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The Doctoral Student SIG (DocSIG) is a special interest group of the American Marketing Association designed for marketing doctoral students of all research methodologies: behavioral, quantitative, and qualitative. DocSIG was founded by marketing doctoral students and continues to respond to the needs of marketing doctoral students, especially at the annual Summer and Winter Academic conferences of AMA. Every conference, we host a Friday night networking dinner, a Saturday mentor breakfast, and at least one in-person session with topics tailored to the needs of doctoral students interested in tenure-track positions.
In 24-25, our organization is led by Julia van de Sandt (Chair, University of South Carolina) and Ishita Nagpal (Chair-Elect, Georgia State University). Reach out to us at docsig.ama@gmail.com.
Our motto is “Building, Bonding, Blooming.” As such, DocSIG offers opportunities for students to develop professional skills in the areas of research, writing, teaching, presenting, reviewing, and other areas that aid in job placement and career college paper format development. In addition, we seek to provide a community for students of marketing to interact, ask questions, and generally support each other. In this way, DocSIG not only aims to offer useful information that can aid students in their study program, but strives to facilitate professional relationships that will last long after one’s years as a doctoral student.
We recognize outstanding research and unique contributions to the AMA community through our awards. Our goal is to be THE information hub for doctoral students, guiding them through their programs and the job market, and becoming an essential resource for prospective PhD students during their application process.
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Mathew Joseph Emerging Scholar Award
Dr. Mathew Joseph honors a doctoral student who has displayed exemplary holistic scholarship and exhibits a bright future in the academic discipline. It is a large honor for the selected doctoral student. The faculty judges look for a top emerging PhD student who holistically has the influence and abilities to become a great scholar in marketing.
2024 Giovanni Luca Cascio Rizzo
2023 Rodrigo da Silva Dias
2022 Lan Anh Nu Ton
2021 Winner – Gizem Yalcin, Erasmus University
2020 Winner – Riley Krotz, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
2019 Winner – Unnati Narang, Texas A&M University
2019 Finalist – Jillian Hmurovic, University of Pittsburgh
AMA DocSIG Mentorship Award
This Award recognizes a faculty mentor that has consistently demonstrated support to marketing doctoral students and the AMA DocSIG mission.
2023 Dr. Alex R. Zablah, University of Tennesse Knoxville
2022 Dr. Maura Scott, FSU
2021 Winner – Dr. Mark B. Houston, Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University
2019 (Inaugural) Winner – Dr. Mathew Joseph, St. Mary’s University
Germany | She/Her/Hers University of South Carolina julia.vandesandt@grad.moore.sc.edu Julia is a fourth-year PhD Candidate in Marketing at the University of South Carolina, specializing in Consumer Behavior. Her research delves into perceptual dimensions of sustainability, product materials, and consumer well-being. For about a decade before academia, Julia thrived in analytical roles across consumer packaging, cruise tourism, and retail. She enjoys playing pickleball with her PhD friends, and cheering for USC (Go Cocks!). Fun fact: Julia is German but her last name is Dutch.
Xiaoying Feng
China | She Syracuse University xfeng26@syr.edu Xiaoying is a fourth-year doctoral student in marketing at Syracuse University. Her research interests include advertising effectiveness, technology adoption, and customer experience. Previously, she worked in a higher education non-profit organization, focusing on marketing communication.
Ifeanyi Ajaebili
Nigeria | He/Him Morgan State University josephat.ajaebili.phd@gmail.com Ifeanyi is a second-year doctoral student at the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management, Morgan State University. He received his MBA from Lagos Business School, and his industry experience includes sales, brand management, marketing, consulting, and growth hacking. His research interests include consumer behavior and quantitative modelling.
Mackenzie Volk
USA | She/Her University of South Carolina MackenzieVolk@gmail.com Mackenzie is a 4th year Ph.D. Candidate in Marketing at the Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina. Her research centers around identity in the marketplace, encompassing diverse domains, such as pets, gender, and political ideology. She is passionate about utilizing consumer research to make impactful contributions to important topics, including consumer well-being and marketplace equity. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Marketing and Economics from the University of Kentucky and has worked with multiple Fortune 50 companies, including Amazon, Toyota, and Kroger. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, her dogs and playing pickleball.
Ghazal Alaviany
Iran | She Georgia State Univeristy galaviani1@gsu.edu Ghazal is a third-year doctoral student in Marketing at Georgia State University, J. Mack Robinson College of Business. Her research focus is Branding, AI in Marketing, and Consumer Brand Relationship.
Ishita Nagpal
India | She/Her/Hers J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University inagpal1@gsu.edu Ishita is a third-year doctoral student in Marketing at J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. Her research interests centered on the intersection of marketing strategy and the social impact of marketing. She has been serving DocSIG for over two years and is passionate about supporting fellow doctoral students. Her dedication and service have been recognized with the Outstanding Service Award at Georgia State University.
Dani Hass
USA | She/Her West Virginia University dlh00029@mix.wvu.edu Danielle Hass is currently a third-year PhD Candidate at West Virginia University. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, specifically in digital marketing, AI, brand communities, consumer privacy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Francesco Di Paolo
Italy | He Politecnico di Milano francesco.dipaolo@polimi.it PhD Candidate and Metaverse Marketing Lab Coordinator at Politecnico di Milano School of Management, Department of Management Economics and Industrial Engineering. My doctoral thesis focuses on framing the impact of virtual environments on brand management and business innovation.
Anuja Bhattacharjya
India | She/Her FGV EAESP Sao Paulo Anuja.b93@gmail.com Anuja is a 4th year PhD candidate in Marketing at FGV EASP, São Paulo. Her research focuses on the diverse applications of sensory marketing in consumer behaviour, especially vision and haptics, in the digitally-driven world. She also has prior experience of working in roles involving content management, communication, branding and marketing strategy. She currently lives on São Paulo with her husband and 2 cats.
Sameed Khan
Pakistan | Him University of Massachusetts – Lowell sameed_khan@student.uml.edu Sameed Babar Khan is a fourth-year Marketing Ph.D. candidate at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. His primary research interest is language in the marketplace. Before his Ph.D., he got his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Pakistan.
Daria Koksal
Russia | She/Her/Hers Louisiana Tech University dko005@email.latech.edu Daria got her bachelor’s degree in Engineering Management from Bauman Moscow State Technical University in Russia and completed her MBA at Mississippi State University. Before joining the LA Tech family, she worked in civil aviation, then as the Lead Graduate Coordinator for the MBA Program where she assisted with the AACSB accreditation in the College of Business at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Her current research interests revolve around consumer behavior. She is specifically interested in minimalism, consumers’ relationships with brands, and how aesthetics affects consumer decisions.
Amir Alisha Syed
India | He University of Kansas syedamir@ku.edu Amir Alisha Syed is a second-year doctoral student in Marketing at the University of Kansas. With over 8 years of experience in marketing, sales, and the education sectors, he has served in various roles such as Program Manager, Academic Associate, and Content Editor at the Indian School of Business (ISB). Amir holds an MBA in International Business and Information Technology from Punjab, India. His research interests lie at the intersection of marketing and technology, including areas such as digital marketing, consumer behavior in online environments, the impact of emerging technologies on marketing strategies, and data-driven marketing analytics.
Reza Pedarpour
He/Him Kent State University rpedarpo@kent.edu Reza Pedarpour is a third-year doctoral candidate in Marketing at Kent State University, Ambassador Crawford College of Business. His primary research areas are brand name gender, anthropomorphism in marketing, and comparative advertising.
Praveen Punia
He/Him University of Houston ppraveen@bauer.uh.edu Praveen Punia is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Marketing at the University of Houston, specializing in career transitions, salesforce management, and salesforce incentives. As an empirical researcher, he employs econometric and causal inference methods to provide actionable insights that can inform both academic discourse and practical applications in the field of marketing.
Wenjie Zhu
He/Him/His the University of Houston wzhu24@cougarnet.uh.edu Wenjie Zhu is a third-year student from the University of Houston. His research interests include salesperson well-being, salesforce diversity and inclusion, and salesforce management. Prior to joining Bauer College of Business, he earned his master’s degree in economics from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
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