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Staff Members
Research Assistant Professors
Research Areas: International Trade and Agricultural Policy
Education: PhD in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University, 2025
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​Jiyeon Kim is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University. Her research focuses on international trade and agricultural policy, specifically within the context of production economics, farmers’ decision-making, and causal inference. She has examined the impact of trade agreements on the farm economy, providing insights into how agricultural production responds to changes in the trade environment.
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Research Areas: International Economics, Agricultural Policy Evaluation
Education: Ph.D. Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Connecticut, 2023
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Dongin is a Research Assistant Professor in the Agribusiness and Applied Economics Department at North Dakota State University. His research primarily examines the effects of trade liberalization policies, such as the WTO and RTAs, on agri-food trade and global value chains. Since joining the department in 2023, he has made significant contributions to the field by publishing in leading academic journals and securing research grants to support his work.​​
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Research Areas: Agricultural policy and trade, supply chain, machine learning
Education: Ph.D. Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Connecticut, 2024
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​Xiting is a Research Assistant Professor in the Agribusiness and Applied Economics Department at North Dakota State University. His research primarily examines the effects of supply chain disruptions, such as environmental and geopolitical disruptions, on agri-food trade. He has made significant contributions to the field by publishing in leading academic journals to support his work.​​​​
Research Areas: International Trade, Industrial Organization
Education: Ph.D. Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, 2023
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Carlos is a Research Assistant Professor in the Agribusiness and Applied Economics Department at North Dakota State University. His research focuses on agricultural policy evaluation and international trade, with a particular interest in how trade policies shape the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture. He has extensive experience analyzing the effects of tariff increases, regional trade agreements, and global disruptions on agri-food global value chains (GVCs) and agricultural export patterns. His current research includes applying general equilibrium analysis to assess the welfare impacts of U.S. international trade policy shifts and examining how trade and multilateral agreements influence agri-food GVC flows.
Graduate Students
Sara Amiri
Research Areas: International Trade
Education: M.S. Executive Management - Strategic Management, Islamic Azad University Tehran Science and Research Branch, 2013
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Sara is a first-year master's student in Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University. She joined the Steinbach Research Group in the Fall 2024, and serves as a Graduate Research Assistant. Currently, she is working on Trade Policy Scenarios for Cooking Oil Imports from Asia.
Manoj Datta
Research Areas: International Trade
Education: MSS in Economics, University of Chittagong, 2014
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Manoj is a Graduate Research Assistant currently pursuing an MSc in Agribusiness & Applied Economics at North Dakota State University. His research focuses on international trade and policy analysis. He is currently working on anti-price gouging policies, particularly their effects on food markets, and is actively assessing the impact of such regulations on consumer welfare and market stability in both domestic and international trade contexts.
Burlin Fuglie
Research Areas: International Trade
Education: B.Sc. Quantitative Economics, North Dakota State University, 2024
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Burlin is a graduate student pursuing an M.S. degree in Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University, where he serves as a Graduate Research Assistant. He explores the complex relationships within global international trade using statistical and mathematical models. While he has no professional background in economics, his real-world perspective keeps him grounded as he applies economic theory to the markets he researches.
Mary Gehrig
Research Areas: International Trade
Education: B.Sc. Quantitative Economics, North Dakota State University, 2024​
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Mary is an accelerated graduate student pursuing an M.S. in Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University, where she currently serves as a Graduate Research Assistant. Her research interests include technological advancements effects on economies, and both domestic and international trade. Currently, she is researching the international trade opportunities for North Dakota soybeans.
Mawuena Tome
Research Areas: International Trade
Education: B.Sc. Agricultural Economics, University of Ghana, 2021
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Mawuena is a graduate research assistant pursuing his M.S. in the Agribusiness and Applied Economics Department at North Dakota State University. His research focuses on Free Trade Agreements and agricultural trade balance. His previous research explored opportunities for North Dakota soybean meal in Canada.
Yasin Yildirim
Research Areas: International Economics
Education: M.S. Economics, North Carolina State University, 2022
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Yasin is a doctoral student in the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University. His research centers on agricultural trade, with a particular emphasis on foreign trade policies, including trade agreements and barriers. His previous work includes exploring the commodity futures market in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war and assessing the impact of presidential trade policy proposals on North Dakota soybean exports and farm income. Currently, he is working on how trade agreements affect the margins of agricultural trade.
Visiting Researcher
Nathaly Villavicencio
Education: M.B.A, University of Guayaquil, Ecuador, 2016
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Nathaly Villavicencio is a Visiting Researcher at the Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies at North Dakota State University. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Business Administration at the University of Valencia, Spain, with her thesis defense scheduled for April 2025. Her research interests span determinants of firm financial performance, industrial clusters, public policy, and the roles of NGOs and private sector initiatives in firm profitability. Her current work explores how location-based factors influence the financial performance of firms in emerging economies and examines whether innovativeness and business models mediate the relationship between location and firm performance.
Program Manager
Nicole Ellis
Education: M.S., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Nicole serves as the Program Manager and Communications Specialist at the Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies at North Dakota State University. She manages grants, coordinates research initiatives, and fosters stakeholder connections. With expertise in communication, program management, and cross-cultural collaboration, Nicole excels at translating complex topics into engaging narratives that drive impact in agricultural policy and trade research.