Our Team

Jessica Collier, PhD
Assistant Professor

Viswadeep Lebakula, PhD
Research and Development Associate

Anna Gjika, PhD
Assistant Professor

Clay Hardwick
Program Manager

Chris Lightsey
Research Engineer

Sierra Nelson, M.S.
Research Associate I and Sociology Doctoral Candidate

Lauren E. Brown
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Megan Stubbs-Richardson, PhD
Director of DS3 Laboratory, Assistant Research Professor

Ben Porter, PhD
Assistant Professor

Sujan Ranjan Anreddy, PhD
Assistant Research Professor

Karissa Bergene
Assistant Director of Research Operations

Arthur G. Cosby, PhD
William L. Giles Distinguished Professor

Cindy L. Bethel, PhD
Professor

Ed Swan, PhD
Professor

Charlie Schloemer
Systems Administrator

MacKenzie Paul
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Terri Hernandez, PhD
Assistant Professor

Maxwell Perkins
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Ronald Cossman, PhD
Research Professor

Gina Rico Mendez, PhD
Assistant Research Professor

John F. Edwards, PhD
Research Professor

Jessica Collier, PhD
Assistant Professor
Jessica R. Collier is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Mississippi State University. Her research investigates how digital technologies, partisan biases, and (mis)information influence political attitudes and behaviors. Her work has been published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, International Journal of Communication, Digital Journalism, among others.
Prior to joining the faculty at Mississippi State, Dr. Collier completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. At UT-Austin, she also received her Ph.D. in Communication Studies, with a focus on political communication. She holds an M.A. in Mass Communication from UNC-Chapel Hill and B.A. degrees in Psychology and Government from the University of Virginia.

Viswadeep Lebakula, PhD
Research and Development Associate

Anna Gjika, PhD
Assistant Professor

Clay Hardwick
Program Manager

Chris Lightsey
Research Engineer

Sierra Nelson, M.S.
Research Associate I and Sociology Doctoral Candidate
Sierra Nelson is a Research Associate at the Mississippi State University Social Science Research Center and MSU's High Performance Computing Center (HPC2). She is also a criminology doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology. Her current projects and publications utilize open source intelligence and open source data to examine online extremism, online radicalization, and the spread of online propaganda. She is also engaged in research examining social media sentiments surrounding highly publicized events—including those pertaining to mass violence. Sierra's other research interests include school safety research, school bullying, spatial variations in suicide, and policy analysis. Sierra strives to create scalable research that can result in both impactful and sustainable social change.
Sierra Nelson received a B.S. in Social Justice and Criminology from Delta State University and an M.S. in Sociology from Mississippi State University. She expects to complete her Ph.D. in Sociology at Mississippi State University by the Spring of 2024.

Lauren E. Brown
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Megan Stubbs-Richardson, PhD
Director of DS3 Laboratory, Assistant Research Professor

Ben Porter, PhD
Assistant Professor


Sujan Ranjan Anreddy, PhD
Assistant Research Professor


Karissa Bergene
Assistant Director of Research Operations
Karissa holds a Master of Public Administration degree and Bachelor of Science-Criminal Justice degree from Appalachian State University. Before starting at Mason, she worked as a Research Associate II at the Social Science Research Center at MSU, as a public administrator in local government, and as an intellectual property administrator in the private sector.

Arthur G. Cosby, PhD
William L. Giles Distinguished Professor

Cindy L. Bethel, PhD
Professor



Ed Swan, PhD
Professor

Personal Site
http://web.cse.msstate.edu/~swan/index.html
Charlie Schloemer
Systems Administrator

Terri Hernandez, PhD
Assistant Professor

Ronald Cossman, PhD
Research Professor
Phone

Gina Rico Mendez, PhD
Assistant Research Professor
Dr. Rico Mendez received a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in Habitat (Human Settlement Studies) from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. She completed her Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration at Mississippi State University under a Fulbright scholarship.


John F. Edwards, PhD
Research Professor
Dr. Edwards regularly collaborates with other scientists to continuously explore emerging datasets. Most recently, he has been involved in a number of interdisciplinary efforts to provide researchers with access to social media data as a source of public communications related to specific events or research topics. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Edwards has taught courses in Measurement and Evaluation, Behavioral Science Writing, and Personality Theory for the Educational Psychology Department at Mississippi State University.
Dr. Edwards received a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Loyola University in New Orleans, a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of New Orleans, a Master’s degree in Experimental Psychology from Mississippi State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Psychology from Mississippi State University.

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Learn more about our former contributors on the Former Team Members page.
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