Dr Elena Zhirukhina

Profile

Dr. Elena Zhirukhina is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. With over 13 years of experience, she holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of St Andrews. Her research focuses on counterterrorism and transnational organized crime across Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. She currently leads the project “Foreign Terrorist Fighters & Families: Interdisciplinary Analysis of Proactive Response in Central Asia (CentralAsiaFTFs),” funded under the GLOBAL_AT_VENICE – Research and Training for Global Challenges (H2020-MSCA-COFUND, Grant Agreement 945361). Elena has held teaching and research positions in over five countries and brings hands-on expertise in training and capacity building, open-source intelligence, and data management. She is a committed advocate of interdisciplinary, evidence-based policymaking in counterterrorism and preventing/countering violent extremism.