Finance
PHD Students
Tim Dong
Email: tdong3@vols.utk.edu
Tim Dong is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Finance at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business. With a background in programming and computational finance, he brings prior experience as an audit intern and part-time consultant at a hedge fund. His research explores cryptoeconomics, decentralized finance and trust in financial systems, using tools such as game theory and econometrics. Dong’s work has been accepted at several crypto-focused conferences, and he is currently on the job market.
Giang Huyhn
Giang Huynh is a second-year finance Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business. Her current research interests lie in empirical corporate finance and value investing, focusing on how corporate financial decisions influence long-term investors. Before entering the doctoral program, she gained professional experience as a senior investment analyst at a value fund in Vietnam and as an advising assistant for startups and entrepreneurs at the Small Business Development Center in Texas. Huynh also passed the CFA Level I exam during that time.
Joshua Lawson
Email: cnm188@vols.utk.edu
Josh Lawson is a finance Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business His research lies at the intersection of asset pricing, empirical market microstructure, portfolio choice and machine learning in finance. A central theme of his research is the equilibrium price impact of heterogeneous investors. He studies how variation in investor preferences and arbitrage intensity affects price formation and market efficiency. Lawson also works on topics related to machine learning in finance and long-run decision making under uncertainty.
Zyaire Li
Email: zli100@vols.utk.edu
Zhengzhuo (Zyaire) Li is a fifth-year finance Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business. His interdisciplinary background informs his empirical research on corporate governance and executive decision-making. Li’s research seeks to uncover how leadership choices are shaped by governance structures, incentives and personal experience. Li’s work has been presented at major conferences, and he is excited to present at the upcoming 2026 AFA Annual Meeting.
Lan Nie
Email: lnie@vols.utk.edu
Lan Nie is a first-year finance Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Liaoning University in China, as well as a master’s degree in finance analytics from King’s College London. Her deep interest in empirical finance motivated her to pursue a doctorate and contribute to academic research.
Wenxuan (Laura) Sun
Email: wsun22@vols.utk.edu
Wenxuan Sun is a fourth-year finance Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business. Her research interests include corporate finance, corporate governance, innovation and labor and finance. Sun’s work has been accepted for presentation at multiple conferences, and her current projects explore how regulations and governance affect corporate investment and strategic decisions. Before beginning Haslam’s finance Ph.D. program, Sun gained industry experience as an auditor and credit analyst.
Joseph Wang
Joseph Wang is a second-year finance Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business. He has previously worked as a treasury associate at a regional bank and has performed global equity research for a wealth management firm. Wang is interested in researching in the fields of asset pricing and investments, specifically in mispricing and market anomalies in emerging markets.