Our Post-Docs
With Sié Center faculty and policy community mentors, post-doctoral fellows conduct their own research and contribute to collaborative research efforts designed to inform (and be informed by) contemporary policy concerns and strategies.
Joint Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Sié Center & Oxfam America
Post-Doctoral Fellowship Background: The Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies and Oxfam America are excited to host this innovative post-doctoral fellowship program. This position serves as a bridge between Oxfam and the Sié Center and the goal of this position is to contribute to the mission of both organizations through collaborative research on policy-relevant questions related to women’s leadership and feminist U.S. foreign policy.

Sié Center - Oxfam America Post-Doc Fellow 2021-2022
Dr. Elizabeth Brannon received her Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University in 2021. From 2020-2021, she was a Peace and Security Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and Minerva Institute. Lizzie Brannon’s fields of study are International Relations and Quantitative Research Methodology. Her primary research interests include gender, conflict, peacebuilding, and post-war politics. A significant portion of her research is devoted to understanding how women’s political representation increases after war and its implications for foreign policy. Beyond this, her research also considers women’s inclusion in conflict and post-conflict processes, including rebel groups, peace processes, and women’s organizations. Lizzie graduated with honors from James Madison University (Harrisonburg, Virginia) in 2017 with a B.A. in International Relations and minors in Humanitarian Affairs and Honors Interdisciplinary Studies.

Marie Curie Fellow 2022 - 2024
Matteo C. M. Casiraghi is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow at University of Warwick, Department of Politics and International Studies, and University of Denver, Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy. His research interests focus on international norms, military operations, parliamentary debates, rhetorical political analysis, visual politics, and populism. His most recent articles appeared in West European Politics, the British Journal of Politics and IR, Small Wars & Insurgencies, and the Journal of Global Security Studies.

Visiting Research Scholar
Tiina Hyyppä, MA, is doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki. Her research focuses on civil governance during the Syrian uprising and war. She combines area studies and political science in researching local councils as civil actors. She is interested in local councils’ ability to reduce violence and their relations to rebel governance. Her policy-relevant research provides more information on civil action during a protracted conflict. Tiina is a fellow at the Civil War Paths project at the University of Sheffield and a member of the editorial team of Babylon, a Nordic journal on Middle Eastern studies. She writes blog posts about current Syria issues and gives expert comments in the media. Tiina has lived and traveled in the Middle East, and Middle Eastern food was critical in drawing her into this field.
Current Openings & Opportunities
Opportunities to join the Sié Center as a post-doctoral fellow are typically listed in the winter quarter. Please check back or reach out to us if you are interested in learning more.
Former Post-Doctoral Fellows
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2020-2021
Rachel Schmidt, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (2021-2022), Centre d’études sur la paix et la sécurité internationale de l’Université de Montréal (CEPSI); Instructor, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada; Research Fellow, The Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society
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2019-2020
William Akoto, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Fordham University
Isigi Kadagi, Director, Education for Nature Program & Capacity Building Initiatives, WWF Science
Emily Scott, Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre for International Peace and Security Studies at McGill University
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2018-2019
Juliana Restrepo Sanin, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Florida
Kai Thaler, Assistant Professor, Department of Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara
Maja Halilovic-Pastuovic, Visiting Research Fellow, Irish School of Ecunemics, Trinity College Dublin
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2017-2018
Yolande Bouka , Assistant Professor, Department of Political Studies, Queen's University
Kelsey Norman , Fellow for the Middle East, Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University
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2016-2017
Evan Perkoski, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Connecticut
Michael Kalin, Senior Advisor, Behavioral Insights
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2015-2016
Cassy Dorff, Assistant Professor of Political Science and affiliated faculty at the Data Science Institute at Vanderbilt University
Devin Finn, Postdoctoral Research Fellows,Universidad de los Andes
Steven T. Zech, Lecturer, Department of Politics and International Relations, Monash University
