Center for Public Safety Research

Heather Hensman Kettrey, Director

Dr. Kettrey is a sociologist whose research focuses on power, violence, and inequality specifically as they pertain to gender, sexuality, and race. Prior to arriving at Clemson, Dr. Kettrey held an appointment as a Research Associate at Vanderbilt University's Peabody Research Institute (PRI) and was a Senior Researcher at PRI's Meta-Analysis Center. Her most recent large-scale project is a meta-analysis that examines the effects of college sexual assault prevention programs on perpetration, victimization, and attitudes regarding sexual assault (with Co-Investigator Martie Thompson). Dr. Kettrey’s research has been funded by The Campbell Collaboration, March of Dimes, and the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. She remains committed to using empirical science to understand and alleviate tangible social problems and is always looking for student research collaborators.

Kyle McLean, Associate Director

Dr. McLean graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice in 2018 and was named the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Sciences (LEADS) Academic in 2019. Dr. McLean works with law enforcement officers across the country to assess and recommend evidence-based practices for police departments. Dr. McLean is currently leading a team of researchers that was awarded more than $892,000 from the National Institute of Justice to evaluate a police de-escalation training program.

Lyudmyla Tsykalova, Research Project Manager

Dr. Lyudmyla Tsykalova holds the dual role of Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Project Manager at the Center for Public Safety Research. She is a passionate scholar committed to enhancing human well-being and driving community development. Her expertise is at the intersection of project management and research, primarily focusing on addressing societal issues such as the well-being of vulnerable populations, food security, youth environmental engagement, attitudes towards substance use, and interpersonal violence.

Dr. Tsykalova is Ukrainian, speaks four languages, holds a doctoral degree in International Family and Community Studies from Clemson University, and has three masters in the fields related to international economics and development. She has years of experience cultivating partnerships and management (from research, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation) of local projects and international strategic initiatives with universities, NGOs, and intergovernmental organizations in the Middle East, Europe, Russia, and the US. Rooted in her commitment to empowering communities, her expertise bridges research and leadership, making her an invaluable asset to initiatives driving transformative progress.

Bryan Lee Miller, Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies Dr. Bryan Lee Miller is the Associate Dean of Research (ADR) and professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice at Clemson University. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Sociology from Virginia Tech and his Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of Florida. Prior to coming to Clemson, he served as an assistant and associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology and a Research Affiliate for the Rural Health Research Institute (RHRI) at Georgia Southern University. His work has evaluated drug abuse, probation practices, offender reentry, deviant peers, and drug treatment. He has worked on projects funded by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to reduce the number of individuals with mental illnesses and co-occurring disorders in jail, evaluate treatment courts, design law enforcement led initiatives to respond to individuals with mental illnesses, and support justice led programs to implement evidence-based practices to reduce substance abuse. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed articles as well as the books Emerging Trends in Drug Use and Distribution (2014, Springer) and Marijuana in America (2022, ABC-CLIO). He is the Founding Director of the Clemson University Center for Criminal Justice and Social Research (CJSR), served as the 49th President of the Southern Criminal Justice Association, past Chair of the Drug and Alcohol Research Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and is an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Criminal Justice. He was a 2018-2019 Fulbright Scholar at Tampere University, Finland, a recipient of the 2019 Clemson University Research, Scholarship and Artistic Achievement Award, a recipient of the 2022 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Outstanding Mentor Award, and recipient of the 2022 College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Award for Excellence in Research - Senior Scholar.

Katherine Weisensee, Chair and Professor Dr. Weisensee’s research program focuses on innovative methods applied to health research along two distinct avenues. The first is research currently funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) of the National Institutes of Health, “Craniofacial Dysmorphology Associated with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome using Three-Dimensional Morphometrics” Small Research Grants for Establishing Basic Science-Clinical Collaborations to Understand Structural Birth Defects.” This research is in collaboration with Curtis Rogers, M.D., at the Greenwood Genetics Center. The project uses 3d photogrammetric methods for analyzing craniofacial features to determine the dysmorphologies associated with Phelan-McDermid (PMS) syndrome and to examine changes in growth and development patterns. The craniofacial 3d modeling of dysmorphologies in rare genetic diseases is in collaboration with Curtis Rogers, M.D., at the Greenwood Genetics Center. Dr. Rogers is one of the leading experts on PMS and he has been part of the community of scholars and family advocates since the syndrome was first identified.

Natallia Sianko, Associate Professor Dr. Sianko is a broadly trained social scientist whose focus on research, teaching, and service activities transcend disciplinary boundaries and relates to various stakeholders, including the general scientific community, students, non-profit organizations, and governments. She contributes to the promotion of social justice and human rights, with a special focus on children and youth. Dr. Sianko’s research portfolio includes individual and collaborative initiatives on civic engagement and democratic competence among adolescents in established and aspiring democracies, help-seeking in adolescent dating violence, and monitoring and assessing the right to benefit from scientific progress. As an Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on research methodology, advises graduate students in the research design and analysis, and oversees data collection, entry, and management of a multi-year, multi-site, federally funded research project.