Students | USC SPEC Lab

Undergraduate Research Team Leads

Valeria Flores-Cadena

Team Lead: Talus

Valeria Flores-Cadena is a senior pursuing a degree in International Relations and Global Economy with a minor in Global Health. Her interests include topics regarding international economic development and political economy, especially focusing on how it relates to public health and human rights. Outside the lab, she interns for Ray United FC, a non-profit organization focusing on implementing public health education where she helps with research and program management. Valeria joined SPEC in August 2021 and is part of the TALUS team.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Joe Jocas

Joe Jocas is a junior studying International Relations and Applied Analytics. He is part of the Resource Curse Team, in addition to being the Editor-in-Chief of the Southern California International Review and a student intern for the Dornsife Office of Admission. His main research interests are at the intersection of democracy and digital technology, as well as human rights, elections, and disinformation. His regional interests are Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and Central and South America. Outside of SPEC he enjoys hiking, skating, painting, and cooking!

Carlotta Dalal Alaai

Carlotta Dalal Alaai is a junior double majoring in International Relations and Global Studies at USC. Her academic interests include peace and conflict studies with a regional focus on the Middle East. Outside of SPEC, she tutors with Kinder2College, a program that strives to improve literacy and academic skills among local LA elementary school students. In her free time, she can be found baking, reading, and convincing her family to adopt stray cats. Carlotta Dalal joined the lab in the Summer of 2020.

Elijah Bakam

Elijah Bakam is a sophomore studying International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is a part of the SPEC EiE team as well as the Consulting for Social Change team. Elijah's academic interests include African politics, French literature, and global social justice initiatives. Outside of the SPEC Lab, Elijah enjoys playing tennis, studying geography, and cooking. Elijah joined the SPEC Lab in January of 2021.

Serish Thakker

Serish Thakker is an undergraduate senior at USC and is a research assistant for Alix Ziff's Development and Education Equity team. She is currently pursuing a dual degree in International Relations and Public Policy. Serish is from Nairobi and has research interests including African development, social innovation and enterprise in developing countries, and equitable economic growth. Outside of research, Serish enjoys wildlife photography and is learning how to surf!

Mekdi Theodros-Gebreyes

Mekdi is a sophomore at USC studying International Relations and the Global Economy. Her research interests include development in East Africa, Human Rights, Middle Eastern politics, and more. Outside of the lab, her interests include Model UN, travelling, and playing tennis. Mekdi joined SPEC in June 2021 and became a member of the Education, Conflict, and Aid Allocation team as well as the Consulting for Social Change team.

Nivea Krishnan

Nivea Krishnan is a sophomore double-majoring in Public Policy and Economics. Her academic interests include criminal justice reform, housing policy, and international economic development. In the lab she researches for the Development and Education Equity team. In addition to SPEC, she is a member of Model United Nations of Southern California, Trojan Consulting Group, and Undergraduate Student Government. Outside of USC, she serves as the Director of Policy at New Voters, a national student-led nonpartisan 501(c)3 committed to high school civic engagement. In her free time, Nivea enjoys choreographing dances, going to concerts, watching movies, and spending time with friends. Nivea joined the SPEC lab in September 2020.

William Ortell

Will Ortell is a sophomore at USC studying International Relations. His research interests include violence and institution building in developing countries with a regional specificity in Latin America. Outside of the lab, Will is a part of DPE and Trojan Scholar Society. His non-academic interests include cooking, exploring, and hip hop music. Will joined SPEC in June 2021 as a member of the Resource Curse team.

Robert Huang

Robert Huang is a sophomore studying Economics and Data Science with a minor in Environmental Studies at USC. He is currently part of the Powersharing team. His academic interests include public policymaking, international trade, and environmental economics. Outside of the lab, he enjoys running, traveling, playing the violin, and watching Netflix.

Mike Liu

Mike Liu is a sophomore studying Economics at the University of Southern California. He is currently part of the Talus team, and his research interests include international economics, geopolitics, and East Asian foreign affairs. Mike plans on pursuing a career in economic policy after graduation. Outside of the lab, Mike likes to play the piano, watch soccer, and hike with friends. Mike joined the SPEC lab in summer 2022.

Yuchen (Aaron) Gong

Aaron Gong is a junior studying Intelligence and Cyber Operation with a minor in Computer Programming at USC. He is currently part of the Talus team. His academic interests include software developments, algorithms, data analysis, and international relations. Outside of the lab, Aaron enjoys jazz, tennis, playing the piano, and watching movies.

Elysse Patterson

Elysse Patterson is a senior pursuing a major in International Relations with a double minor in Classics and French. Her primary academic interests include long-term effects of immigration, national security, and international organizations. Zoe joined the Talus team at SPEC in June of 2022. Outside of the lab, she is a Cultural Ambassador for the Center of Black Cultural and Student Affairs, President of the National Black Pre Law Association, and enjoys hiking, travel, reading, dance, and playing piano.

Cynthia Huang

Cynthia Huang is a senior pursuing Econ/Math and Business Administration with a minor in
Applied Analytics at USC. She has academic interests on data analytics and forecasting, machine
learning, econometrics, and micro economics. In the lab, besides helping with Talus
quantitative and visualization work, she also helps to design data science training modules and
held statistics consulting hours for SPEC students. Outside the lab, she worked with USC
professors on Data science and econometrics researching projects. I’m her free time, she enjoys
ceramics, running, hiking, yoga, cooking, and Pilates. Cynthia joined SPEC in June 2022 as a part of the Talus Team.

Darik de Jong

Darik de Jong is a rising Junior from the Netherlands pursuing a degree in Philosophy, Politics and
Economics with a minor in International Relations and Legal Studies at the University of Southern
California. Since Spring 2022 he has been a research assistant for the Beyond Conquest team led by Professor Markowitz. His academic interests include American constitutional law, the European Union
and the study of political economy. In the SPEC lab, Darik has contributed to several projects including the economic implications of NATO accession for the Baltic states and the emerging resource competition in the Arctic. Outside of the lab, he is on the executive board of the Model United Nations of Southern California and the Unruh Institute of Politics, the premier bipartisan organisation on campus. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, skateboarding and listening to podcasts.

Diana Cantini

Diana is a junior studying International Relations and Russian at USC. She is currently working for a post-doc book project on Russian regional reactions to negative revenue shocks. She is interested in learning about post-Soviet politics, Eastern European culture and history, and diplomacy. Outside of SPEC, she is involved in USC's Global Policy Institute and enjoys working out.

Gavin Bass-Sulpizio

Gavin Bass-Sulpizio is a rising sophomore at the University of Southern California studying
International Relations and Global Business with a minor in Psychology. A member of the SPEC
Lab since January 2022, Gavin has contributed to multiple projects under the auspices of multiple faculty members, with topics spanning from resource depletion in the Arctic to the economic implications of NATO accession in eastern Europe. Outside of the lab, Gavin works with USC’s International Consulting Club (ICC), where he guides start-ups in the local LA area
as a strategist and management consultant. In his free time, Gavin enjoys reading, playing the piano, exercise, and meditation.

Graduate Students

Alix Ziff

Alix Ziff is a PhD candidate in the Political Science and International Relations department and the Lab Manager at SPEC. She also oversees the Power-sharing Project Team with Professor Graham. Alix has a M.A. in African Studies from Stanford University and a B.A. in Political Science & International relations from UCSD. Her research interests focus on how different groups are affected by conflict, instability and political contention differently. She is specifically interested in the roles of both governments and external actors in access to education in conflict-affected areas.

Miriam Barnum

Miriam is a doctoral student in Political Science and International Relations and Provost's Fellow in the Social Sciences at the University of Southern California. Her primary research focuses on nuclear politics, arms control, and treaty commitments, as well as the intersection between international security and political economy. She is also interested in quantitative political methodology, particularly text-as-data, machine learning, and network analysis.

Gaea Morales

Gaea Morales is a Ph.D. student in Political Science and International Relations at USC. She joined the SPEC Lab in Summer 2020 to support the development of training for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program and now serves as the Director of Data Science. Her own research is focused on environmental security and conflict prevention, and local-global governance and institutional linkages in the pursuit of sustainability. Outside of the lab, she is co-chair of the USC Keck Institute on Inequalities in Global Health Student Advisory Council. She holds a BA in Diplomacy and World Affairs and French Studies, and a minor in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies from Occidental College.