My name is Elmira Behineh, and I am a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Iowa. My academic background combines law, including criminal law and criminology, with management and organizational behavior.

I earned a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in criminal law and criminology. My master’s thesis examined self-defense and other criminal defenses, including insanity, necessity, duress, coercion, intoxication, and mistake of fact. During my legal studies, I also conducted extensive research on the International Criminal Court, Islamic criminal law, and civil-law legal systems. I later published my thesis as a book titled Legal Self-defense in Iranian Criminal Law and International Criminal Court (ICC).

In 2022, I earned a law degree from Penn State University, where I worked as a research assistant for Professor Thomas Carbonneau and conducted legal research.

Since 2022, I have held professional positions with companies and law firms. For two and a half years, my work focused on workplace harassment, discrimination, and organizational behavior. I also earned an MBA in 2026 with a focus on management, organizational behavior, and human resources.

I have published three articles, peer-reviewed seven manuscripts, and served as an invited reviewer for Tehnički glasnik and the Brazilian Journal of Education, Technology and Society.