People at ISCI
Executive Board
The International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) Executive Board includes those who are largely responsible for the day to day management and strategic decision making. ISCI is coordinated by its Directors, Penny Green and Tony Ward, and draws on its Fellows, Friends and Researchers in devising its activities and research projects.
Researchers
Sophie Knowles-Mofford is the Assistant Editor of State Crime Journal, and a researcher with the International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) working with Prof Kristian Lasslett studying large-scale corruption involving state and corporate actors. They are also a doctoral candidate at University College London, funded by the Wolfson Foundation, researching social care in Britain and the everyday consequences of structural harm. Sophie is trained in ethnographic methods, discourse and narrative analysis, and online investigative methodologies.
Henry Wooding is a postgraduate student currently pursuing an MA in History at University College London. He previously undertook his undergraduate studies in History at UCL, graduating in 2025. His interests lie in the methods of state repression utilised by fascist regimes and how the digital sphere is facilitating both new forms of authoritarianism and resistance.
Ranjani Ramesh is an India-qualified lawyer with about nine years of litigation experience. She is currently pursuing an LL.M. in Criminal Justice at Queen Mary University of London. Her practice spans cross-sector legal advisory and representation before judicial forums in India, with a particular focus on economic crimes and regulatory enforcement.
Hashir Hussain is a Master of Laws student at Queen Mary University of London, where he also read Law as an undergraduate. His academic interests lie in criminology and jurisprudence, particularly at the intersection of law, power, and harm, and he is currently working on research projects examining genocide and state responsibility.
Omar Saleh is an intern at ISCI. After finishing his integrated masters in Physics & Astronomy at the University of Glasgow he joined the Senior status LLB programme at Queen Mary, University of London. He has a background in human rights serving as a committee member on university societies such as the Glasgow university UNICEF and Amnesty international societies. Further, he has been involved with Amnesty International UK’s networks serving as Chair of the Student Action Network and recently as a Campaign lead for the Anti-Racism Network.
Abby Adams-Gopsill is a senior status LLB student at QMUL, with an interest in human rights and international law. She has degrees in global affairs and development from the University of Toronto’s Munk School and McGill University. Prior to moving to London, Abby worked in policy and advocacy with Save the Children, particularly on state accountability to children in conflict.
Michaela Mazzeo is a Public International Law LLM student and recent graduate of William & Mary Law School. She is a member of the Pennsylvania bar. Her academic and professional interests include international rule of law development policy, post-conflict peacebuilding, and comparative constitutionalism.
Ben Gerstein is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for the Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law at the University of Sarajevo. A recipient of the Promise Institute for Human Rights Fellowship, his current work examines the legal challenges of prosecuting genocide denial, offers comparative analyses of domestic and international genocide jurisprudence, and traces the origins of debates over genocide as a legal concept. Broadly, Ben deploys historical and legal methodologies to examine the possibilities and restraints of human rights law and international criminal law. His research stretches across regions and beyond borderlands, including Australia, Palestine/Israel, the United States, Haiti, and former Yugoslavia. Ben is a graduate of the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and University of California-Los Angeles School of Law.
Chris Merpaw is a Senior Status LLB student at QMUL and holds a BA in International Studies from Simon Fraser University. Before studying law, he worked with Médecins Sans Frontières, supporting humanitarian operations in conflict settings. His academic interests include state crime, forced displacement, surveillance, genocide studies, and international humanitarian law.