The People Behind the IAFOR Reseach Centre

The work of the Research Centre is overseen by Professor Virgil Hawkins in the university, who also acts as Director of Research and the official liaison. The representative of IAFOR is Dr Joseph Haldane.

Virgil Hawkins
Co-Director (OSIPP Representative)

Prof. Virgil Hawkins. IRC

Virgil Hawkins holds a PhD in International Public Policy from the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), Osaka University, where he currently serves as professor. He is also a research associate with the University of the Free State, South Africa.

Joseph Haldane
Co-Director (IAFOR Representative)

Dr Joseph Haldane. IRC

Joseph Haldane is the founder, chairman and CEO of IAFOR. He is responsible for devising strategy, setting policies, forging institutional partnerships, implementing projects, and overseeing the organisation’s global business and academic operations.

Fellows / Interns

Brian Aycock
Fellow

Brian Aycock IRC OSSIP

Brian, from the United States, is a graduate student at the University of London’s School of Advanced Study conducting research in Japan.

Yumi Ishikawa
Fellow

Yumi Ishikawa IRC OSSIP

Yumi Ishikawa is a PhD student at Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP). Her main interest is in public health.

Nguyen Anh Tuyet
Fellow

Nguyen Anh Tuyet

Nguyen Anh Tuyet has a PhD from Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), Osaka University. Her research interests are public health, inequality, aging population, Asian studies, and applied econometrics.

Shawn Thacker
Research Intern

Shawn Thacker graduated with distinction in his major from Yale University in 2023. Awarded the prize for best capstone project in his major of Global Affairs, Shawn helped create a model to quantify the global medical oxygen shortage and create policy proposals for the Global Fund to strategically invest in oxygen systems. Growing up between Kathmandu, Nepal, and Iowa City, Iowa, Shawn has always been interested in questions lying at the intersection of development and security. With experience in economic development research at Yale, international investment arbitration and transitional justice at the Constitutional Court of Colombia, and security policy at a think tank in Seoul, Shawn hopes to learn more about Japan’s evolving position in regional security while pursuing a postgraduate fellowship. In his free time, Shawn enjoys learning new languages and practicing making latte art.

Carmina Yu Untalan
Fellow

Carmina Untalan IRC OSSIP

Carmina Untalan is from the Philippines. She was recently awarded her PhD at Osaka School of International Public Policy OSIPP, Osaka University.

Yow Shuning
Research Intern

Yow Shuning is an undergraduate student at Osaka University, Japan. She majors in International Public Policy at the Department of Law. She writes on a range of topics such as LGBTQ rights and immigration policies in Southeast Asia, with a focus on Singapore.

Advisory Board (Senior Research Fellows)

John C. Beck
Senior Fellow

Dr John C. Beck. IRC

A Harvard PhD, John has been a professor/dean/board member in a number of top business / public policy programs on three continents. He is author of hundreds of articles and ten books (in eleven languages) including three best-selling award-winners.

Fan LI
Senior Fellow

Fan LI IAFOR Research Center

Fan Li is an International Advisor at the LePing Social Entrepreneur Foundation, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), China.

Lam Peng Er
Senior Fellow

Dr Lam Peng Er. IRC

Dr Lam Peng Er is a Senior Research Fellow at the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore.

Georges Depeyrot
Senior Fellow

Prof. Georges Depeyrot

Professor Georges Depeyrot is a monetary historian at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris.

Ljiljana Markovic
Senior Fellow

Professor Ljiljana Markovic

Professor Ljiljana Markovic is Dean, Chairperson of the Doctoral Studies Program and Full Professor in Japanese Studies at the University of Belgrade, Serbia.

Gary E. Swanson
Senior Fellow

Professor Gary E. Swanson

Gary E. Swanson is the former Mildred S. Hansen Endowed Chair and Distinguished Journalist-in-Residence at the University of Northern Colorado, USA.

James W. McNally
Senior Fellow

Dr James W. McNally

Dr James W. McNally is the Director of the NACDA Program on Aging, a data archive containing over 1,500 studies related to health and the aging lifecourse.

Philip Sugai
Senior Fellow

Dr Philip Sugai. IAFOR Research Centre
Dr Sugai is a Professor of Marketing within Doshisha University's Graduate School of Business where he currently teaches Marketing, eMarketing, Marketing Research, and Sustainable & Responsible Marketing.

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