We’re a team of scholars and student researchers seeking to better understand legislative elections around the world. The Global Elections Lab is physically based at Duke Kunshan University, a liberal arts and sciences university just outside of Shanghai, China. But GEL team members are distributed across the globe, with folks at the UPenn, Columbia, Michigan, and of course a strong contingent at Duke. If you’re interested in researching elections, reach out!
Jason Douglas TODD, Director
About me: I’ve been Assistant Professor of Political Science at Duke Kunshan University for five years. I study elections, responsiveness, and representation in democratic and authoritarian legislatures. My work has appeared in the American Political Science Review, The Journal of Politics, Electoral Studies, and Political Behavior. A lifelong Tarheel, I grew up in western North Carolina and attended the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University. I love reading to my two boys, reading to myself, and drinking too much coffee. (website)
Languages: English, Chinese, un poquito de Spanish
Skills: R, Qualtrics, Excel, econometrics, causal inference, text-as-data
Contexts: American, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese legislatures at local, regional, and national levels
Felipe SILVESTRI, Program Coordinator
About me: I am a third-year undergraduate student at DKU, majoring in Political Economy with tracks in Economics. My research interests lie at the intersection of economics, comparative politics, international relations, and history. Previously, I was a research assistant at DKU’s Initiative for Sustainable Investment under Prof. Junjie Zhang’s team. I’m currently working under Profs. Kolleen Guy and Jay Winter for their project on Parapolitics. I grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, and lived four years in Monterrey, Mexico before attending DKU. Outside of academic settings, I enjoy playing and watching football and reading.
Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English, Chinese, French
Skills: R, Excel, archival work, translation
Contexts: China, Latin America at large, especially Brazil and Mexico
Jiayi WEI, Program Coordinator
About me: I am a junior at DKU, majoring in Institutions and Governance / Public Policy. My research focuses on China’s legislation on international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China’s People’s Congress (PC) elections, particularly in relation to the 1979 Election Law. Ethnically and culturally, I am a northern Chinese, having grown up in Henan Province from birth through high school. I enjoy reading prose, which allows my emotions to flow and helps me connect with society. I rarely drink coffee, but I sometimes treat tea as water to keep myself hydrated.
Languages: English, Chinese, Cantonese
Skills: R, Qualtrics, Excel, NVivo
Contexts: China’s subnational People’s Congress elections
Wali AHMED
About me: coming soon
Languages: coming soon
Skills: coming soon
Contexts: coming soon
Valerie ALEXEYKINA
About me: I’m a junior at DKU majoring in Institutions and Governance with a track in Economics. I’m ethnically Russian, a Singapore citizen, and a United States resident. My research focus is Southeast Asian politics. Outside of my work, I play tennis and ultimate frisbee
Languages: English, Russian, Chinese
Skills: Literature review, academic writing and editing, data analytics
Contexts: Singapore, Malaysia
Isabel ANDERSON
About me: I’m a first-year student at DKU. My intended major is Political Economy with a track in Economics. My research interests revolve around economics, sino-global relations, governmental institutions, and comparative politics. I grew up in North Carolina before moving to China to attend DKU. Outside of academia I enjoy boxing, playing volleyball, glassblowing when I can, and cooking.
Languages: English, Chinese
Skills: R, Excel, Policy Analysis, Social Media Marketing
Contexts: North Carolina’s board of county commissioners
Ranen ASCHEMANN
About me: coming soon
Languages: coming soon
Skills: coming soon
Contexts: coming soon
Abdulhaey-ee (Ace) ASIM
About me: I’m a senior at DKU studying Ethics and Leadership with a concentration in Public Policy, where I focus on the social and ethical implications of emerging technologies, especially AI in China. My research has been supported by university grants and will continue at the Yenching Academy of Peking University starting Fall 2025. Born and raised in New Jersey, I’m also a multi-instrumentalist musician, actor, podcaster, entrepreneur, and restauranteur.
Languages: English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, working Mandarin
Skills: Public speaking, AI prompting and usage, writing, analysis, basic R & Python
Contexts: Pakistani regional and national legislatures
Alessia BARRECA
About me: I’m a junior at DKU, majoring in Institution and Governance, Political Science track. I come from Rome, Italy, but I’ve spent these last three years between Spain, China and the US. I love painting and visiting art museums around the world. My favorite movements are impressionism and expressionism.
Languages: Italian, English, Chinese, French, Spanish
Skills: R, Microsoft (Word, PowerPoint, Form), Canva, Notion
Contexts: European Union, Italian, Chinese legislatures
Edison CHEN
About me: coming soon
Languages: coming soon
Skills: coming soon
Contexts: coming soon
Dalia GUERRERO FLORES
About me: I am currently an undergraduate student at DKU and my major is Global China Studies with Political Science. I am interested in China-Latin America relations and global politics, including elections. My hometown is Mexico City where I attended the Swiss School of Mexico. Outside of my academic endeavors, I like to read, play soccer, and chess.
Languages: Spanish, English, German, Chinese
Skills: R, Excel, data visualization
Contexts: Mexico and Latin America, and China
Evelyn GAO
About me: I’m a Master’s student in Social Policy & Data Analytics at the University of Pennsylvania (’26) and a graduate of DKU (’24), where I studied Institutions & Governance with a public policy track. I’m originally from Qingdao, China—the coastal city known for its seafood, beaches, and Tsingtao beer. My undergraduate Signature Work surveyed the fertility intentions of China’s Generation Z, and I’m currently working with a Columbia graduate student on a conjoint-analysis project exploring public and elite attitudes toward the three-child policy. Outside of research, I enjoy playing piano, golfing, and cooking.
Languages: Mandarin, English
Skills: R, Python, Excel, ArcGIS, survey research, machine learning
Contexts: China
Birkley GRUNEWALD
About me: I’m South African, American, and Norwegian, pursuing a degree in Quantitative Political Economy / Public Policy at DKU. My research interests center on policy change in developing countries, particularly in reducing corruption and fostering environments that expand economic opportunity. I currently serve as an Analyst in the Consulting Division of the Duke Impact Investing Group, where I focus on consulting for companies with positive ESG impacts. To complement this work, I plan to research elections in developing countries, with a focus on how large national and international corporate interests shape and influence electoral outcomes. Outside academia, I enjoy traveling and experiencing cultures firsthand. I always try to venture off the beaten path, and managed to visit over 15 countries in a single year.
Languages: English, Spanish (conversational), Norwegian (conversational), Chinese (beginner)
Skills: Excel, VBA, PowerQuery, data analysis, AI tool integration
Contexts: Latin America (esp. Guatemala and Bolivia), South Africa
Conxi GUAN
About me: I’m a junior student at DKU, majoring in Political Economy / Economics. My research interests lie primarily in comparative politics and international relations, with a particular focus on US–China relations and their potential policy implications. Outside of academic settings, I enjoy writing, watching films, and doing all kinds of translation work.
Languages: Chinese (native), English
Skills: R, Stata, Excel, Qualtrics
Contexts: US–China relations; American and Chinese legislatures
Roy LIU
About me: I’m a freshman at DKU, majoring in Political Economy / Economics. I’m interested in political crises and conflicts, especially international ones; aside from that, I also enjoy focusing on American politics and Sino-global relations. When I’m bored, I like to read court rulings. Born and raised in New Jersey, I am also a writer, gamer, and pop music enthusiast.
Languages: English, Mandarin
Skills: Social Media Marketing, Ethnography, Policy Analysis
Contexts: American politics, other countries on an international level
Junjie LI
About me: I’m a senior at the University of Michigan, double majoring in Computer Science and Political Science (Honors). Before transferring to Michigan, I studied at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. My academic interests span political behavior, political communication, and computational social science. After graduation, I’ll be joining ByteDance in Shanghai as a software engineer. Outside of work, I enjoy reading, hiking, and getting lost in bookstores a little too long.
Languages: Chinese, English
Skills: R, Python, Stata, C++, SQL, JavaScript
Contexts: Chinese legislatures
Tianyi MA
About me: I’m a sophomore at DKU, majoring in Institutions and Governance/Public Policy. Interested in political science and public policy, I’m currently researching Chinese village elections and manipulations. With a strong commitment to sustainability, I’m leading the student research team for the DKU Sustainability Report 2025, and I am eager to engage in climate and environmental policy-related initiatives in the future. Born and raised in Hangzhou, I embrace nature and love playing chess and listening to music of various kinds.
Languages: Chinese, English
Skills: Excel, text-as-data, R, Python
Contexts: Chinese village elections
Emil ORDONEZ
About me: I’m a freshman at Fordham University majoring in political science. I was born in the U.S. and lived in the Philippines for a decade until moving back to the U.S during middle school. I currently live in New Jersey. I’ve been interested in politics, history, and international relations from a young age. My hobbies include writing, reading, watching movies, scrolling through Wikipedia articles, and predicting U.S. elections. I also run a blog that seeks to inform people further about U.S. and world politics.
Languages: English, Tagalog/Ilocano (reading)
Skills: Editing, writing, literature review, public speaking
Contexts: The Philippines, the United States
Mentemir NOORUZBAEV
About me: coming soon
Languages: coming soon
Skills: coming soon
Contexts: coming soon
Simon RUTTER
About me: coming soon
Languages: coming soon
Skills: coming soon
Contexts: coming soon
Annie Trang K TA
About me: My major is Political Economy & Political Science. I am fascinated by authoritarian regimes, especially the Vietnamese National Assembly and Vietnam’s development path in relation to other powers. I am also a die-hard art lover drawn to Asian arts, blue and white porcelain, and beautiful tennis forehands.
Languages: Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, English
Skills: Policy analysis, data analysis
Contexts: Vietnam, China
Tuong (William) TRAN
About me: I’m a freshman at DKU from Vietnam. My research interests include the interdisciplinary study of public policy, healthcare and economics. Additionally, I’m also working with a Shenzhen-based start-up to expand their potential market. My current research involves the study of One Health policies in the context of antimicrobial resistance. Outside of academic research, I have a passion for Vietnamese cuisine, history, travelling and going to the gym.
Languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese
Skills: R, policy analysis, branding research
Contexts: Vietnamese legislature, Sino-US relations
Shanshan WU
About me: I’m a junior at DKU majoring in Political Economy with a track in Political Science. My academic interests focus on international relations and comparative institutional analysis, particularly in the contexts of China-U.S. and China-EU relations. My hometown, Taicang, has a long-standing partnership with Rhein-Neckar Kreis in Germany, and growing up in this culturally diverse environment has fostered my strong interest in the China-Germany relationship and China’s role in global affairs. Moreover, I love traditional Chinese dancing, horse riding, and photography.
Languages: English, Chinese, German (conversational)
Skills: R, Quantitative research and data analysis, MS Office, Qualtrics; policy analysis
Contexts: China-U.S. and China-Germany relations; the impact of generative AI on shaping public opinion
Haoran ZHANG
About me: I am a sophomore at DKU, majoring in the political science track of the political economy. I am interested in topics such as elections at all levels in the United States and economic and industrial development in China. Outside of that, I am an amateur distance runner who enjoys running 10Ks and half-marathons.
Languages: Chinese, English
Skills: R, Qualtrics, Excel
Contexts: American and Chinese legislatures at regional, and national levels
Yuhan ZHAO
About me: I’m a junior at Barnard College, Columbia University, majoring in Political Economy and Art History. My academic interests include gender, labor, and state-society relations, with a particular focus on China’s political economy and public policy. I’m especially drawn to gender-related issues in China, approached through transnational and intersectional perspectives. Outside of academic work, I create multimedia art installations and write about pop culture—both of which often explore themes of gender and political expression.
Languages: Mandarin Chinese, English, classical Tibetan (reading)
Skills: R, Stata, SPSS, JASP, Excel, data analysis, literature review, academic writing and editing
Contexts: China, East Asia
