All teaching assistants will be available in room 426 PGH

Gefry Alapani | gbalapin@cougarnet.uh.edu

Gefry Alapini is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science, specializing in Comparative political analysis and quantitive methods. His research focuses on governance, election, and fraud in the democratics system.

Eugenia Artabe | meartabe@cougarnet.uh.edu 

Eugenia Artabe is a graduate student in the Department of Political Science. I hold a bachelor degree in law, and a master degree in Constitutional Law and Human Rights. My research interests focus on courts, judicial behavior, human rights, and institutions.

Amanda Austin | ataustin@cougarnet.uh.edu 

Amanda Austin is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of political science, studying methodology and American politics. Her substantive interests include economic inequality, ideology, and political psychology and her methodological interests include experiments, deep learning, and text analysis. Her work has been published in AI & Society and SSRN. She is the recipient of the Society for Political Methodology’s Box-Steffensmeier scholarship, the Hobby School ICPSR scholarship, and the UH College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Research Grant. She is currently working as a lecturer for the department teaching courses on Data, Politics, and Arguments. She has also previously served as a research assistant for UH’s NSF-funded Responsive Algorithms for Social Accountability (CRASA) and as a teaching assistant for the graduate course in machine learning. Her dissertation investigates how perceptions of sociotropic sufficiency and scarcity impact economic policy preferences. She holds a B.A. in political science from Emory University,  an M.A. in political science from the University of Houston, and an M.P.P. in public policy from Duke University.

EunHye Grace Cho | echo8@cougarnet.uh.edu

EunHye Grace Cho is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science studying political theory and American politics. Her research interests include modern and contemporary political thought (Rousseau, Tocqueville, Strauss), secularization, and religion and politics. Grace received her M.A. in international relations (majoring in political theory) from Seoul National University in South Korea and her B.A. in international area studies (summa cum laude) from Handong Global University.

Aparajita Datta | adatta3@cougarnet.uh.edu

Aparajita Datta is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science studying public policy and international relations. Her dissertation evaluates the policy feedback effects of means-tested home energy assistance programs. She studies the burdens and disparities in program participation, and the resultant impacts on racial equity, energy affordability and justice, and climate policymaking. Aparajita also serves as a research scholar at UH Energy, the energy initiative across the University of Houston System. In this role, she focuses on federal and state policies for net-zero decarbonization and climate resilience, public opinion on carbon management and sustainability, and workforce development for the energy transition. Aparajita holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, India; and master’s degrees in energy management and public policy from the University of Houston.

Katia Davis | kedavis7@cougarnet.uh.edu

Katia Davila is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying comparative politics and international relations. Her research interests are primarily in comparative elections and voting behavior. Additional interests include political parties, political behavior, and authoritarian regimes. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s in International Relations and Global Studies and a minor in Business.  

Shelby Davis | sdavis27@cougarnet.uh.edu

Shelby Davis is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the department of political science. She studies international relations and comparative politics, with specific research interests in gender, war, and terrorism. She graduated summa cum laude from Siena College with a B.A. in Political Science and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with an M.S. in Criminal Justice, where her research focused on the Haqqani Network and Afghan terrorist organizations. Her work at the University of Houston focuses on gender dynamics within terrorist organizations.

Kolbe Dumas | kdumas@cougarnet.uh.edu

With a Master's in Public Policy from Arizona State University, Kolbe has a background that allows him to look at things from a true "how can this impact people in the now?" perspective. His passion, however, lies in Political Theory, which is his focus in his PhD at UH. He aims to blend the theory of the past with the policy of the present in effort to produce more efficient and equitable outcomes across the board. Kolbe also has a strong interest in Artificial Intelligence, especially in ways it can improve day to day tasks, policy, civic participation, education, as well as fostering (moderating?) civil online discourse. If you feel your interests match any of his (or if you agree Lebron is the greatest of all time), feel free to reach out to him for a chat whenever.

Sebastian Ege | slege@cougarnet.uh.edu

Sebastian Ege is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science. He studies Comparative and American politics. His research interests include methods, populism and political parties in Western Europe. Sebastian holds a B.A. in International Relations from the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.

Maya Fitch | mfitch@cougarnet.uh.edu

Maya Fitch is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Political Science studying American Politics and Public Policy. Her research interests include racial/ethnic politics, and LGTBQ representation within the institutions and Public Opinion.  She graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and minors in Sociology and Legal Studies.

Luis Felipe García | lfgarcia87@cougarnet.uh.edu

Luis Felipe García is a PhD student in the Department of Political Science, studying Comparative Politics and American Politics. His research interests include new political parties, legislative behavior, constituent processes, and Latin American politics and institutions. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and an M.A. in Political Science from Universidad de Chile. Before starting his graduate studies, he worked as a teaching assistant and research assistant at both aforementioned universities and also held various professional roles in different public agencies of the Government of Chile.

Tom Hanna | tlhanna@uh.edu 

Tom Hanna is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of political science. He studies international relations and comparative politics. His specific research interests are authoritarian politics, ideology, conflict, and international political economy. His dissertation examines the role of leadership ideology and rhetoric in nondemocracies in fostering autocracy promotion or threats to democracy. He graduated with a B.S. in political science with a minor in economics, summa cum laude from the University of Houston.

Shana Hardin | shardin4@cougarnet.uh.edu 

Shana Hardin is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the Department of Political Science, studying public policy and comparative politics. Her research interests include women’s representation in state legislatures, policy outcomes as a result of women’s increased representation, and changes in women’s cosponsorship behavior due to symbolic representation. Shana graduated summa cum laude from the University of Houston in December 2020 with a B.A. in political science and a minor in Spanish. During her undergraduate career, the Provost recognized Shana’s research on factors that determine women’s electoral success in running for Congress as one of the outstanding projects for the 2019-20 school year.

David Hilden | djhilden@cougarnet.uh.edu

David Hilden is a political science Ph.D. student at the University of Houston. He is interested in international relations and civil-military relations, with particular interest in social media as they relate to these domains. He received his M.A. from the University of Michigan and his B.A. (magna cum laude) from Northern Michigan University.

Kenzy Ismail | ktismail@cougarnet.uh.edu

Kenzy Ismail is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science. She studies Comparative Politics and Methods. Her specific research interests are Game theory, Geopolitics, National Security and Strategy, Political Economy, Revolutionary Movements and with particular interest in the Middle East. She graduated with a B.A. in Political science with a minor in Economics from the University of Alexandria with cumulative grade of Excellence with honors.

Jackson Ezell | jbezell@cougarnet.uh.edu

Jackson Ezell is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying Political Theory and American Politics. His research interests include utilitarianism, political liberty, contractarianism, and he is primarily interested in the works of John Stuart Mill and his influences. Jackson has a BA in Political Science from Baylor University, where he graduated cum laude.

Miranda Jones | mjones37@cougarnet.uh.edu

Miranda Jones is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the department of political science. She studies comparative politics and international relations. Her research focuses on democratization and autocratization, with specific interests in power-sharing dynamics in transitioning regimes. Before coming to the University of Houston, Miranda received a B.S. in political science from Shepherd University and an M.A. in political science from Texas Tech University.

Billy Justus | bjustus@cougarnet.uh.edu

Billy Justus is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying American Politics and public policy. His research interests are primarily in judicial politics. Additional interests include race/ethnicity studies, influence of media and methodology, especially text as data. Billy holds a M.S. in government analytics from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in political science from the University of North Carolina Asheville. Prior to starting the program, Billy worked professionally administering federal student aid for undergraduates and overseeing compliance for pharmacy students.

Rasha Khayat | rkhayat@cougarnet.uh.edu

Rasha Khayat is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science, specializing in Comparative Politics with a minor in Public Policy. Her research interests focus on the intersection of political economy and democratization, particularly in relation to public policies. She holds a Master of Arts in Applied Economics from the Lebanese American University, where she graduated with a CGPA of 3.93, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Balamand.

Following her graduation, Rasha spent two years working as a research assistant at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut, Lebanon. During her time at ESCWA, she contributed to various projects on economic and social development, as well as statistics, including the development and launch of the first Arab SDG Monitor (https://arabsdgmonitor.unescwa.org).

Currently, Rasha is a Research Assistant at the Center for Public Policy at the University of Houston.

H.M. Kim | hkim72@cougarnet.uh.edu

H.M. Kim is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science, majoring in comparative politics. His research interest is the consequence of candidate-centered elections, such as clientelism, pork barrel, and vote buying related to non-programmatic policies. His dissertation explores how intra-party competition in single-non-transferable voting affects candidates' campaign strategies and the corruption of local councils. H.M. Kim received a B.A. and M.A. in political science from Pusan National University in South Korea.

Bonhoon Koo | bkoo4@cougarnet.uh.edu

Bonhoon Koo is from South Korea and is majoring in Comparative and American politics at the University of Houston. Specifically, his research interest is in democracy and democratization, particularly regarding cultural and psychological aspects. Before joining UH, he studied in both graduate and undergraduate schools at Sogang University in South Korea, majoring in political science. He loves traveling abroad and playing and watching soccer games

Shiladitya Kumar | skumar33@cougarnet.uh.edu 

Shiladitya Kumar is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Houston. His research interests lie in Party Organization, Political Economy of Elections, Political Methodology, and South Asian Politics. He holds a BSc (Honors) and MA in Economics from the University of Calcutta and Jadavpur University, respectively. He works as a Graduate Research Assistant at both the Hobby School of Public Affairs and the Department of Political Science, University of Houston. His dissertation concerns how candidates' wealth interacts within an electoral system to produce political outcomes with meaningful second-order implications. His other research projects include studying the cause of affective polarization in the United States, how networks are formed amongst donors and recipients in Texas charter schools, and how voters use reputation as an instrument of accountability in selecting candidates under repeated elections. He is a recipient of the Jylee Nogee Scholarship at the University of Houston and the Virginia Gray Graduate Student Research Award from the Political Organization and Parties section of the American Political Science Organization.

Larrisa Landin | lrodri48@cougarnet.uh.edu

Larrisa Landin is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of political science. She studies methods and public policy. Her specific research interests include political behavior, minority and gender voting behavior, government spending on education, and policies impacting early childhood education. Larrisa received her M.P.A in public administration from the University of Texas and her B.S. in sociology from the University of Houston. 

Jeemin Lee | jlee264@cougarnet.uh.edu 

Jeemin Lee is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science. His research interests encompass political behavior and methodology. Specifically, he focuses on how authoritarian legacies in the past and changes in institutions and policies in modern democratic governments affect people's political behavior. In methodology, he aims to develop expertise in various quantitative methods including causal inference and machine learning. He received a B.A. in Political Science & International Relations from Dongguk University and an M.A. in Political Science from Sogang University. 

Songeun Emily Lee | selee5@cougarnet.uh.edu 

Songeun Emily Lee is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science studying Political Methodology and International Relations. Her research interests include foreign aid, regionalism, democratization and Japanese politics. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Myongji University, South Korea with a major in Political Science and received a Master of Arts and completed a Ph.D. coursework in Political Science from Yonsei University, South Korea.

Liang Li | lli62@cougarnet.uh.edu

Liang Li is a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science, specializing in Comparative Politics and Research Methods. Her research focuses on elite interactions and conflicts, political institutions, and economic performance in authoritarian politics.

Lucia Lopez | llopezhi@cougarnet.uh.edu

Lucia Lopez is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying American Politics and Public Policy. Her specific interests are in judicial politics, state courts, and how individual experiences with institutions affect political engagement. She currently works as a Research Assistant on a National Science Foundation grant researching accountability mechanisms for algorithms in public policy. Lucia is an attorney, graduated magna cum laude with her Juris Doctor degree, and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Northern Michigan University.

Silky Joshi Malik | sajoshi@cougarnet.uh.edu

Silky Joshi Malik is a doctoral student at in the department of political sciences studying American Politics and public policy. Her research interests focus on questions at the intersection of feminism, gender, race and political behavior.

Silky is a native Houstonian and a proud alum of the University of Houston. Graduating magna cum laude and with University Honors, she holds a dual bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from the University of Houston, and a master’s degree in business administration from West Texas A&M.

In 2017, Silky was the first woman to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’ 2nd Congressional District; in 2020 she published a book detailing her run for office and experience as a political newcomer. Silky also co-hosts KPFT's weekly talk radio show, Coming to America, which explores the topic of immigration and other issues relevant to Houstonians.

William H. Marsh | whmarsh@cougarnet.uh.edu

William H. Marsh is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science, where he studies political theory and American politics. He is the Graduate Fellow for the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership at the Hobby School of Public Affairs, where he also works as a Teaching Assistant for “Philosophy and Public Policy I & II.” His research interests lie at the intersection of critical social theory and public policy, toward the formulation of a public ethics of care for the legalization of drugs and destigmatization of the people who use them. Through the lenses of postmodern and contemporary moral philosophy (Levinas, Parfit, Scanlon, Engster, Kittay), social psychology, and critical theory, he studies care ethics, the language of care, and their relationships to deviance and the development of public morality. William has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Houston, an M.P.P. from the Hobby School of Public Affairs (UH), where his work focused on psychedelic studies, and ethical drug policy, respectively.

Kyle Martin | kjmart23@cougarnet.uh.edu

Kyle Martin is a doctoral student in the department of political science studying political theory and American politics. His research interests include politics and religion, as well as the work and political theory of Abraham Kuyper. Kyle graduated magna cum laude from Biola University with a bachelor’s degree in cinema and media arts, and as an alumni of the Torrey Honors College. Following graduation, Kyle worked in the film industry before transitioning into nonprofit work with charter schools in Southern California as a credentialed Human Resources Professional.

Jonah Forrest McCoy | jfmccoy2@cougarnet.uh.edu

Jonah Forrest McCoy is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying political theory and comparative politics. His primary area of interest is in German political theory and how political theory influenced governmental policy during the German Empire. Additional areas of interest include other Victorian Era regimes, and authoritarianism in the West. He graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University with a B.A. in Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership and a B.S. in Economics, and as an alumnus of the Barrett Honors College.

Naomi Nubin-Sellers | nnnubin@cougarnet.uh.edu

Naomi Nubin-Sellers is a PhD candidate in the department of political science at the University of Houston. Her research interests include public policy, REP, and state politics. Naomi's ongoing dissertation research was awarded the 2023 Jo Ann Gibson-Robinson Dissertation Award from the Association for the Study of Black Women in Politics, a visiting dissertation fellowship (2023-2024), as well as several fellowships from the American Political Science Association. She also serves as the graduate student representative for the National Conference of Black political Scientists-Executive council. Naomi is a proud HBCU graduate, receiving both her bachelor's and MPA degrees from Texas Southern University.

Olayinka Otesanya | oaotesan@cougarnet.uh.edu

Olayinka Otesanya is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the Department of Political Science, studying International Relations, and Comparative Politics.

His research interest focuses on International Security, Terrorism, and Counter-terrorism. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bsc in Political Science from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Julio Cesar Rodriguez Araujo | jcrodri8@cougarnet.uh.edu

Julio Cesar Rodriguez Araujo is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the department of political science studying political theory and public policy.

His research interests include political philosophy, bioethics, public policy, and biopolitics. He received his B.A. in philosophy from the University of Houston-Downtown, an M.A. in philosophy from Houston Baptist University, an M.A. in political science from Texas State University, and an M.S. in bioethics from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Madeleine Solt | mtsolt@cougarnet.uh.edu

Madeleine Solt is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston, specializing in American politics, public policy, mass incarceration, and the legal system. Her current research focuses on the intersection of incarceration, immigration, and health, specifically how state-level immigration enforcement policies shapes post-incarceration health outcomes for immigrants in the United States.

She earned her B.S. in Political Science from the University of Houston. In addition to her role as a teaching assistant, she is a research assistant at the Hobby School of Public Affairs, where she contributes to projects on law enforcement and school board politics. She also collaborates with the League of Women Voters, connecting the organization with academic resources and coordinating events that promote civic engagement and voter education in the southeast Houston area.

JeongKyu (JK) Suh | jsuh3@cougarnet.uh.edu 

JeongKyu (JK) Suh is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science, studying American politics and comparative politics. His research interests include political psychology, political behavior, and race and ethnicity, with a particular focus on the impact of in-group favoritism and counter-stereotypes on political attitudes. Methodologically, he is also interested in experimental methods. Before JeongKyu joined the University of Houston, he received his B.A. in political science & international relations (summa cum laude) from Kookmin University and his M.A. in political science from Sogang University. During his M.A. in South Korea, he studied intergroup relations between immigrants and native majorities within Korean political contexts by conducting several experiments.

Alma Sultana | asultan6@cougarnet.uh.edu

Alma Sultana is a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science studying Public Policy and Comparative Politics. Her research interests include Public Policy, Social Policy, Economic Inequality, Immigration, and Healthcare Politics. She received a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Memphis and a bachelor's in Political Science from Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Bangladesh.

Liliana Veloz Marquez | lvelozma@cougarnet.uh.edu

Liliana Veloz Marquez is a PhD student in the Department of Political Science studying Comparative Politics and Public Policy. Her research interests is in Comparative Politics and Public Policy, focusing on Transparency, Accountability, Corruption, Populism and Clientelism in Latin America and Mexico. Liliana finished her Master´s in Administration and Public Policy at Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico. She worked as Chief Executive Officer of the Mexican Accountability Network, an academic and civil organization project that sought to design strategies to promote transparency, access to information, and fight against corruption in Mexico. She has worked with students in Professional Master Programs at FLACSO Mexico.

Ting-wei Weng | tweng2@cougarnet.uh.edu

Ting-wei Weng is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston. His research, concentrating on public opinion and political psychology, places a special emphasis on independent voters. His dissertation delves into the perceptions, decision-making processes, and evolving attitudes of these independent voters in the U.S. Prior to the Ph.D. program, he earned an MA in Political Science from both Stony Brook University and National Chengchi University, Taipei, and completed his Bachelor's in Public Administration and Policy from Taipei University.

Jihun Yeo | jyeo@cougarnet.uh.edu

Jihun Yeo is a Ph.D. candidate in Comparative Politics. He is interested in studies which trace factors affecting institutional change in a certain socio- economic context through institutional and behavioral analyses. His research area includes contentious politics, the quality of democracy and political cleavages. His dissertation delves into the formation and change of a variety of welfare and labor regimes. He earned a B.A. in Business Administration with a minor in Law at Sogang University and received a M.A. in Political Science at the same university.