MTS Students on the Job Market
Rod Abhari
Website
Rod Abhari is a Ph.D. candidate interested in understanding the changing relationship between science and the public in a digitalized society. At Northwestern, he works with Dr. Agnes Horvat to produce network mappings of online science discussions and with Dr. Nathan Walter to situate these maps in theories of science and health communication. He holds an M.A. in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an M.A. in Science and Technology studies (STS) from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands.
Kerstin Kalke
Website
Kerstin Kalke is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Media, Technology, and Society program working in Dr. Courtney Scherr’s Health Communication Interaction Design Lab. Kerstin’s research focuses on developing communication strategies to facilitate health decision making under high degrees of uncertainty and risk. She is particularly interested in understanding how emotions and affective forecasting affect people’s decision-making processes. Previous projects were situated in the contexts of cardiac and cancer genetics, colon cancer screening, and breast cancer. Kerstin holds a BA in English/American and German Studies from the Julius-Maximilians Universitaet in Wuerzburg, Germany, and a MA in Communication from the University of New Mexico.
Yena Lee
Website
Yena Lee is a PhD Candidate in the Media, Technology & Society program at Northwestern School of Communication where she is a member of Dr. TJ Billard’s “The Atelier” and Dr. Moya Bailey’s Digital Apothecary Lab. She studies how networked but unorganized actors organize, form counterpublic, and shape their habitus for political action and learning. Her recent research has been published in Information, Communication & Society and International Journal of Communication. She received her BA in Media Studies from University of California Berkeley.
Annika Pinch
Website
Annika Pinch is a PhD Candidate researching the intersection of identity, stigma, and digital media, with a focus on how marginalized individuals—such as queer people and/or those who are incarcerated—navigate and engage with social media platforms to advocate for themselves and their communities. She is a member of Dr. Jeremy Birnholtz’s Social Media Lab and Dr. Moya Bailey’s Digital Apothecary. Her recent work has been published in New Media & Society, Social Media + Society, and the Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. Prior to Northwestern, Annika received her BA in Psychology from Cornell University.
Hannah Studd
Hannah.Studd@u.northwestern.edu
Hannah Studd is a PhD candidate in the Media, Technology, and Society program who works with Dr. Madhu Reddy and Dr. Maia Jacobs. Her expertise lies in understanding user needs and behaviors through qualitative research, and translating findings into actionable insights. Hannah’s current research explores how technology can support self-reflection and mental wellbeing. Hannah holds an M.S in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in psychology from The College of Wooster. Before entering academia, Hannah worked in clinical research informatics for the Boston Children’s Hospital and as a UX researcher for WellSky.
Facundo Suenzo
Website
Facundo N. Suenzo is a Ph.D. candidate in Media, Technology, and Society at Northwestern University. Originally from Argentina, he holds a BA in Communication from the Universidad de San Andrés, as well as an MA in Sociology from the Universidad Nacional de General San Martín and an MA in Media, Technology, and Society from Northwestern University. His research employs a mixed-methods approach to explore the intersections of gender, sexuality, and digital culture. Facundo’s dissertation examines how new media technologies have reshaped social dynamics and sexual practices among queer men in Argentina, focusing on changes from the early days of the Internet to the rise of contemporary dating platforms. His work has been published in New Media & Society, Journalism, and Cuadernos.info, and he is co-author of the forthcoming book The Patina of Distrust: What People Do with Misinformation (MIT Press), written with Eugenia Mitchelstein, Pablo Boczkowski, and María Celeste Wagner.
MTS Students
Sara Abdulla
Sara M. Abdulla is a joint PhD/JD student in Media, Technology, and Society, and works with Dr. Ignacio Cruz. Broadly, Sara examines how institutions and power structures, new technologies, and social processes interact. She is particularly interested in how power dynamics related to technologies can be codified and affected within policy, such as in children’s media regulation. Before coming to Northwestern, she worked at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology and prior to that, at CDC in enteric disease surveillance. Sara holds a Bachelor’s in Neuroscience with a minor in Philosophy from Georgia State University, and a Master’s in Analytics from Georgia Tech.
Taylor Agajanian
Taylor Agajanian is a PhD student in the Media, Technology, and Society program advised by Dr. TJ Billard. Her research is situated in the problematic information space and focuses on gendered and identity-based harm through a critical lens, both on and offline. Previously, she worked with the UW Center for an Informed Public on implementing rapid response frameworks for problematic information on social media, including The Virality Project and the Election Integrity Partnership. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington iSchool and a Bachelor’s in Film and Media Studies from California State University Long Beach.
Prior to joining Northwestern, Thaty lived in South Korea for seven years, where her passion for studying online communities was sparked during her work with game companies. In these roles, she was responsible for creating social media content, organizing community events, and managing online platforms. She holds a Bachelor of Design from Salvador University – UNIFACS, Brazil, and a M.Sc. in Visual Contents from Dongseo University, South Korea.
Emily A. Andrews
emilyandrews@u.northwestern.edu
Emily A. Andrews is a doctoral candidate in the Media, Technology, and Society program. She studies both the opportunities and challenges that come with communicating authority and expertise in science and health. This includes, for instance, the roles of cognitive bias and trust among other factors. Emily graduated from SUNY Geneseo in 2019 (B.A., Psychology) and The SUNY University at Buffalo in 2021 (M.A., Communication).
Mohammad Behroozian
Mohammad Behroozian is passionate about studying educational media for wartime. He has studied political science at the American University of Afghanistan and earned his master’s degree in television producing at Boston University on a Fulbright scholarship. Mohammad has nearly a decade of experience in media and communications work.
Walker West Brewer
Walker Brewer (they/them) is a PhD student in the Media, Technology, and Society program in the School of Communication working with Dr. TJ Billard. Walker studies political communication with particular attention to the role of ambivalence in political decision-making. Broadly, their research interests center on conflicts around power, identity, and belonging within marginalized communities engaging with a globally mediated public. They approach complex social issues through an interdisciplinary approach to research, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods to produce dialogs between different areas within Academia. Outside of research, Walker assists with managing Northwestern University’s Atelier, a lab space that examines social science inquiries through more critical, humanistic approaches. They also act as the communications alchemist for the Digital Apothecary and Labs for Liberation Project. They are also the assistant editor for the Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies. They hold a BA in Gender and Sexuality Studies and Art History from the University of Chicago and an MA in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from George Washington University. You can contact them at wwb@u.northwestern.edu
Jamie A. Cooley
Website
Jamie is a third year MTS student whose interests include: content creators, platformed labor, intersectionality, and platform ethics.She works with both Dr. AJ Christian and Dr. Moya Bailey.
Jamie works closely with the Digital Apothecary Lab.
Molly de Blanc
Website
M.J. de Blanc is a Ph.D. student in Media, Technology & Society. They are in the Creative Interfaces Research and Design Studio, advised by Dr. Duri Long. They work with medical device users and people with disabilities to understand the ways technological artifacts mediate people’s expression, experience, and identity during embodied creative collaborations. They hold a Master of Arts in bioethics from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Their master’s thesis presented a consent-based argument for right to repair in healthcare focusing on the ongoing consent process and the concept of irrevocable consent. They have healthy co-dependent relationships with their cat, bike, and sourdough starter.
Christopher Dobmeier
dobmeier@u.northwestern.edu
Chris Dobmeier is a third-year PhD student in the Media, Technology, and Society program at Northwestern University, working in the Center Of Media Psychology and Social Influence (COM-PSI) with Dr. Nathan Walter. Chris studies the persuasive power of storytelling, particularly through psychological mechanisms that facilitate information processing, such as narrative transportation, identification, and emotional flow. His work expands across various forms of affect (awe, disgust, humor), and has been applied to health, political, and sustainability contexts. Chris currently serves as the Chair of Grants and Fundraising for the Northwestern Prison Education Program. He holds a B.A. and M.A. in Communication from the SUNY University at Buffalo.
Amelia Emery
Amelia Emery is a PhD student working in the Advancing Teams, Leaders and Systems (ATLAS) Lab led by Dr. Leslie DeChurch. She is interested in how leadership theories utilize intersectionality and diversity and is working on a meta-analysis of virtual teams. As an undergraduate, Amelia received grants to study intersectional stereotyping and white fragility. She holds a BA from Northwestern University in Psychology and French. Prior to entering the MTS program, Amelia lived in France as an au pair, and worked as a research coordinator in ATLAS Lab.
Hoda Fakhari
Hoda is a Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology, and Society program and M.S. candidate in Applied Statistics at Northwestern. Within the contexts of science and health, she studies the processes and outcomes associated with the communication of complex and uncertain phenomena. She is also interested in the role of communication environments in individual and collective information management behaviors. Hoda holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and B.A. in English with a concentration in media, rhetoric, and cultural studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and an M.S. in Health Communication from Northwestern.
Catalina Farías
Catalina Farías is a Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology, and Society doctoral program working with Dr. Pablo J. Boczkowski and a graduate student affiliate of the Center for Latinx Digital Media. Her research primarily focuses on digital inclusion in marginalized communities and how the Latinx community in the US accesses and uses new technologies. Other topics in which she is interested include networked social movements and gender dynamics. Born and raised in Santiago, Chile, she holds a BA in Social Communication from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She has worked on projects on global feminist digital activism and online countermovements, and digital inclusion in rural and isolated communities in Chile. She also is affiliated with the Millennium Nucleus in Digital Inequalities and Opportunities in Chile.
Gabriel Garlough-Shah
Gabriel is a first year doctoral student in the Media, Technology, and Society program. His interests center around addressing questions within the fields of information retrieval, human-computer interaction, and consumer behavior; specifically, those concerned with individuals’ use of social media, search engines, and generative AI. These questions largely focus on consumers’ ability to obtain and engage with content on these interactive media, along with affective and behavioral reactions toward said content. His current work investigates the ways in which consumers may be using generative-AI powered search engines (e.g., Google Gemini) and traditional search engines (e.g., Google) in a complimentary manner as they forage for information on the web, focusing on behavioral differences when searching on each platform and affective responses to the layout and presentation of this information. He holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Strategic Communication) and an M.A. from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (Mass Communication).
Fatima Gaw
Fatima Gaw is a Media, Technology and Society PhD student at Northwestern University University, working with Dr. Erik C. Nisbet and in the Center for Communication and Public Policy lab. She investigates how media logics, platforms, and ecosystems shape contemporary politics. Her research focuses on the cross-platform analyses of propaganda, disinformation, and elections on social media. Fatima has a Master’s degree in Digital Communication and Culture from the University of Sydney, and a Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Communication from the University of the Philippines.
Valerie Gruest
Valerie Gruest, OLY
valgruest@u.northwestern.edu
LinkedIn
Valerie Gruest is a Ph.D. candidate in the Media, Technology, and Society program at Northwestern University. She works with Dr. Pablo Boczkowski and is a graduate affiliate of the Center for Latinx Digital Media. Additionally, she works under the mentorship of Prof. Nathan Walter in the Center for Media Psychology & Social Influence (COM-PSI). Valerie’s research focuses on the intersection of internet technology, body-centric content, and their influence on attitudes and behaviors. Her work specifically examines the impact of new media on body image and eating disorders, the representation of marginalized identities in digital spaces, and how exposure to fitness-related content on social media affects well-being.
Valerie holds an M.A. in Media, Technology, and Society, as well as a B.A. in Communication Studies, with a double major in Art Theory & Practice, both from Northwestern University. Her academic interests and athlete-centered advocacy efforts are deeply rooted in her experience as an Olympic swimmer (Rio 2016). She currently serves as Chair of the PanAm Aquatics Athlete’s Committee, where she leads initiatives to champion athlete well-being, mental health advocacy, and the promotion of safe sport across the Americas.
Thayane Henriques
Thayane Henriques is a Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology, and Society program advised by Dr. Moya Bailey. She is a member of Dr. Moya Bailey’s Digital Apothecary Lab and a graduate student affiliate at the Center for Latinx Digital Media. From an intersectional lens, her research primarily focuses on exploring how marginalized communities create independent content and potentially challenge stereotypical narratives concerning gender issues perpetuated by traditional media. Other topics in which she is interested include Latinx media studies, digital activism, and platform governance. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she holds a B.A. in Communication Studies (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ), an MBA in Marketing (Brazilian Institute of Capital Markets – IBMEC), and an M.A. in Communication Technologies and Culture (Rio de Janeiro State University – UERJ). Before entering academia, she had several years of experience working as a programming content analyst at a prominent children’s TV channel, part of Brazil’s biggest media company, Grupo Globo.
Nash Jenkins
Nash Jenkins is a Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology, and Society program. His research examines the epistemological, intersubjective, ethical, and political structures that emerge in and organize the digital public sphere: specifically the contemporary rise of conspiracy theories and the circulation of the paranoid affects that inflect them. More broadly, Nash’s work contemplates how the immersive experience of digital media challenges prior ideological notions of selfhood and authenticity, situating its inquiry at the historical and social coordinates of this rupture. Nash holds a M.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University; before entering academia, he worked as a correspondent for TIME Magazine in Hong Kong and Washington.
Callie S. Kalny
Callie is a doctoral candidate in the MTS program and the co-director of the Center of Media Psychology & Social Influence (COM-PSI) at Northwestern. Advised by Dr. Nathan Walter, her research broadly examines the emotional, cognitive, and metacognitive mechanisms that shape the way we interact with– and are ultimately influenced by– mediated information. Focusing primarily on contexts related to politics, health, and science, her work investigates the role that emotions and affective experiences play in the processing of (mis)information, the effects of uncertainty on judgements and decision-making, and the persuasive influence of narrative storytelling. Callie is a graduate of Mercer University (B.A., Communication Studies) and Wake Forest University (M.A., Communication).
Savanna Kerstiens
Savanna is a Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology, and Society program at Northwestern University working with Dr. Courtney Scherr in the Health Communication Interaction Design lab. Her research focuses on key aspects of health communication within healthcare settings, with a particular emphasis on risk prevention, the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions, and patient-provider relationships. Savanna holds an M.A. in Health Communication from DePaul University and a B.A. in Communication from the University of Louisville.
Yeha Kim
Yeha Kim is a Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology, and Society program, working with Dr. Michelle Shumate in the Network for Nonprofit and Social Impact lab. He is interested in exploring how creativity and new media can help nonprofit organizations, governments, and corporations achieve a more significant social impact, with a focus on sustainability. Yeha holds a B.S. in Television, Radio, and Film, an M.A. in International Relations, and an M.S. in Public Relations from Syracuse University. He has several years of experience working in advertising (BBH/Publicis), where he closely worked with global clients such as Samsung, UNICEF, AB InBev, and more.
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Li
lizzieli@u.northwestern.edu
Website
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Li is a PhD student in the Media, Technology, and Society program at Northwestern University, where she works with Dr. Jeremy Birnholtz in the Social Media Lab and Dr. Darren Gergle in the CollabLab. Her research in human-computer interaction (HCI) explores how the design of social media platforms can both support and undermine users’ values, goals, and healthy use habits. Lizzie is particularly interested in understanding the effects of everyday social media use on well-being and exploring ways to foreground and promote wellness through system design.
Prior to her studies at Northwestern, Lizzie earned her MA in Human Rights Studies from Columbia University and her BS in Communication and Development Sociology from Cornell University.
Sijia Liu
Sijia is a PhD student in the Media, Technology, and Society program. She is interested in strategic communication to improve behavioral and psychological outcomes, with a particular focus on the role of emotions in health and emerging technology. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges communication, psychology, and public health. Specifically, her research explores how humor and other emotions can enhance positive effects and mitigate negative impacts of health and technology messages on digital media users. She holds an M.A. in Media and Communication (Tsinghua University) and a B.A. in Communication (Sun Yat-sen University).
Xinyi Liu
Xinyi Liu is a Ph.D. student in Media, Technology & Society program. She works with Dr. Yingdan Lu. Her research focuses on using experimental and computational methods to understand the use and implications of digital media, generative AI, and social media algorithms in the communication of political and scientific content. She obtained BA in French Literature from Communication University of China, Beijing, and MA in Communication Studies from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Alina Majid
Alina Majid is a PhD student in the Media, Technology, and Society program at Northwestern University. Alina is interested in conducting research on how patients experience and manage health-related uncertainty and risk. Alina is also interested in how patients make health decisions under uncertain conditions. Before coming to Northwestern, Alina completed a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. Alina also has a BS in Chemistry and MPH degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Mora Matassi
moramatassi@u.northwestern.edu
Mora Matassi (she / ella) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Media, Technology and Society program. Her research focuses on communication, technology, and digital culture. She holds an M.A. in Media, Technology, and Society (Northwestern University), an Ed.M. in Technology, Innovation, and Education (Harvard University), and a B.A. in Communication (Universidad de San Andrés). Mora has been coordinator of the Center for Latinx Digital Media at Northwestern University and the Center for the Study of Media and Society in Argentina, as well as research assistant for the CLEVR project, a partnership between MIT’s Education Arcade and the MIT Game Lab. Her papers have appeared in New Media & Society, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Social Media & Society, among others. Her book To Know Is to Compare Studying Social Media across Nations, Media, and Platforms, written with Dr. Pablo Boczkowski, will be published by the MIT Press in 2023. Mora has contributed to CNN Radio Argentina and co-produced/hosted a podcast with Revista Anfibia about self-tracking technologies. She has received scholarships from institutions like the Fulbright Commission and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Chloe Mortenson
Website
Chloe Mortenson is a PhD student in the Media, Technology and Society program, working in the Center for Communication and Public Policy with Dr. Erik Nisbet. Her research is focused on political communication and comparative politics, specifically on the relationship between media ecosystems and regime types, information seeking, misinformation and affective polarization. Chloe received her M.A in political communication at The Ohio State University, and her B.A at Duquesne University in international relations and communication studies. For her master’s thesis she studied the indirect impact of misinformation on democracy through electoral fairness.
Redd Roseboro
redd@u.northwestern.edu
Redd Roseboro (he/they) is a creative media scholar and professional with interests spanning narratology, game studies, fandom, story development, narrative design, and voiceover. Redd is currently a second-year MTS Ph.D. student researching (ludo)narrative frameworks of communication in video games, and is also developing original creative projects.
Haohan Shi
Haohan Shi is a Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology, and Society program at Northwestern University. At Northwestern, he collaborates in the Lab on Innovation, Networks, and Knowledge under the guidance of Dr. Agnes Horvat.
He is broadly interested in misinformation, the science of science, online democracy, computational social science, and AI for social good. His work focuses on advancing online scholarly communication and promoting the democratization of science through digital science dissemination.
He holds an M.A. in Computational Social Science from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Mathematics/Computer Science and Psychology/Linguistics from Emory University.
Anne-Marie Singh
annemarie@u.northwestern.edu
Anne-Marie Singh is a Ph.D. candidate in the Media, Technology, and Society Program at Northwestern University and is working at the Network for Nonprofit and Social Impact under Dr. Michelle Shumate’s advisorship. She has several years of experience working in environmental nonprofits as a communicator and as a science journalist in public media. Her research interests include organizational communication and cross-sector partnerships in the nonprofit sector. Anne-Marie has a M.S. degree in Science Journalism from Boston University and a B.A. in English Literature from Delhi University, India.
Kai Xin Soh
Kai Xin Soh is a Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology, and Society program at Northwestern University, where she is part of the OrgFutures Lab and advised by Dr. Ignacio Cruz. As an academic and artist, she is passionate about exploring the socio-cultural intersections and ethical implications of emergent technologies like generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the communication and creative industries, as well as examining how human-AI collaboration and co-creativity can impact individuals, organizations, and society.With an interdisciplinary background, she graduated with Double Honors (Highest Distinctions) from the National University of Singapore, with a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Communications & New Media and Bachelor of Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing.
Marwa Tahboub
marwatahboub2026@u.northwestern.edu
Marwa Tahboub is a Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology, and Society program. She works in the Network for Nonprofit and Social Impact [NNSI] lab led by Dr. Michelle Shumate. Her research interests surround nonprofits, community organizations, and activism. She received her M.A. from Northwestern, in which her thesis explored how Muslim nonprofits engage in social movements in the United States. She holds a B.A. in professional communication and psychology from the University of Michigan-Flint.
Esteban Villa-Turek
Esteban Villa-Turek is a PhD student in the Media, Technology and Society program at Northwestern University, working with Dr. Erik Nisbet in his Center for Communication and Public Policy. He studies online disinformation with special attention to its policy implications, focusing on political and scientific disinformation in Latin America using applied data science and computational methods. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from Rosario University (Bogotá, 2014), a master’s degree in Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance (Berlin, 2019) and is currently finishing a master’s in Analytics from Georgia Tech.
Kalia Vogelman-Natan
kalia@u.northwestern.edu
Kalia Vogelman-Natan is a Doctoral Candidate in the Media, Technology, and Society program, working in the Center on Media and Human Development with Dr. Ellen Wartella. Her research explores young children’s online video consumption, employing mixed methods to examine what children are watching on YouTube and other video streaming platforms, their viewing practices, and how these experiences impact children’s development and well-being. Kalia’s other research interests include mobile communication and the role of media in the lives of families, specifically the impacts mobile ubiquity has on children, adolescents, and parenting. She holds a BA in International Relations with a minor in English Literature & Linguistics, and an MA in Communication from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Yanling Zhao
yanlingzhao2028@u.northwestern.edu
Yanling Zhao is a doctoral student in the Media, Technology, and Society program at Northwestern University and a member of the Center for Communication & Public Policy research lab, working with Dr. Erik Nisbet. Her research centers on media effects, political communication, public opinion, with an emphasis on new technology, digital media, and mis/disinformation. Yanling employs a range of methodological approaches in her scholarship, including computational, survey, and experimental methods.
Yanling received a M.A. in Emerging Media Studies from Boston University, M.A. in Chinese Culture from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, a B.A. in Journalism and Communication / B.B.A. in Accounting from Xihua University. She has professional experience working as a commentator and senior editor for the newspaper Hong Kong Commercial Daily in Hong Kong before moving back to academia.
Jessica Zier
Jessica (Jessi) is a Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology and Society program. She is a member of the Center of Media Psychology and Social Influence (COM-PSI) where she works with Dr. Nathan Walter. Her research focuses on persuasive communication, information processing, and social influence in the context of algorithmic and mediated communication systems. She holds a B.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience (Minerva University) and M.A. in Digital Communication (Vrije Universiteit Brussel/University of Salzburg).