Russell joined the faculty of the School of Education and Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hiroshima University after receiving his Ph.D. (Psychology) there in 2020. He first began his journey in research under the mentorship of Dr. John J. Mulvihill as a member of the summer Gene Team at the University of Oklahoma's College of Medicine in 2008.

In his first foray in Japan, Russell studied abroad with Harvard Summer School 2009 at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, and graduated cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in biology and international and area studies from the University of Oklahoma in 2011. Russell then spent time as an educator at elementary and junior high schools in snowy Akita Prefecture (depicted) from 2012-2014, before entering the Phoenix Leader Education Program's Social Recovery Course at Hiroshima University from 2014-2020.

Awards have included the International Future Leader Award at the Leading Graduate Schools Forum at Nagoya University in 2017, travel grants from Hiroshima University's Green Wing Educational Scholarship 2019 and the International Positive Psychology Association's Student Scholarship in 2019, and most recently, Dr. Kabir traveled to Brisbane, Australia, to accept the Early Career Award from the International Academy of Intercultural Research (IAIR) at the 2025 Joint Conference with the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP).

An interdisciplinary researcher, Russell received special training at institutions such as ORISE in Oak Ridge, TN, and Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. He later served as a trainee at a directorate of the OECD in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, working on the intersection of radiation disaster recovery and public mental health.

In 2024, Russell was awarded the International Network of Universities (INU) Early Career Researcher Mobility Program travel grant. As Research, Economic Development, and Innovation (REDI) International Faculty Fellow, Russell is actively collaborating with Dr. Lindsey Harvell-Bowman and colleagues at James Madison University. For 2025, we have been awarded Phase 1 Seed Money Funding to grow our partnership.

In 2025, Russell joined the editorial board of Review of General Psychology, the APA Division 1 journal of the Society for General Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry. 

Apart from his avocation as a singer-songwriter, Russell enjoys cooking, podcasts, and popular non-fiction. He now spends most of his free time doing some combination of those activities with his wife and son.

I graduated from the bachelor's program in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University in March 2025.

I am now a master's student in the Educational Design for Teacher Educators Program at Hiroshima University in Japan. 

In my graduate level work, I am interested in whether educational activities and programs can change fear of negative evaluation related to L2 English use in Japan.

Under Dr. Kabir's supervision, I am adapting behavioral tasks and making educational materials based on best practices in psychological support activities for anxious learners.

Keywords: fear of negative evaluation in English, motivation, iconic map tasks in applied linguistics, dyadic interaction

I am a senior majoring in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University. My research focuses on the intersection between creativity and English language proficiency, with a particular emphasis on speaking skills. 

I am interested in exploring how creative thinking influences second language learners’ ability to communicate effectively and how pedagogical approaches can nurture both linguistic and creative competencies. I have presented my work at several academic conferences and was honored to receive funding at one such event—becoming the first undergraduate student in Japan to receive this support.

I am committed to interdisciplinary research and value collaboration with scholars across fields such as applied linguistics, cognitive science, and education. As I continue my academic journey, I aim to deepen my understanding of how creative expression and language learning interact, while refining my skills as a researcher and contributing to innovation in language education.

Keywords: creativity, bilingualism, language of thought hypothesis, research methods in linguistics