Dona is a Ph.D. candidate studying international relations and judicial politics. Originally from India, Dona graduated from Women's Christian College in Chennai, India with a B.A. in History in 2001. She then chose to pursue her further studies in the United States of America and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Politics from Converse College, Spartanburg, SC in 2003. She is currently working towards her dissertation here at the University of South Carolina. Dona's primary field of interest is International Relations, with an emphasis on Human Rights, Conflict Processes and Institutional Behavior. She is currently researching the effect of judicial independence on state's repression of human rights. Her dissertation plans on studying the development of legal institutions in post-conflict areas after breakdown of authority. Because of a strong interest in judicial politics, she has also worked on and presented papers dealing with the behavior of American Supreme Court justices. Dona also teaches the following undergraduate courses here at USC.

• Controversies in World Politics
• Introduction to International Relations
• Contemporary U.S. Foreign Policy    

Her classes are a combination of lecture and discussion with an aim to develop critical thinking and analytical skills among the students.