ADS Team

Director

Hratch Tchilingirian is a sociologist (PhD, London School of Economics), since 2012 Associate of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford and Maître de Conférences (Associate Professor) of IMAS Armenian Studies at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco), since 2021. His area of expertise is Middle Eastern and Armenian Studies, with a particular focus on diasporas, heritage identity and culture, homeland-diaspora relations, sociology of religion, and inter-ethnic conflicts in the Middle East and Eurasia. He was director of research and programs on Eurasia at Cambridge University's Judge Business School (2003-2012). Dr. Tchilingirian has lectured internationally and is the author of monographs and numerous academic studies and articles (www.hratch.info). He has held executive positions in academic institutions and charitable organizations and has served diaspora communities in leadership positions.  

Data Manager

Arpine Aghjoyan is a data analyst with over ten years of extensive professional experience. She received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Sociology at Yerevan State University and Master of Business Administration from the Russian University in Armenia. She has been a core member of ADS team since 2019.

Administrator

Gagik Stepan-Sarkissian is a retired biochemist (PhD, University of Sheffield). He has taught and led research groups at Teheran State University and University of Sheffield before moving to the private sector working in biotechnology and agribusiness across Europe. He developed the first Armenian syllabus for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and has taught there many years. He is the Librarian, Armenian Language Teaching coordinator of the Armenian Institute and regularly advises visiting researchers on projects ranging from theatre and film to novels, translations, Armenian fonts and others. 

2018 ADS Pilot Project Staff

Susan Paul Pattie, ADS 2018 Pilot Project leader, is a cultural anthropologist (PhD, University of Michigan), writer and project manager, who led the ADS 2018 Pilot Project. An Honorary Senior Research Associate at University College London, Dr. Pattie has done research in Cyprus, London, Syria, North America and Armenia and authored a number of articles and chapters on Armenians living in diaspora. including the ethnography Faith in History: Armenians Rebuilding Community (Smithsonian Institute Press, 1997).  Co-founder and former Director of the Armenian Institute, she has also served as Director of the Armenian Museum of America.  Co-author of Treasured Objects: Armenian Life in the Ottoman Empire, she is also lead author of the children’s book, Who Are the Armenians? (also published in Turkish and Portuguese).

Leon Aslanov,  Researcher and Analyst is a researcher who works primarily on topics related to Armenia and the Middle East. He is currently working as a political analyst for the think tank IntegrityUK, focusing on political, economic and social issues in Iraq, Syria and the broader Middle East. He is also part of a number of Armenian-related projects, including the Armenian Diaspora Survey, supported by the Gulbenkian Foundation, and research connected to Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. In addition, he is an active member of the London-based Programme of Armenian Studies. Leon graduated with a BA in French & Arabic from UCL & SOAS and an MSc in International Public Policy from UCL. 

Gagik Stepan-Sarkissian, Executive Administrator (see bio above)