Our Director and Affiliates

Robert Adelman
Professor, Sociology
Research Interest: Urban Sociology; Race and Ethnicity; Internal Migration; Inequality; Segregation; Sociology of Immigration
Email: adelman4@buffalo.edu

Kafuli Agbemenu
Assistant Professor, Nursing
Research Interest: African Refugees and Immigrants; Reproductive Health; Health Promotion
Email: agbemenu@buffalo.edu

Abigail Cooke
Associate Professor, Geography
Research Interest: Immigrants and Refugees; Urban & Regional Studies; Regional Labor Markets
Email: amcooke@buffalo.edu

David Gerber
Professor Emeritus, History
Research Interest: Historical Immigration and Resettlement; United States Immigration Law
Email: dagerber@buffalo.edu

Oscar Gil-Garcia
Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Research Interest: International migration; Race, Class, Gender; Barriers to Health
Email: oscargil@buffalo.edu

Alexandra Judelsohn
Assistant Professor, Urban and Regional Planning
Research Interest: Refugees and Immigrants; Political Participation; Food Systems; Built Environment
Email: ajudelso@buffalo.edu

Isok Kim
Associate Professor, Social Work
Research Interest: Asian Immigrants & Refugees; Ethnic Minorities; Racism; Mental Health
Email: isokkim@buffalo.edu

Sunha Kim
Associate Professor, Education
Research Interest: Immigrant Students; Survival Analysis; Educational Outcomes
Email: sunhakim@buffalo.edu

Wooksoo Kim
Professor, Social Work
Research Interest: Immigrants and Refugees; Acculturation; Mental Health; Alcohol Use
Email: wkim5@buffalo.edu

Li Lin
Professor Emeritus, Industrial & Systems Engineering 
Research Interest: Healthcare Systems; Healthcare Quality and Process Improvements
Email: indlin@buffalo.edu

Arabella Lyon
Professor Emeritus, Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
Research Interest: Migration; Mobility; Europe; United States
Email: alyon@buffalo.edu

Joannne Song McLaughlin
Associate Professor, Economics
Research Interest: Labor & Public Economics; Immigration Policy
Email: jsmclaug@buffalo.edu

Shaanta Murshid
Associate Professor, Social Work
Research Interest: Economic Interventions; Structural Violence; Intimate Partner Violence
Email: nadinemu@buffalo.edu

Yunju Nam
Associate Professor, Social Work
Research Interest: Social Policy; Poverty; Asset Building; Immigrants and Refugees 
Email: yunjunam@buffalo.edu

Zhongzheng (Jason) Niu
Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Environmental Health
Research Interest: Maternal & Child Health; Environmental Health; Cardiovascular Diseases; Epigenetics
Email: zniu2@buffalo.edu

Erkin Özay
Assistant Professor, Architecture & Planning
Research Interest: Multicultural Urban Environments
Email: eozay@buffalo.edu

Gina Prescott
Clinical Associate Professor, Pharmacy
Research Interest: Refugee Health; Global Noncommunicable Diseases
Email: gmzurick@buffalo.edu

Deborah Reed-Danahay
Professor, Anthropology
Research Interest: Migration; Mobility; Emplacement; Europe
Email: der5@buffalo.edu

Hua Helen Wang
Associate Professor, Communication
Research Interest: Entertainment; Education for Health Promotion & Social Change
Email: hwang23@buffalo.edu

X. Christine Wang
Professor, Education
Research Interest: Early Learning & Development; International Education; Technology; Digital Literacies
Email: wangxc@buffalo.edu

Hilary Weaver
Professor Emeritus, Social Work
Research Interest: Multicultural Social Work; Indigenous Populations; Refugees
Email: hweaver@buffalo.edu

Lois Weis
Distinguished Professor, Education
Research Interest: Race and Ethnicity; Equity & Poverty; Class & Gender Stratification
Email: weis@buffalo.edu

Barbara Wejnert
Professor, Transnational Studies
Research Interest: Immigration; Refugee's Social Adaptation & Acceptance
Email: bwejnert@buffalo.edu

Edward Alessi
Rutgers University, Social Work
Research Interest: Stress/trauma among LGBTQ+ migrants; community-based health
Email: ealessi@ssw.rutgers.edu

Aysegul Balta
Uskudar University in Istanbul, Sociology
Research Interest: Refugee & Immigrant Integration; Immigration & Integration Policies
Email: aysegulb@buffalo.edu

Odessa Gonzalez Benson
University of Michigan, Social Work
Research Interest: Refugees and Immigrants; Critical Policy Studies
Email: odessagb@umich.edu
Just Futures: An action research collective on displacement, migration and urban studies

Hyojin Im
Virginia Commonwealth University, Social Work
Research Interest: Refugee Trauma & Mental Health
Email: him@vcu.edu

Suk-Young Kang
Binghamton University, Social Work
Research Interest: Asian American Immigrant Elders; Health Access; Immigrants and Refugees
Email: sykang@binghamton.edu

Youn Kyoung/Lily Kim
Louisiana State University, Social Work
Research Interest: Refugees; Behavioral Health Inequalities; Financial Empowerment
Email: ykim@lsu.edu

Wonhyung Lee                                                                                                        University at Albany, SUNY, Social Work
Research Interest: Multiethnic Neighborhood Dynamics; Refugee Access to Jobs; Community Economic Development
Email: whlee@albany.edu

Arati Maleku
Ohio State University, Social Work
Research Interest: Forced Migration; Social Determinants of Health; Feminization of Migration
Email: maleku.1@osu.edu

Mitra Naseh
Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Interest: Well-being of Refugees and Immigrants; Multidimensional Poverty; Migration Policy; Trauma and Forced Migration
Email: naseh@wustl.edu

Livianna Tossutti
Brock University, Political Science
Research Interest: Political Participation & Representation of Immigrants
Email: ltossutti@brocku.ca

Asli Yalim
University of Central Florida, Health
Research Interest: Use of Mental Health Services Among Refugee & Immigrants
Email: asli.yalim@ucf.edu

Megan Bailey
UB School of Social Work
Research Interest: Refugees and Immigrants; Barriers to Integration and Community Inclusion
Email: bailey25@buffalo.edu

Alexander Bervik 
University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice
Research Interest: Refugees and Forced Migrants; Fatherhood and Masculinity
Email: adbervik@upenn.edu

Shiyue Cui
UB Department of Sociology
Research Interest: Refugees and Immigrants; Race and Ethnicity; Gender
Email: shiyuecu@buffalo.edu

Drumond Dzakuma
UB Department of Geography
Research Interest: Migration; Medical Geography; Non-communicable Diseases; Urban Health; Health Disparities
Email: drumondd@buffalo.edu  

Jay Kim
UB School of Social Work
Research Interest: Community Organization and Development; Immigrant and Refugees
Email: jaykim@buffalo.edu

Meschelle Linjean
UB School of Social Work
Research Interest: Displacement, Land and Place, Belonging and Connectedness, Indigenous Peoples
Email: meschell@buffalo.edu

Sarah Richards-Desai
UB School of Social Work
Research Interest: Capabilities; Economic Integration; Networks of Refugees; Gender
Email: scrichar@buffalo.edu
Policy Brief