Experts Directory

The San Diego State University Experts Directory is a rolodex for reporters, designed to assist journalists in their search for subject-matter experts on a variety of topics and academic research areas.

For Faculty Interested in Joining the Experts Directory

Faculty interested in joining the Experts Directory are encouraged to contact Senior Director of Media Relations Cory Marshall for more information.

For Media Seeking an Interview

For questions or assistance in coordinating an interview with one of the university’s subject-matter experts, please contact a member of the SDSU media relations team.
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Gregory Talavera

Gregory Talavera

ProfessorCollege of Health and Human ServicesSchool of Public HealthSan Diego[email protected]619-205-1955

Area of Expertise

Community-based clinical and public health interventions within the Latino community, culture barriers in healthcare

Tingting Tang

Tingting Tang

Assistant ProfessorSan Diego State University Imperial ValleyMathematics and StatisticsImperial Valley[email protected]

Area of Expertise

Mathematics, math biologist, epidemic models and machine learning methods.

William Tong

William Tong

Distinguished Professor and Vice ProvostCollege of SciencesChemistry and BiochemistrySan Diego[email protected]619-594-5929

Area of Expertise

Laser technology to detect chemicals, analytical chemistry

Hakan Toreyin

Hakan Toreyin

Assistant ProfessorCollege of EngineeringElectrical and Computer EngineeringSan Diego[email protected]619-594-0795

Area of Expertise

Focuses on energy-efficient integrated electronics design with emphasis on real-time physical computing for wearable/implantable biomedical devices and IoT devices, system design and translational studies for investigating novel methods of physiological sensing and health monitoring in resource-limited settings.

Peter Torre III

Peter Torre III

ProfessorCollege of Health and Human ServicesSpeech, Language, and Hearing SciencesSan Diego[email protected]619-594-4787

Area of Expertise

The impact of recreational noise exposure, specifically music through earphones, on hearing in young adults, the effects of HIV on hearing in both children and adults.

Nellie Tran

Nellie Tran

Associate ProfessorCollege of EducationCounseling and School PsychologySan Diego[email protected]619-594-5333

Area of Expertise

Community psychologist studying Asian American psychology, racism, sexism, especially microaggressions and other forms of subtle discrimination in academic and workplace settings.

Ming-Hsiang Tsou

Ming-Hsiang Tsou

Professor, Director of HDMACollege of Arts and LettersGeographySan Diego[email protected]619-594-0205

Area of Expertise

Big Data, Social Media Analytics, Visualization, Web GIS, Geographic Information Systems, Cartography, Human Dynamics, and Web Maps. Cancer disparity expert

Jennifer Tucker-Tatlow

Jennifer Tucker-Tatlow

College of Health and Human ServicesAcademy for Professional Excellence, School of Social WorkSan Diego[email protected]619.595.3917

Area of Expertise

Workforce development, training, executive development, organization development, organizational culture, public health and human service leadership.

Katie Turner

Katie Turner

LecturerCollege of Professional Studies and Fine ArtsSchool of Theatre, Television, and FilmSan Diego[email protected]970-903-8924

Area of Expertise

Theatre history, women in theatre, melodrama, early United States Theatre, minstrelsy, gender, race, and performance, experimental theatre, devised theatre, theatre and diversity and puppetry.

Kimberly Twist

Kimberly Twist

Assistant ProfessorCollege of Arts and LettersPolitical ScienceSan Diego[email protected]

Area of Expertise

European politics, extremism, far-right parties, the European Union, populism, immigration, public opinion and British politics.

Emilio Ulloa

Emilio Ulloa

Professor and Associate Chief Diversity Office for HSI and Regional AffairsCollege of SciencesPsychologySan Diego[email protected]

Area of Expertise

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) initiatives and topics, youth violence, intimate partner violence, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, CSEC, commercial sexual exploitation of children, dating violence, partner abuse, Latino/as (Chicana/os), minorities, undergraduate student success, research that aims to understand the risk factors associated with the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), also known as the sex trafficking of minors/adolescents, research on the development of undergraduates, entry into graduate school, and ethnic minorities in graduate school.

Rich Underwood

Rich Underwood

LecturerCollege of Professional Studies and Fine ArtsSchool of Theatre, Television & FilmSan Diego[email protected]

Area of Expertise

Advertising, branded content, cinematography, directing visual media, documentary production, filmmaking, marketing and television news photojournalism.

Naveen Vaidya

Naveen Vaidya

ProfessorCollege of SciencesMathematics and StatisticsSan Diego[email protected]

Area of Expertise

Applied mathematics, with specific areas of interest in mathematical biology (viral dynamics and immune systems, epidemiology, and ecology), mathematical and computational modeling, differential equations, dynamical systems, optimal control, biostatistics, and machine learning.

Faramarz Valafar

Faramarz Valafar

ProfessorCollege of Health and Human ServicesSchool of Public HealthSan Diego[email protected]619-594-3742

Area of Expertise

Predicting and preventing spread of H1N1 flu virus, managing pandemics, bioinformatics, medical informatics, and cheminformatics.

Nikhil Varaiya

Nikhil Varaiya

Professor EmeritusFowler College of BusinessFinanceSan Diego[email protected]619-594-7713

Area of Expertise

Competitive analysis, entrepreneurial finance, inital public offerings (IPO), investments, stock market, mergers and acquisitions, stock valuation, strategic management

Marissa Vasquez

Marissa Vasquez

Assistant ProfessorCollege of EducationAdministration, Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary EducationSan Diego[email protected]

Area of Expertise

Community college transfer students; undergraduate research and Latinx college students.

Ira Vouk

Ira Vouk

Adjunct ProfessorCollege of Professional Studies and Fine ArtsL. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism ManagementSan Diego[email protected]619-206-1758

Area of Expertise

Hospitality technology, hospitality industry, hotel revenue management, pricing and market intelligence.

Robert Vryheid

Robert Vryheid

Associate ProfessorCollege of Health and Human ServicesSchool of Public HealthSan Diego[email protected]619-463-1266

Area of Expertise

Malaria, Thailand, Cambodia, avian influenza, coronavirus transmission and prevention

Minjuan Wang

Minjuan Wang

ProfessorCollege of Professional Studies and Fine ArtsSchool of Journalism and Media StudiesSan Diego[email protected]619-594-3878

Area of Expertise

Learning across the Metaverse, Cross-Reality (XR) and Immersive Learning, AI in education, and the sociocultural aspects of learning design and the use of technology. Methods of inquiry, designing and developing training for the global audience, mobile learning design, and emerging trends in learning design and technologies.

Shirley Weber

Shirley Weber

Professor Emeritus, Distinguished Faculty member, Current California Secretary of StateCollege of Arts and LettersAfricana StudiesSan Diego[email protected](916) 653-6814

Area of Expertise

Co-founder of the Africana Studies Department, co-founder of the W.E.B. DuBois Leadership Institute for Young Black Scholars. Africana studies, African culture and ethnicity.

Kristen Wells

Kristen Wells

Associate ProfessorCollege of SciencesPsychologySan Diego[email protected]619-594-1919

Area of Expertise

Improving the quality of healthcare delivered to underserved populations; the development, implementation, and testing og patient navigation interventions to improve access to care related to cancer, HIV prevention, suicide prevention, and COVID-19 vaccination, among diverse and minoritized populations; mobile sensing technologies and data to understand medication-taking behaviors, predict individual risk factors, and deliver interventions to improve adherence that are needed by the individual at the optimal time, place, and in the optimal context; cancer disparities, cancer care, patient navigation, mobile sensing, medication adherence, HIV prevention, suicide prevention and COVID-19 vaccination.

Bill Welsh

Bill Welsh

ProfessorCollege of SciencesAstronomySan Diego[email protected]619-594-2288

Area of Expertise

Astronomy, astrophysics, planets, extrasolar planets, exoplanets, Kepler Mission and astrobiology.