Irena Vodenska is Professor of Finance and Director of Finance Programs at Boston University’s Metropolitan College, Department of Administrative Sciences. She holds a PhD in statistical finance and an MA in economics from Boston University, an MBA from Vanderbilt University, and a BS in computer information systems from the University of Belgrade. She is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder. Her research is at the intersection of finance, complexity science, and artificial intelligence, focusing on systemic risk modeling, ESG investments, and financial network dynamics. She has led major interdisciplinary research projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the European Commission, and the U.S. Army Research Office. PhD, Statistical Finance – Boston University MA, Economics – Boston University MBA – Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University BS, Computer Information Systems – University of Belgrade Dr. Vodenska’s research interests include network theory in finance, systemic risk propagation, AI-powered ESG analysis, cryptocurrency price forecasting, and financial regulation. She employs big data, machine learning, and natural language processing to analyze financial news, market dynamics, and corporate sustainability. Her work investigates how climate disinformation spreads via social networks and influences public policy and governance. The recent articles highlight a consistent focus on modeling financial and economic systems using network science and AI. Trends include systemic stress testing, sentiment analysis in financial markets, cascading failures, and the interplay between macroeconomic indicators and financial networks. Her work spans econophysics, behavioral finance, public health economics, and ethical AI in fintech. National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant (2023) NSF EAGER Award (2014–2015) European Commission FET Open Grant (2012–2014) U.S. Army Research Office (ARO) Grant (2020–2021) MEXT Post-K Computer Grant, Japan (2016–2019) Alexander Hamilton Fulbright Fellowship (1994) Owen Graduate School Fellowship (1995–1996) Dr. Vodenska teaches core finance courses such as Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management, Derivatives Securities, and Financial Regulation and Ethics. She co-developed the MET AD 678 course with Professor Tamar Frankel from BU Law, emphasizing real-world case studies and ethical decision-making. Her research grants have supported innovative work in systemic risk modeling, AI for ESG, and financial network stability. She is actively involved in mentoring, conference organization, and editorial roles in leading journals. She is a key organizer of the International School and Conference on Network Science (NetSci) and the Big Data in Economics, Science, and Technology (BEST) Conference. Her lab and research team focus on complexity in financial systems, bringing together economists, physicists, computer scientists, and data analysts to study global financial stability and sustainability.
