Alumni

Stay connected with our alumni community and learn how our graduates are making impact across fields.

Alumni Spotlights

Steven Cohen, PhD '98

Dr. Cohen is a cognitive psychologist and expert in evaluating technological learning environments. After earning his Master’s in Computer Science from Binghamton University in 1980, he went on to attend the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program where he studied instructional assessment and graduated in 1998 with his thesis, "A Detailed, Multi-Site Method for Assessing the Effectiveness of Instructional Software." He went on to work at the University of Kentucky as both a Research Professor for Distance Learning Program Evaluation where he studied and ameliorated their online learning programs and then as a Senior STEM Assessment Psychologist where he researched program efficacy for first year STEM students. From there he has gone on to Michigan State University as Research Faculty and both an editorial board member and author for Oral History in the Digital Age (OHDA), where he conducts “research and assessment on the design and use of technologies for the social sciences and humanities.”

Read more about Dr. Cohen on his OHDA bio and read two of his publications, Shifting Questions: New Paradigms for Oral History in a Digital World and The role of digital libraries in helping students attend to source information.

Tahira Syed, PhD '24

Dr. Syed has over 20 years of experience in sustainability and climate solutions. She focuses on agriculture, environmental and social governance, and community-driven approaches to sustainable development across South Asia, Eastern and Southern Africa, Europe and Central Asia. She has worked at the World Bank for 18 of those years as a Senior Agriculture Economist and Senior Rural Development Specialist. During this work, she graduated from the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in 2024 with her thesis, Reframing Scale Issues in Transboundary Water Governance: Scale-Descale-Rescale Analysis of Policy Design and Implementation. She is now the Chief Innovation Officer of Solar Trigeneration Systems Inc, where she oversees the development of solar trigeneration systems, product commercialization, and innovates sustainable solutions.

Read some of Dr. Syed’s publications:
Scale-Descale-Rescale – An Emerging Analytical Tool
Healthy humans, animals, ecosystems - One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa
Scale interactions in transboundary water governance of Indus river

Photo Credit: Sandrine Sheon, 2008

Elijah Wald, PhD '15

Dr. Elijah Wald is a musician and distinguished author, best known for his book, Dylan Goes Electric!, upon which the hit movie, “A Complete Unknown," is based. Starting in the 1970s, Wald pursued a prolific musical and literary career. He did everything from touring as a guitarist across Europe, Asia, Africa and Central America, to playing in blues and rock bands, to “playing alto saxophone in sailor bars, often while standing on tables in cowboy boots.” In that time, he also wrote several books about musical history including How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'n' Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music, Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas, and Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues. Wald decided to return to his studies and attend the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program to study sociolinguistics. He wrote his hit book, Dylan Goes Electric! while in the program, delaying his completion until it was done. He graduated in 2015 with his thesis, Reinventing Ranchera: Music, Language, and Identity in the Southwest. He currently performs, leads speaking events, and continues to write and publish.

Read more about Dr. Wald on his website and this Tufts Spotlight.

All Alumni

Sarah Hladikova, PhD '24
Primary Advisor: Peter Levine, Department of Political Science, Department of Philosophy, and Lincoln Filene Professorship in Citizenship and Public Affairs, Tisch College
Dissertation Title: Silicon Valley and the Moral Landscape of Artificial Intelligence Governance in the European Union and the United States

Roberto Pinheiro Machado, PhD '24
Primary Advisor: Pablo Ruiz, Department of Romance Studies
Dissertation Title: In Search for the Liminal: Modernity and the Avant-garde Poetics of Pound, Breton, Huidobro, Gullar and Nishiwaki

Tahira Syed, PhD '24
Primary Advisor: Shafiqul Islam, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dissertation Title: Reframing Scale Issues in Transboundary Water Governance: Scale-Descale-Rescale Analysis of Policy Design and Implementation

Megan Gately, PhD '21
Primary Advisor: Linda Tickle-Degnen, Department of Occupational Therapy
Dissertation Title: Telehealth care and dementia
Current Position: United States Department of Veterans Affairs - GRECC - Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center

Laia Mogas-Soldevilla, PhD '20
Primary Advisor: Fiorenzo Omenetto, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Dissertation Title: "Reviving Matter: New Design Companions in the Science of Life"
Current Position: Asst. Prof., Architecture, University of Pennsylvania

Elijah Wald, PhD '15
Primary Advisor: Susan Ernst and Debra Pacini, Department of Anthropology
Dissertation Title: "Reinventing Ranchera: Music, Language, and Identity in the Southwest"
Current Position: Folk blues guitarist and music historian

Stephanie Gottwald, PhD '14
Primary Advisor: Maryanne Wolf, Department of Child Study and Human Development
Dissertation Title: "The Struggle to Express Themselves: An Examination of the Relationship of Syntax to Text Reading and Comprehension"
Current Position: Co-Founder and Director of Content, Curious Learning

Paul Lehrman, PhD '10
Primary Advisor: John McDonald, Department of Music
Dissertation Title: Music, Technology & Art History "The History and Technology of Ballet Mecanique"
Current Position: Senior Lecturer, Department of Music, Tufts University

David Proctor, PhD '10
Primary Advisor: Steven Marrone, Department of History
Dissertation Title: Medieval History, Art History & Languages "Imperial Christ: The Empire, The Papacy and the Battle of Christendom"
Current Position: Senior Lecturer, Department of History, Tufts University

Guangtao Ge, PhD '09
Primary Advisor: Lenore Cowen, Department of Computer Science
Dissertation Title: "Analysis of Genomic and Experimental Data for Identifying Positively Selected Genes, Early Cancer Diagnosis and Screening for Improved Industrial Protein Production"
Current Position: Data Scientist, Big Data Analytics, Constant Contact

Christine Rioux, PhD '09
Primary Advisor: David Gute, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dissertation Title: "Immunology, Genetics, Environmental Health"
Current Position: Research Assistant Professor, Public Health & Community Medicine - Tufts Medical School (2009-June 2017)

Alice Cavallo, PhD '08
Year of Matriculation: 2003
Primary Advisor: Alva Couch, Department of Computer Science
Dissertation Title: Theater, Technology & Education "Virtual Forum Theater: Creating and Shring Drama to Resolve Conflicts"
Current Position: Data Analyst at Wentworth Institute of Technology

Deborah Bobek, PhD '07
Primary Advisor: Richard Lerner, Department of Child Study and Human Development
Dissertation Title: Maintaining Civil Society and Democracy: Examining the Role of Youth Development Organizations in Promoting Civic Identity Development

Tracy Noble, PhD '07
Primary Advisor: Analucia Schliemann, Department of Education
Dissertation Title: "Body Motion and Physics: How Elementary School Students Use Gesture and Action to make Sense of the Physical World"
Current Position: Project Leader, TERC (August 1993-present)

Iris Stammberger, PhD '05
Primary Advisor: David Feldman, Department of Child Study and Human Development
Dissertation Title: "The Dynamics of Conceptual Change: Expert and Novice Navigation in a Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE)"
Current Position: Founder and Senior Consultant, TALBOK Management Consultants; CEO - Lionza Education - Business Educational Services Winchester, MA; Mind-Body Intervention Specialist, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Kayo Tajima, PhD '05
Primary Advisor: Gary Leupp, Department of History
Dissertation Title: "The Marketing of Urgan Waste in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area: 1600-1935"
Current Position: Teaching in Japan

Diana Anius, PhD '04
Primary Advisor: Robert Jacob, Department of Computer Science
Dissertation Title: "Technology and Policy of a Regional Wireless Grid"
Current Position: Managing Director, Dorani Consulting (Nov 2004-present); Senior Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University (Sept 2015-present)

Cathy Stanton, PhD '04
Primary Advisor: David Guss, Department of Anthropology
Dissertation Title: "The Lowell Experiment: Public History in a Postindustrial City"
Current Position: Senior Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Tufts University

Kevin Paul Gallagher, PhD '03
Primary Advisor: Rachel Bratt, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning
Dissertation Title: "Economic Integration, Environment & Development: Assessing the Mexican Experience"
Current Position: Associate Prof. of International Relations, Boston University

Diane Johnson-McCarthy, PhD '02
Primary Advisor: Rob Hollister, Tisch College
Dissertation Title: "The Cosmology of Partnership & Cross Sector Organizational Collaboration: An Examination of Private, Public and Third Sector Organizations Engaging Community Problem Solving"
Current Position: President/Owns Pvt. Consulting Business for non-profits "MMAPEU"

Sally Duncan, PhD '01
Primary Advisor: Andrew McClellan, Department of the History of Art and Architecture
Dissertation Title: "Paul J. Sachs and the Institutionalization of Museum Culture between the World Wars"

Steve Moysey, PhD '01
Primary Advisor: Arthur Winston, Gordon Institute
Dissertation Title: "A Cross Functional Examination of Technological Discontinuities and the Associated Risk of Firm Disruptions"
Current Position: VP Engineering and R&D - Cellular Life Sciences

Constance Putnam, PhD '99
Primary Advisor: Howard Solomon, Department of History
Dissertation Title: "True Compassion: Hospice or Hemlock"
Current Position: Writer

Steven Cohen, PhD '98
Primary Advisor: Richard Chechile, Department of Psychology
Dissertation Title: "A Detailed, Multi-Site Method for Assessing the Effectiveness of Instructional Software"
Current Position: Visiting Associate Professor, Michigan State University

Guru Ramanathan, PhD '98
Primary Advisor: David Dapice, Department of Economics
Dissertation Title: "Technological Innovation in Elective Health Care: A Case Study from an Emerging Market"
Current Position: President, Brillian Care; President, Guru Ramanathan LLC

Stella Papasavva, PhD '97
Primary Advisor: Jonathan Kenny, Department of Chemistry
Dissertation Title: "Reducing the Risk of Global Warming from CFC Alternatives: A Scientific Basis for Policy Options"
Current Position: Environmental Consultant - Greater Detroit - GREN-MAC-LCCP , Chair & Senior advisor on Life Cycle Analysis & Sustainable Development

Sergei Grigoriev, PhD '96
Dissertation Title: "The International Department of Central Committee of the Party of the Soviet Union and Gorbachev's Attempts to Reform the Party Apparat: A Case Study of Disintegration of Authority"
Current Position: Director of the Russian-U.S. Business Council