Michelle E. Protas, Ph.D.

Michelle E. Protas is a Research & Policy Associate with the North Carolina Judicial Branch's Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission. As a criminologist, Dr. Protas also has expertise in crime prevention and online victimization. She holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati, as well as an M.S. degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati and a B.S. degree in Criminology from Florida State University. Besides having worked on multiple government contracts and grant-funded projects in the field of criminal justice, she has peer-reviewed publications in Crime & Delinquency, Deviant Behavior, and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Dr. Protas' research also has international impact, being cited by organizations like the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). When teaching, her primary interests include research methods, statistics, crime prevention, and victimology.