Advisory Board

Gregory Damhorst is the Student Director of the Global Health Initiative at the University of Illinois. He is currently an M.D./Ph.D. student in the Medical Scholars Program in which he is pursuing a doctorate in Bioengineering. His research interests include infectious disease, global health, biosensors, bio-EMS, microfluidics, virology, and HIV/AIDS.

Hadi Salehi Esfahani is a Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition, he currently serves as the Editor of the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, the President of Middle East Economic Association, and the Director of Global Studies Initiative at the University of Illinois. He has also worked for the World Bank as a visiting staff economist and a consultant. He has received his B.Sc. in engineering from Tehran University and Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. His theoretical and empirical research is in the field of political economy of development, focusing in particular on the Middle East and North Africa region. He has published numerous articles on the role of politics and governance in fiscal, trade, and regulatory policy formation. His articles have appeared in journals The Economic Journal, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Development Economics, International Economic Review, Oxford Economic Review, and World Development, among others.

Barbara Hancin-Bhatt specializes in international/global education, teaches in the LAS Global Studies program, and provides leadership for its ongoing development and management. She serves as LAS' Assistant Dean for international programs and exchanges. Her research expertise is in second language acquisition, and she holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Linguistics. Dr. Hancin-Bhatt has also been on the faculty at Penn State University, University of South Carolina, and University of Utah. 

Ravi Iyer is the George and Ann Fisher Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department here at Illinois. His primary research area is reliable and secure systems, and his other interests include: measurement and modeling; dependability and security validation and benchmarking; and reliable biomedical monitoring.

Dr. Laurie Kramer is the Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the College of ACES at the University of Illinois. She is also a professor of Applied Family Studies in the Department of Human and Community Development. Kramer earned her Ph. D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois in 1989 and performed her residency at Northwestern University Medical School. 

Faranak Miraftab's research concerns the social aspects of urban development, with interest in how low-income groups and women in particular access housing and basic urban services. A native of Iran, she has degrees from the Tehran University, the Norwegian Institute of Technology, and received her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. Her work has brought her around the world to Chile, Mexico, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the United States.

Wolfgang Schlör is the Interim Associate Provost for International Affairs and Director of International Programs and Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He joined Illinois in August 2007 as Associate Director of International Programs and Studies. Previously, he served as the Interim Director of the University Center for International Studies (UCIS) at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as Associate Director and Assistant Director for Academic Affairs of UCIS.