600 Public Policy Processes, and POLI 636 Theories of Public Policy Dr. Scala collaborates extensively with scholars like Dr. Stephanie Paterson on projects analyzing feminist policy frameworks and digital governance. Her work bridges academic research with public outreach, addressing contemporary issues such as the 'tampon tax' campaign and pandemic-era policy learning through social media.

Mayur SureshView profile

Senior Lecturer

• Anti-Terror Laws
• Law and Anthropology
• Ordinary Language Philosophy
• +3 more

Mayur Suresh is a Senior Lecturer in Law and Student Experience Tutor at the School of Law, Gender and Media at SOAS University of London since 2015. He holds a BA LLB (Hons) from the National Law School of India University (2004), an LLM from Columbia Law School (2006), and a PhD from Birkbeck, University of London (2017). His research focuses on anti-terror laws, law and anthropology, and gender/sexuality in South Asia. He is a Fellow at the Centre for Liberal Arts and Science Pedagogies, emphasizing writing-based teaching practices. Research highlights include his book Terror Trials: Life and Law in Delhi's Courts (2023), exploring ethnographic fieldwork in terrorism trials, and the Leverhulme Research Leadership Award (2023) for studying the Indian state's use of law in authoritarian contexts. He has co-edited The Shifting Scales of Justice: The Supreme Court in Neo-liberal India (2014) and published widely on legal anthropology and socio-legal processes. PhD Supervision: Currently guiding research on institutional legal consciousness, sexual consent in Indian law, family courtroom emotions, and socio-legal analysis of sex crimes. Awards: Leverhulme Research Leadership Award (2023). Contact: Email ms148@soas.ac.uk , Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4646. Mayur’s work bridges legal theory and practice, with a focus on marginalized voices in legal systems and the anthropological study of judicial processes.

Jason PiercesonView profile

Professor

• Public Law
• LGBTQ Rights
• Gender Studies
• +3 more

Jason Pierceson is a Professor in the School of Politics and International Affairs at the University of Illinois Springfield. He specializes in public law, LGBTQ rights, and political/legal theory. His research explores intersections of sexuality, gender, and the law, with notable contributions to understanding judicial precedents like Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins and their impact on LGBTQ policies. Pierceson holds a Ph.D. in Politics from Brandeis University (2011). He served as a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in American Studies at the University of Alberta and has provided expert testimony in federal civil rights cases. His work appears in major media outlets including The New York Times , The Washington Post , and National Public Radio . Research interests include LGBTQ legal frameworks, transgender rights jurisprudence, and the role of courts in shaping public policy. His scholarship bridges theoretical analysis with practical legal outcomes, emphasizing how legal systems address marginalized communities. Pierceson's publications span monographs, encyclopedias, and peer-reviewed articles, reflecting his interdisciplinary approach to political and legal studies. Awards: Fulbright Visiting Research Chair (2011) Expert Contributions: Federal civil rights litigation testimony, media commentary Key Themes: Employment discrimination, transgender rights, judicial decision-making

Jakob EdlerView profile

Professor

• Innovation Policy
• Science Policy
• Governance of Socio-Technical Systems
• +5 more

Prof. Jakob Edler holds dual roles as Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) since 2018 and Professor of Innovation Policy and Strategy at the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIoIR, University of Manchester). He previously led MIoIR (2011–2018) and served in multiple leadership roles at Fraunhofer ISI, including Department Head (2006). His research focuses on governance and policy in science and innovation, with emphases on public procurement of innovation, mission-oriented policies, and technology sovereignty. He leads EU-funded projects like SIPER (evaluation practices in innovation policy) and contributes to the Norwegian OSIRIS initiative on science-society impact. Education: PhD in Political Science (University of Mannheim, summa cum laude ), two Masters degrees (Business Administration/Political Science/Economic History), and a Dartmouth College exchange year. Completed an EU Commission internship during his PhD. Affiliations: Member of German National Academy for Science and Engineering (Acatech), German Council of Science and Humanities, Royal Society for the Arts, and Innovate UK’s Innovation Caucus. Chairs the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research and previously led the Eu-SPRI Forum (2016–2021). His work addresses policy impacts, socio-technical governance, and intangibles-driven innovation. He advises governments globally, with funding from UK Research Councils, EU, OECD, and others. Notable recognition includes an Outstanding rating from the UK’s Research Evaluation Framework (2014). Key contributions: Over 150 publications, including works on technology sovereignty, mission-oriented policies, and responsible innovation. Leads Fraunhofer’s resilience framework development and collaborates with international organizations like the Norwegian Research Council and the OECD.

• Employment Law
• Contract Law
• Labor Rights
• +5 more

Dr Gabrielle Golding is a Senior Lecturer at the Adelaide Law School, University of Adelaide, and serves as Associate Dean of Law (Learning and Teaching). She specializes in employment and contract law, focusing on the intersection of legal norms and workplace realities. Her research has influenced Australian legislation, including amendments to the Fair Work Act, and been cited in federal court rulings. Golding holds a PhD in employment and contract law (awarded the Bonython Prize) and has held roles at Monash University, the Federal Court of Australia, and international law firm Minter Ellison. Affiliations: Adelaide Law School, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics Education: PhD (University of Adelaide), LLM (ANU), B.Laws (Honours) & B.A. (Politics) Research Interests: Implied contract terms, right to disconnect, procedural fairness in disciplinary processes, and statutory unconscionability. Her book Shaping Contracts for Work (Oxford UP, 2023) was shortlisted for the prestigious Peter Birks Prize. Golding engages widely with media (BBC, ABC, The Guardian) and advises organizations like the International Labour Organization and Australian unions. Awards include the Barbara Kidman Women's Fellowship (2022) and multiple teaching/research nominations. Grants: Over $100,000 in funding from Adelaide Law School, the Law Foundation of SA, and external bodies like the Solidarity Center. Teaching includes courses on contract law, employment law, and legal research. Lab/Team: Coordinates the South Australian Chapter of the Australian Labour Law Association and collaborates with global networks like the Labour Law Research Network.

Charles TienView profile

Professor

• American Politics
• U.S. Congress
• Quantitative Research Methods
• +3 more

Charles Tien is a Professor of Political Science at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY). His research focuses on American politics, congressional dynamics, quantitative methods, and representation of minorities and women in U.S. Congress. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Iowa in 1997. Tien was awarded a Fulbright Scholar Award (1999-2000) to teach American politics at People’s University in Beijing, China. He has contributed to major journals such as Polity , Public Choice , and Public Opinion Quarterly , and co-edits Polity , a flagship journal in political science. His work emphasizes election forecasting, particularly in turbulent political environments, and explores how minority and gender representation shape legislative processes. Tien’s research often bridges statistical analysis with sociopolitical realities, offering insights into electoral behavior, institutional decision-making, and policy outcomes. He has engaged in public discourse through media contributions, including analyses of the 2024 presidential election’s economic dimensions and the contested 2023 U.S. House Speaker election.