The Options Institute Research Grant Program

Anup Basu is a Professor of Finance at Queensland University of Technology. He also has many years of experience in the banking and financial services industry and serves as consultant to pension funds, investment managers, and policymakers. Professor Basu’s research focuses on pension economics, investment management, and investor behavior and informed the Review of the Australian Superannuation System, US Department of Labor, Securities Exchange Commission, US Senate Hearing (Special Committee on Ageing), OECD, World Bank, and IMF. He has been a recipient of several grants from multiple institutions including the Australian Research Council, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Insurance Australia Group, Financial Services Institute of Australia, and Ecstra Foundation. In 2023, he received Government of India’s SPARC grant for examining strategic asset allocation choices for India’s National Pension System (NPS). His research has been published in many reputable academic and practitioner journals including Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Journal of Portfolio Management, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Accounting and Finance, and Pacific Basin Finance Journal.

Adam Clements is a Professor in Finance at Queensland University of Technology. He has also held multiple visiting positions with universities in Australia, Europe, and Latin America. His main research interests include financial econometrics, nonparametric estimation, time series modelling of asset return volatility and correlation and forecast evaluation. He has also worked on many modelling and forecasting applications outside of finance, including wholesale electricity markets, air pollution, renewable energy, and retail sales. He has published in a range of quality academic outlets including Journal of Financial Econometrics, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Journal of Banking and Finance, International Journal of Forecasting, and Energy Economics.

Siamak Javadi is an Associate Professor of Finance at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Oklahoma State University in 2014. Prior to joining UTRGV, he held other academic positions at Ohio University and California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). His primary research interests include corporate finance, corporate governance, climate finance, and empirical asset pricing. His research papers are published in mainstream finance journals, including Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Review of Finance, Journal of Corporate Finance, Financial Management, and Journal of Financial Stability.

William Campbell has three decades of experience as a risk manager, trader, and consultant to the financial industry. In addition to his consulting work, he is a full-time university lecturer in economics and finance and has earned multiple recognitions at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Mr. Campbell's research spans topics from market microstructure to the impact of macroeconomic policy on the financial condition of rural populations. Mr. Campbell also speaks to industry and community groups on financial topics. William earned his degrees at the University of Illinois and Eastern Illinois University. In his spare time, he has been a longtime volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America.

Ali Nejadmalayeri, Ph.D., CFA holds the John A. Guthrie Chair in Banking and Financial Services at the College of Business of the University of Wyoming. He is also the John and Esther Clay Honors College Faculty Fellow. Prior to joining UW, he held the ONEOK Chair in Finance and Jay and Fayenelle Helm Professorship in Business at Spears School of Business of Oklahoma State University. Concurrently, he was alsothe finance Ph.D. program director. Between 2001 and 2006, he was an assistant professor of finance and the finance area coordinator at the College of Business Administration of the University of Nevada-Reno. He has taught a wide range of under- graduate and graduate (MBA and doctoral) finance courses about bank management, markets and institutions, portfolio management, investment theory, and corporate finance. He coached OSU's trading team. He was the faculty advisor to student-managed fund at the University of Nevada-Reno. His teaching efforts have earned him a number of nominations for best teacher awards over the years. Just before joining the University of Wyoming, he won the coveted "2017 Merrick Foundation Teaching Award on the American Free Enterprise System" at OSU. He is currently writing a textbook tentatively titled "Blockchains, FinTech, and Digital Financial Services."

Nejadmalayeri has published in major finance and economics journals, including the Review of Finance, the Journal of Business, the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of Corporate Finance, the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. His recent published research deals with the network economics of bondholders, the interaction of corporate decisions (taxes, advertising, etc.) and the credit risk pricing, as well as the macroeconomics of digital money (stablecoins). His research has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades including Spears Poole Research Award (2012, 2013, 2015), McGraw-Hill/Irwin Distinguished Paper Award MBAA 2005, and Nevada Alpha Chapter of BETA GAMMA SIGMA 2003 Researcher of the Year Award, the prestigious "2016 OSU-Tulsa President's Outstanding Researcher of the Year" award, and Wyoming's 2022 Belt Buckle. Nejadmalayeri currently serves as a Senior Editor for Global Finance Journal.

Nejadmalayeri holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Arizona, an M.B.A. degree from Texas A&M University and, a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tehran.