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Antonians make a difference in the world through a hugely diverse range of professional paths. Here is a round-up of recent alumni career updates.
1960s
Fred Hohler (DPhil Politics, 1966) founded the online Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF), now Art UK, in 2002, which has recorded and photographed all oils in public ownership in the UK. Subsequently and with the financial assistance of The Javad Marandi Foundation, he founded The Watercolour World. From the decision by the Georgian military in 1746/7 to establish in Stirling a school of military drawing using watercolour, watercolour spread globally to become the medium for making the visual record. An enormous number of these documentary images still exist today, constituting a unique record, in colour, of the known world before photography. Arguably, the period 1759-1900 (the arrival of the Box Brownie swiftly ended the watercolour era) is the best visually recorded period of human history. The global watercolour collection (public and private) is now being collected, geo-located and made freely available on the TWW website.
David C Mulford (DPhil Political Science, 1962) is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He focuses on research, writing and activities related to global economics and financial developments, including the founding and development of a US-India program for deepening US-India economic and geopolitical relations.
1970s
Teresa (Teri) (Bolin) Waldron (MPhil Latin American Studies, 1977) is currently enrolled on the Oxford PGCert course in Historical Studies, focusing on the Medieval Church.
Eurico de Lima Figueiredo (DPhil Political Science, 1974) is the Coordinator of the Center for Advanced Studies, at Fluminense Federal University in Rio de Janeiro. He is also an Emeritus Fellow at the Brazilian Association of Defense Studies and an Emeritus Professor at Fluminense Federal University. Until 2020, he was the Director of the Institute of Strategic Studies.
1980s
Masahiko Asada (Senior Member, 1988) was elected as a member of the UN International Law Commission at the UN General Assembly in November 2021. The mandate is 2023-2027. He was also elected to the Institut de Droit International as an associate member in 2021.
Wladyslaw Bartoszewski (Research Fellow, 1985; SAM, 1989) is Vice-Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Polish Diet (Sejm), Vice-Chair of the Polish-British Parliamentary Group, and Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Group for the Reform of the Intelligence Services.
Suranjan Das (DPhil Modern History, 1984) is the Vice-Chancellor of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, and Honorary Professor of Exeter University, UK. As the senior Vice-Chancellor in the country, he is currently the President of the Association of Indian Universities.
Elizabeth Harvey (DPhil History, 1981) has been seconded from the University of Nottingham to the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History, Berlin office, as project-lead for the English-language 16-volume series of documents The Persecution and Murder of the European Jews by Nazi Germany, 1933-1945. Five volumes are now out, and three more are due to be published in 2023.
Minouche Shafik (DPhil Economics, 1989) Honorary Fellow and alumna of St Antony's, Baroness Minouche Shafik DBE, HonFBA has been appointed as the 20th President of Columbia University in the City of New York.
1990s
Márton Benedek (MPhil European Politics & Society, 1999; DPhil International Relations, 2009) is now Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Libya. He asks any Antonians in Tunis or Tripoli to please reach out to him.
Hamish Nixon (DPhil Politics and International Relations, 1998) recently joined Global Affairs Canada as Advisor in the Peace and Stabilization Operations Programme, which is central to Canadian engagement in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Gordon Peake (MPhil DPhil, 1996) is Senior Adviser at the United States Institute of Peace.
Bradley Cook (DPhil Oriental Studies, 1995) started serving as President of the American University of Bahrain.
David Hall-Matthews (DPhil Modern History, 1994) is the Student Funding Manager at the Saïd Business School.
Heungchong Kim (MPhil Economics, 1993) became President of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.
James Onley (DPhil Modern History, 1996) was appointed the Ahmed Seddiqi Chair in Gulf and Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of History at the American University of Sharjah in August 2022.
Valla Vakili (DPhil Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 1995) is now Global Head of Insights and Innovation at Visa in San Francisco.
2000s
Richard Adjei (MSc African Studies, 2019) has begun postgraduate studies at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States in his quest to become a professional historian of medicine and Africa. He joined the School of Medicine for a PhD in the History of Medicine in the fall of 2022.
Claudia Baldoli (PhD Contemporary History, 2003) was Lecturer in Modern European History, Newcastle University from 2006-2010, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History, Newcastle University from 2010-2018, and since 2018 has been Associate Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Milan, Italy.
Jaroslaw Bajaczyk (MSt Diplomatic Studies, 2019) was promoted to First Counsellor in the Embassy of Poland in Berlin, Germany as of January 2023. His position is Head of the Political Section.
Elife Bicer-Deveci (DPhil History, 2016) founded the international research network History of Body Politics in the Global South.
Cristina Blanco Sío-López (Fellow, Iberian and European Studies, 2018) is the ‘María Zambrano’ Senior Distinguished Researcher at the Universidade da Coruña, Spain and PI of the ‘FUNDEU’ project, financed by the NextGenerationEU framework.
Annegret Brauss (MSc Modern Chinese Studies, 2012) is now working as manager of business development for H2 Energy, a company driving the development of green hydrogen in Europe.
Gordon Barrett (MPhil Modern Chinese Studies, 2007) started a 3-year post-doctorate on the European Research Council-funded NEWORLD@A project (based at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Manchester).
Bhavya Bishnoi (MSc Modern South Asian Studies, 2016) was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from Adampur in Haryana, India in November 2022. He is the youngest legislator in the 90-member state assembly.
Neil Briscoe (DPhil International Relations, 2000) is Head of Policy at Wilton Park, an executive agency of the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office.
Davide Cadeddu (Senior Member, 2022) has been elected Life Member of Clare Hall College, University of Cambridge, and has been nominated Professor of History of Political Theory at the University of Milan.
Giovanni Cadioli (MSc Russian and East European Studies, 2012; DPhil History 2013) has won a three-year Research Fellowship at the Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies (SPGI), University of Padua. The Italian title is "Ricercatore a tempo determinato - fascia A" (Fixed term researcher - tier A). This marks a continuation, with a higher qualification, of affiliation with the University of Padua.
Noé Cornago (Visiting Fellow, 2011-2012) is a CPD Research Fellow at the Centre on Public Diplomacy, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California.
Anna Coyet (née Komheden) (MPhil European studies, 2000) is the new Senior International Advisor at the Swedish National Audit Office, with responsibility for Nordic cooperation, EU relations, coordination of peer review of supreme audit institutions, and audit of international organisations.
Otilia Dhand (MPhil Russian and East European Studies, 2004) is joining Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore, as the Director for Institutional Relations based in Brussels. She will advise the board of directors and the management team on EU policies and geopolitics.
Kathleen Derose (MSc Contemporary Chinese Studies, 2014) has joined the following boards as a non-executive director: The London Stock Exchange Group, Experian, Voya Financial, and Enfusion.
Suriya Edwards (MPhil Development Studies, 2001) recently joined the Partnership at the law firm, Foot Anstey LLP. She is a construction lawyer and the firm's net zero construction lead. Suriya’s practice tackles the complex issues surrounding climate change in the built environment, a particularly big emitter of 25% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions. She does this by focusing on solutions, such as climate-aligned contracting (working with The Chancery Lane Project).
Kyrre Elvenes Brækhus (MPhil International Relations, 2003) is the Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Yangon.
Simón Escoffier (DPhil Sociology, 2011; SCR Member 2018-2019) is now an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Hart Nadav Feuer (MPhil Development Studies, 2006) received tenure as Associate Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University. He is one of only three non-Japanese academics of the 120 researchers in the Faculty.
Mathieu Gasparini (MSc African Studies, 2006) is starting a new position as Head of HR Management at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Tressa Guenov (MSc Politics Research, 2002) took on the role of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, US Department of Defense.
Nathan Harper (MPhil Social Anthropology, 2010) is the Country Director for the Jordan Mission at Medair International.
Tanya Samara Herfurth (MPP, 2020) recently started working as Manager for International Affairs, responsible for EU policymaking, at the German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Verband Forschender Arzneimittelhersteller e.V. (vfa)) in Berlin. The vfa represents the interests of 48 leading global research-based pharmaceutical companies, including their subsidiaries and affiliated companies.
Christian Heller (MPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies, 2013) joined Amazon Web Services supporting their public sector team in Washington DC.
Marion Isaacs (MSc African Studies, 2009) produced a feature documentary entitled 'Milisuthando', set in past, present, and future South Africa which premiered in competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
Robert Kilpatrick's (Senior Member, 2022) field is Health Innovation and Social Impact. Together with Scientific American, Phenome Health, and Google, he has developed content for a custom media project titled The New Science of Wellness. He is developing a second media project: Healthspan. The Science of Ageing and Longevity, with the aim of empowering people to live better and longer.
Stefan B. Kirmse (MPhil Russian and East European Studies, 2003) has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant (2023-2028) as head of a team of researchers in the interdisciplinary project "In Pursuit of 'Legality' and 'Justice': Minority Struggles in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union". The project will be based at Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) in Berlin.
Helena F. S. Lopes (DPhil History, 2013) has been appointed Lecturer in Modern Asian History at Cardiff University.
Jaime Lluch (Visiting Fellow, 2010-2011) obtained tenure and was promoted to full professor in Political Science at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan. This semester he is teaching a seminar on “Constitutionalism and National Pluralism” at the UPR.
Edward Melhuish (Senior Member, 2016-2022) was invited by Nicola Sturgeon, Former First Minister of Scotland to join the International Council of Education Advisers, which advises the Scottish government on future education policy. This follows from similar work for the Republic of Ireland government.
Elena Minina (MSc Comparative International Education; PhD Educational Studies, 2014) is a Lecturer in International Comparative Education with the School of Education, Communication and Society, King's College London
Marco Moraes (DPhil International Relations, 2015) has been appointed Legal Officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva.
Munkhjargal Nergui (MSt Diplomatic Studies, 2019) is the first Secretary at the Embassy of Mongolia in London
Joshua Nott (MSc African Studies, 2017) is a Manager of Global Growth at Schmidt Futures. Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative of Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
Professor Mohammad Nurunnabi (Senior Member) from Prince Sultan University was invited as a distinguished panel speaker at the 77th UN Day in Saudi Arabia, in a session titled – “Emerging and innovative approaches of partnerships in Academia”. Prince Sultan University is the First Saudi University to pledge to achieve Net Zero by 2060.
Chris O'Flaherty (Hudson Fellow, 2017-2018) is now the UK's Defence Attaché in Tripoli, Libya.
Aries Poon (MSc Public Policy, 2015) has been appointed Director and Head of Asia-Pacific economics and country-risk research at S&P Global Market Intelligence. He is based in Hong Kong.
Indrajit Roy (DPhil International Development, 2008) was recently appointed as Co-Director of the York Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre. He was also recently elected Executive Trustee of the UK Political Studies Association and on the Council of the UK Development Studies Association.
Sherry-Lee Singh (Abrahams) (MPhil International Relations, 2004) is starting a new position as Senior Director of Supplier at Walmart, US. Sherry will collaborate with the organisation's leaders, teams, and stakeholders in this role to build an inclusive supply chain.
Kevin Trowel (MPhil Russian & East European Studies, 2003) left his post as Deputy Chief of Criminal Appeals for the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York to become a Principal in the Free and Fair Litigation Group.
Raphael Susewind (MSc Contemporary India, 2009) will join the LSE in July, as Associate Professorial Lecturer in Qualitative Methods at the Department of Methodology.
Kassie Scott (Msc Social Data Science, 2020) is working in Business Development for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development in Washington, D.C.
Krzysztof Szubert (Senior Member, 2019) was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to a two-year term to serve on his inaugural Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Leadership Panel and appointed as the Vice President of the Managing Board & CEO of PKO TFI.
Roxanne Varzi (Visiting Senior Iran Fellow, 2004-2005) became a full professor in 2018 and staged a reading of her new play Yalda: an Iranian Twelfth Night through the University of California, Irvine, New Swan Shakespeare Center.
A. Nuri Yurdusev (Senior member, 2003) has been elected as the President of the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA).
Pēteris Zilgalvis (Fellow, 2013-24) is a Judge at the General Court, Court of Justice of the European Union, and was elected to the Management Board (Conseil de gestion) of the General Court for the period 2022-2025.
Nadhirah Zanudin (MSt Diplomatic Studies, 2019) has been promoted to Political Counsellor at the Embassy of Malaysia in Manila, Philippines. Prior to this, she was First Secretary at the Embassy of Malaysia in Washington D.C.