BIOGRAPHIES
Saleem Alhabash is Assistant Professor of Public Relations and Social Media at the
Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Michigan State University. His research
focuses on the persuasive effects of social media in the contexts of risky and unsafe
behaviors.
Laura Bix is a professor at the School of Packaging at Michigan State University and an
adjunct associate at Clemson University. Her work focuses on quantifying the interface
between people and packaging with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes. Her
unique vein of inquiry was recognized in 2008 by Medical Devices and Diagnostics
Industry magazine, when she was named one of the 100 most notable people in the
medical device industry. During the last four years, she has served on expert panels
convened by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of their
medication safety programs; namely the PROTECT and PROTECT Rx initiatives, which
have the goal of reducing the number of unintentional poisonings in children resulting
from exposure to medication. From 2012-2014, Dr. Bix served on a national panel formed
by the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and the Consumer Healthcare Products
Association (CHPA) that examined behaviors related to medication use in older adults.
Her approach to multi-disciplinary endeavors and the value that she places on unique
collaborations were honored in 2014 with the Phi Kappa Phi Excellence in Interdisciplinary
Scholarship Award (MSU Chapter) and more recently, her leadership skills were
recognized when she was appointed as a 2015-2016 MSU fellow for the CIC Academic
Leadership Program. Work from her group has been published or cited by numerous
publications, including: The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the US,
PLoS One, Consumer Reports and Men’s Health.
Kasie Brill is the Director of U.S. Intellectual Property Policy at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC). As Director of U.S. IP Policy, Kasie
advocates for the protection of IP rights both online and in physical markets with a special
focus on designing public policy solutions to combat counterfeit goods. Prior to joining
the Global Intellectual Property Center, Kasie served as an advisor to private sector clients
fighting illegal online pharmacies. She also served as law clerk to The Honorable C. Ray
Mullins, Chief Judge for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of
Georgia, Atlanta Division. Kasie is a graduate of both Michigan State University and the
Indiana University Maurer School of Law. During law school, Kasie served as President of
the Student Bar Association and on the Executive Board of the Sherman Minton Moot
Court. She also worked as a research assistant on issues of globalization with a
specialization on the global impact of counterfeit luxury goods. She worked for a national
advertising agency, and in a variety of federal government positions including work on
Capitol Hill, at the United States Supreme Court, and at the Federal Judicial Center.
Steven Chermak is a Professor in the School of Criminal Justice and a lead investigator
affiliated with the The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to
Terror (START). Dr. Chermak’s research has focused on four general areas. First, he has
recei ved funding from one of the Department of Homeland Security’s Center of
Excellence (The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to
Terrorism--START) to study the criminal and terrorist activities of domestic far right
extremists. Working with a colleague at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
(Professor Joshua Freilich), this funding has supported the creation of the United States
Extremist Crime Database—a national open source database that includes data on the
violent and financial crimes committed by extremists in the United States. Second, he has
completed several policing projects. This research includes the evaluation of strategies to
reduce violence, a study of the intelligence practices of State, Local, and Tribal law
enforcement agencies, and assessments of organizational change and implementation.
Third, he is studying the sources of funding used by terrorist organizations, with a
particular emphasis on examining their use of counterfeited products. Finally, he has
studied the media’s role in relation to crime and policing issues. For example, he has
examined how community policing and other innovations are presented in the news,
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