The University of South Florida offers a variety of faculty experts to discuss key issues relevant to the 2024 primary and general elections.
Listed below are some of Å·ÃÀÈý¼¶Æ¬â€™s experts by topic, along with their focus area. Members of the media interested in an interview are asked to contact Althea Johnson (altheapaul@usf.edu), who will work to accommodate interview requests within the experts’ schedules.
In addition, if there is interest in a topic not listed, is another resource to quickly locate faculty members by keywords, expertise or college.
GENERAL POLITICS
Edwin Benton
Professor of political science and public administration
- State and local government politics
- Government finances and fiscal behavior
- Welfare and housing policy
Rob Mellen Jr.
Assistant professor of political science
- Presidency
- Interaction among government branches
- Congressional politics
- Presidential primaries and caucuses
Janna Merrick
Professor of political science
- Public policy
- American national government
Susan MacManus
Professor emeritus of political science
- Florida politics
- Political issues
- Women in politics
- Voter demographics
Darryl Paulson
Professor emeritus of government
- Florida politics
- American government
- Political campaigns
- Voting rights
POLITICAL COMMUNICATION/ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE
Josh Scacco
Associate professor of communication studies
- Political campaigns
- Misinformation and disinformation
- Social and digital media
- Public opinion
Lawrence Hall
Distinguished university professor of computer science
- AI regulation
- AI in image processing
- AI and its effects on jobs and the workplace
John Licato
Assistant professor of computer science
- How large language models such as ChatGPT can be used in political messaging
- AI in spam communications
- AI’s impact on cognitive biases in political communications
Stephen Neely
Associate professor of public administration
- Media and politics
- Public policy
- Survey research on policy and election topics
COVID-19/PUBLIC HEALTH/MENTAL HEALTH
Jason Salemi
Associate professor of epidemiology
- Infectious disease
- Public health surveillance
- Maternal and child health, birth defects
Jay Wolfson
Distinguished professor of public health, medicine and pharmacy
- Differences in candidates’ approach to health care and policy
- Health care finance
- Health policy and practice
Ryan Wagoner
Division chief, Morsani College of Medicine Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences
- Social anxiety related to news consumption
- Social anxiety related to interactions on social media
- The philosophy of individuals not assuming the worst in others
Michael Teng
Assistant professor of internal medicine
- Infectious disease
- Allergies and immunology
- Biomedical engineering
Jill Roberts
Associate professor of public health
- COVID-19
- Public health guidelines and implementation
- Broad perspective on infectious diseases
Katherine Drabiak
Associate professor of public health law
- Health policy
- Health law
- Bioethics/clinical ethics
CLIMATE CHANGE/ENVIRONMENT
Chris Meindl
Associate professor of geography
- Regional geography
- Water management
- Environmental policy
Christian Wells
Professor of anthropology
- Environmental justice and underserved communities
- Soil/water/air contamination; brownfields
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and White House Justice40 Initiative
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Feng Hao
Associate professor of sociology
- Human causes of climate change
- National and international climate policy
- Renewable energy deployment
- Public opinion on environmental issues
Gary Mitchum
Professor of physical oceanography
- Global sea-level rise
- Broader connections between climate change and hurricanes
- Impacts of sea-level rise, storm surge and hurricanes
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
Edelyn Verona
Professor of psychology
- Psychology and crime
- Violence prevention
- Pathways to incarceration and reentry
- Mental health and criminal justice
Jessica Grosholz
Associate professor of criminology
- Recidivism
- Prisoner education
- Prisoner reentry
CYBERSECURITY
George W. Burruss
Professor of criminology
- Policing
- Homeland security
- Victimization in cyberspace
Giti Javidi
Professor of cybersecurity
- Cybersecurity governance and policies
- Cyber threat intelligence and risk management
- Security in smart infrastructures (smart cities, smart power/utility grids, smart vehicles)
Thomas Hyslip
Assistant professor of criminology
- Computer hacking
- Cybercrime
- Digital forensics
Stephen Gary
Associate professor of information and intelligence studies
- Cyber threats to the 2024 elections
- Cyber threat actors and reasonings
- Cyber threats to public and private sectors
ECONOMY
Michael Snipes
Associate professor of economics
- General economics and policy
- Inflation
- Housing and cost of living
Brad Kamp
Associate professor of economics
- Microeconomics
- Information economics
- Trade
Richard Smith
Associate professor of economics
- Health care economics
FOREIGN POLICY
Golfo Alexopoulos
Professor of Russian and Soviet history
- Russian politics and history
- US-Russian relations
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Authoritarianism and political violence in Europe
Tatsiana Kulekevich
Instructor of political science
- Eastern Europe, Belarus
- International political economics, migration and protest politics
- Democratization, international security and ethnic politics
Steven Roach
Professor of international relations
- Global governance
- Critical international theory
- International criminal court
- Global ethics and warfare
Thomas Smith
Professor of foreign affairs
- International humanitarian law
- Middle East
- Laws of war
Adib Farhadi
Assistant professor of economics
- Great Power competition
- Violent extremism
- Religion, conflict and peacebuilding
IMMIGRATION
Elizabeth Aranda
Professor of sociology
- Undocumented young adults in Florida
- Immigration policies
- Latinos/as and racial profiling; Latinos/as and voting behavior
- Puerto Rican migration; Puerto Ricans in Florida
Heidi Castañeda
Professor of anthropology
- Borders
- Migration/immigration
- Migrant health
Jody McBrien
Professor of educational studies
- International migration and refugee resettlement
- Families affected by war
- Global refugee population growth (from 9.2 million in 2004 to 35.3 million in 2022)
NATIONAL SECURITY/DEFENSE
Jim Cardoso
Senior director, Global and National Security Institute; U.S. Air Force (ret.)
- National security
- Military and defense industry
- Aviation
- Special operations
David Oakley
Academic director, Global and National Security Institute; former U. S. Army field artillery officer
- Intelligence, including CIA/Department of Defense relations
- U.S. foreign policy
- Civilian-military and civilian-intelligence relations
- Irregular warfare
Tad Schnaufer II
Research and strategy manager, Global and National Security Institute
- NATO
- Military studies
- Foreign policy
- Hybrid warfare
Zacharias P. Pieri
Associate professor of political science
- Extremism -- both domestic and international, including jihadist movements
- Far right activity in the U.S.
- Antisemitism