This fall, nearly 30 new researchers and instructors join departments and programs across Arts & Sciences.
Welcome to our incoming faculty!
Department of African and African American Studies
John Mundell joins the Department of African and African American Studies and the Program in Latin American Studies as a visiting lecturer. He is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work spans Black studies and women's, gender, and sexuality studies. He is also a foreign language educator and translator. His research and teaching focus on Black popular culture, gender and sexuality, and theories of racial formation in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Lusophone Africa. Mundell earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree from Wake Forest University. He later lived in Brazil for five years and earned a second master’s degree from the Universidade Federal da Bahia in Salvador. He earned his doctoral degree in African American and African Diaspora Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
Department of Anthropology
Sarah Johnson joins the Department of Anthropology as a visiting lecturer.
Thomas Wilson joins the Department of Anthropology as a visiting lecturer.
Department of Biology
James Holehouse joins the Department of Biology as an assistant professor.
Merlijn Staps joins the Department of Biology as an assistant professor. Previously a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University, Staps was recruited to WashU through the Rules of Life Initiative. He uses mathematical and statistical approaches to study the relationship between evolution and development. His research explores the origins of multicellular development, evolution in changing environments, and the evolution and development of color patterns. He earned his bachelor’s degrees from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and his doctorate from Princeton University.
College Writing Program
Ian Clark joins the College Writing Program as a visiting lecturer.
Cass Donish joins the College Writing Program as a visiting lecturer. A poet and nonfiction writer born and raised in Greater Los Angeles, Donish’s work is shaped by thematic investments in gender, grief, and place. They are the author of the poetry collections “Your Dazzling Death,” winner of the Publishing Triangle’s Audre Lorde Award and shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award; “The Year of the Femme,” winner of the Iowa Poetry Prize; and “Beautyberry.” Their nonfiction chapbook, “On the Mezzanine,” won the Gold Line Press Chapbook Contest. They were a co-founding editor of The Spectacle, WashU’s literary magazine, and a co-founder of Nightjar Arts Collective, an interdisciplinary art space in Columbia, Missouri. Donish earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, a master’s degree from the University of Oregon, a master’s degree in fine arts from WashU, and a doctoral degree from the University of Missouri.
Tamara Taylor joins the College Writing Program as a visiting lecturer.
Matthew Thompson joins the College Writing Program as a visiting lecturer. His areas of interest include British and postcolonial literature, the world wars, environmental humanities, and writing pedagogy. His research has appeared in the Journal of Modern Literature and Twentieth-Century Literature and includes articles such as “Rereading the English Canon through Mulk Raj Anand’s ‘Across the Black Waters’” and “Empire and the Rhetoric of Total War in Zadie Smith’s ‘White Teeth.’” In addition to teaching “College Writing: Place and Perspective,” Thompson teaches advanced writing and literature courses. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and master’s and doctoral degrees from WashU.
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Aya Tozawa joins the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures as a lecturer in Japanese. Tozawa has participated in the ALLEX Teacher Training Institute at Cornell University and is a member of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese. Before joining WashU, she taught at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Indiana University, where she coordinated weekly Japanese-English conversation tables for Japanese language learners. Tozawa earned a bachelor's degree from Akita International University in Akita, Japan, and her master's degree from Indiana University.
Department of Economics
Ş. Nuray Akın joins the Department of Economics as a senior lecturer, where she will teach macroeconomics at the master's and undergraduate levels. She previously served as vice rector for research, innovation, teaching, and curriculum development at Istanbul Bilgi University and as chairperson of the economics department at Özyeğin University in Türkiye. She has held faculty positions at the University of Iowa and the University of Southern California. Her research uses dynamic general equilibrium and search models to study risk-sharing and price formation, with applications to unemployment insurance, immigration, and fiscal policy. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boğaziçi University in Turkey and her doctorate from the University of Minnesota.
Gary Lyn joins the Department of Economics as a senior lecturer. He previously served as a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Board and held assistant professorships at Iowa State University and the University of Massachusetts Lowell. His research spans international economics, economic geography, and environmental economics. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of the West Indies and his doctorate from Pennsylvania State University.
English Department
Rachael DeWitt joins the Department of English and the College Writing Program as a lecturer. She teaches 19th-century U.S. literature and the environmental humanities. Her research centers on Thoreau, women’s writing, and the intersection of sex, gender, and ecology in early America. DeWitt’s current book project is titled “Fruitless Pleasures” and explores the ecological ideas that early Americans brought to bear on their everyday lives. For the past two years, she has been a postdoctoral fellow at WashU’s Center for the Humanities. Before arriving at WashU, she was a lecturer in Columbia University’s Undergraduate Writing Program. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Utah and her doctoral degree from UC Davis.
John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
J. Kameron Carter joins the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics as a professor. His research explores the intersections of religion, race, and public life, including how creative practices such as poetry and music can serve as sites of intellectual and spiritual inquiry. He is the author of “Race: A Theological Account” and “The Anarchy of Black Religion: A Mystic Song.” His current project, “The Afterlife of Christian Empire: On Our Present Apocalypse,” examines whiteness as a specific form of religion rather than solely as a racial identity and places current political crises in that context. Carter joins the Center after his appointment at the University of California, Irvine, where he was a professor of African American studies, comparative literature, and religious studies. Previously, he was a professor of religious studies and co-director of the Center for Religion and the Human at Indiana University. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Virginia.
Kambiz GhaneaBassiri joins the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics as a professor. His scholarship bridges Islamic studies, American religious history, and the politics of race and religion. His work, including his first book “A History of Islam in America,” examines how the structures involved in the construction of racial and religious boundaries shape human history. His current book project, “The Mosque in Islamic History,” is supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship and examines the mosque as a central institution through which Muslims have negotiated religious and cultural differences. GhaneaBassiri has also led several public scholarship initiatives, including the Portland Muslim History Project. He served as a national scholar for the National Endowment for the Humanities and American Library Association’s Muslim Journeys Bookshelf, developed curriculum materials for New York City Public Schools, and advised PBS documentaries about Muslim American experiences. He received his bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University.
Performing Arts Department
Elizabeth Stillerman Anderson joins the Performing Arts Department as a lecturer. She has performed with Chicago Repertory Ballet, Chicago Civic Ballet, Elements Ballet, and Kit Modus. Her choreography has been presented at the North Carolina Dance Alliance, the Experimental Music & Dance Film Festival, and the Millennium Park Summer Film Series in Chicago. Anderson served as artistic director for Covington Regional Ballet in Georgia, where she created several full-length ballets. She earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Elon University and a master’s degree in fine arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Brad Frenette joins the Performing Arts Department as a lecturer. He specializes in musical theater performance, history, dramaturgy, and vocal pedagogy. Before joining WashU, he taught at Denison University, where he directed Musical Theatre Workshop, founded the Broadway at Denison series, and taught courses in musical theater. He has received the ATHE/KCACTF Innovative Teaching Award and the Helen Devitt Jones Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award. A member of Actors’ Equity Association, Frenette has performed on national and European tours and at regional theatres including Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, Stages St. Louis, and Pennsylvania Centre Stage. His first book, “Film-to-Stage Musicals: Sweet Charity to Back to the Future,” will be published by Methuen Drama in early 2027. He earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in musical theatre from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in fine arts in Performance Pedagogy from Texas Tech University.
Department of Philosophy
Alisabeth Ayars joins the Department of Philosophy as an assistant professor. Her research focuses on moral psychology — how we evaluate morality and the norms surrounding it — as well as ethics and metaethics. Her current work includes a project that examines the idea of people who treat moral deeds as a personal interest or hobby rather than as genuinely binding norms, and a project exploring how different kinds of desire contribute to the good life. Prior to joining WashU, Ayars served as an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. She earned her bachelor’s degree from New College of Florida, her master’s degree from the University of Arizona, and her doctorate from Princeton University.
James Gulledge joins the Department of Philosophy as a visiting lecturer. His research focuses on the nature and value of perceptual experience, perceptual learning, and the perception-cognition distinction. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his master’s degree at Northern Illinois University, and his doctorate at WashU.
Daniel Layman joins the Department of Philosophy as a professor. Layman writes and teaches about political philosophy and its history. He is especially interested in liberty, rights, and the conceptual and historical relationships between them. His current research focuses on the concept of political liberty, including its value and how it developed as a concept. Before joining WashU, Layman was an associate professor of philosophy at Davidson College. Layman earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio University and his doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Program in Public Health & Society
Bree Bode joins the Program in Public Health & Society as a professor of practice. Bode engages in community-based activities to elevate solutions that address social drivers of health, especially political and commercial drivers related to food justice. She has a special interest in how policies and system variables influence the food choices of children and families. Bode earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Grand Valley State University and her doctorate at Wayne State University.
Ans Irfan joins the Program in Public Health & Society as a professor of practice. A global public health practitioner, climate-health expert, and learning innovation and leadership development strategist, Irfan has nearly two decades of experience advancing health equity. He currently serves with the Peace Corps at Bukidnon State University, Philippines. He is also the founding director of the Public Health Praxis Center, which works to mobilize science for social impact. Irfan earned master’s degrees from George Washington University, Harvard University, and the University of Winchester, as well as doctorates from George Washington University, Nebraska Methodist College, Middle Georgia State University, and Xinjiang Medical University.
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences
William Chopik joins the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences as an associate professor. He studies how close relationships — and the people in them — change over time. This work focuses on the individual and relational factors associated with health, cognition, and well-being across the lifespan. Before joining WashU, Chopik was an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University. He earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a doctorate from the University of Michigan.
Alexandra Decker joins the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences as an assistant professor. Her research combines behavioral studies, eye tracking, neuroimaging, computational modeling, and advanced statistical methods to examine how the brain and cognition change throughout childhood. Before joining WashU, Decker was a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2022 to 2025. She earned a bachelor’s degree from McGill University and a master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Toronto.
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
Jesús Ponte Bernal joins the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures as a visiting lecturer.
Department of Statistics and Data Science
Apratim Dey joins the Department of Statistics and Data Science as an assistant professor. He was previously a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University. His research lies in the intersection of AI and science. He is particularly interested in the precise understanding of different kinds of computational data science procedures and algorithms, including deep learning algorithms, stochastic gradient methods, compressed sensing and related signal processing problems, and high-dimensional statistics. He earned his undergraduate and master's degrees from the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata and his doctorate from Stanford University.
Sean McGrath joins the Department of Statistics and Data Science as an assistant professor, with a joint appointment at the Bursky School of Public Health. He develops and applies statistical methods for causal inference and data integration. He also builds open-source statistical software to support research in these areas. His work has addressed a range of public health questions, including the accuracy of diagnostic tests for COVID-19. He earned his bachelor’s degree from McGill University and his doctorate from Harvard University.
Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Anzi Dong joins the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as a visiting lecturer. A transborder activist, scholar, and teacher, Dong studies queer feminist politics within postsocialist China’s labor struggle and migrant women workers’ collective resistance to the global factory system. Before joining WashU, she was a postdoctoral associate at Rice University. Dong earned a master’s degree from George Washington University and a doctorate from Arizona State University.
