As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, Western University has the following experts available to media on a growing range of topics surrounding the crisis. Experts are available to media on topics ranging from the fleeing of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees, the trauma of war, war crimes and international criminal law, propaganda and misinformation, and the International Olympic Committee urging sports bodies to exclude Russia’s athletes from international events.
Professor, Faculty of Information & Media Studies
Areas of Expertise: Propaganda and warfare, author of War X, Human Extensions in Battlespace (UTP, 2005) and Gorgeous War, the Branding War Between the Third Reich and the United States (WLP, 2019)
Lecturer, Chair of Master of Media in Journalism and Communication program, Faculty of Information & Media Studies,
Areas of Expertise: War reporting, media coverage of war, international news, mobile journalism and multimedia reporting,
Professor, Department of Psychology, Director, Centre for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations
Areas of Expertise: Refugee flows, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) responses to refugees, immigration and cultural diversity, ethnic relations
Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Head of cyber security research group Whisper Lab
Areas of Expertise: Cybersecurity, cryptography, secure computation, securing democracy in the digital age
Dr. Ruth Lanius
Professor of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Harris-Woodman Chair in Mind-Body Medicine
Areas of Expertise: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in soldiers, trauma related to war, neurobiology of PTSD and treatment outcomes
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law as Western
Areas of Expertise: International Law, International Criminal Court of Justice, international criminal law, international human rights law, and international humanitarian law,
Professor, Faculty of Law at Western, associate director of Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Areas of Expertise: International criminal law, including with respect to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,
Assistant Professor, School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences
Areas of Expertise: IOC response to Russian invasion, effectiveness of boycotts in sports during war, sports and human rights,
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Registered Psychotherapist
Areas of Expertise: Effect of watching war on the psyche, health and wellness, resilience and the creation of wellbeing, and post-traumatic stress injury and trauma-informed practice
For a previous list of experts including topics such as NATO and Ukraine-Russian relations: https://mediarelations.uwo.ca/2022/02/24/experts-available-to-speak-on-a-wide-range-of-topics-surrounding-the-russia-ukraine-conflict/
Commentary reflects the perspective and scholarly interest of Western faculty members and is not an articulation of official university policy on issues being addressed.
MEDIA CONTACT: Justin Zadorsky, Media Relations Officer, Western University, 226.377.1673 (mobile), jzadorsk@uwo.ca.
