Director, Institute of Knowledge, Research and Society
Director of Programs
Hanna Abakunova is a Ukrainian historian and scholar of Holocaust and genocide studies, currently serving as Stuart Ramsay Tompkins Visiting Professor in History and Modern Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta.
She received her PhD in Holocaust History from the University of Sheffield in 2019. Earlier, she completed a Candidate of Science (PhD-equivalent) in History in Ukraine (2010) and an MA in Psychology (2005), bringing an interdisciplinary perspective that bridges historical analysis, memory studies, and psychological approaches to trauma and testimony.
Prior to her Tompkins Professorship, Abakunova worked as Research Director and Content Manager for the Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos Refresh Project at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She has also held academic and research positions at the Uppsala University, where she lectured in Holocaust and Genocide Studies and conducted postdoctoral research. Her earlier postdoctoral appointments include research positions at Harvard University, Yad Vashem, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.
Abakunova’s research focuses on the history and memory of the Holocaust in Ukraine and Poland, the genocide of Roma, rescue and self-rescue of Jews and Roma during the Second World War, and interethnic relations in the former Soviet Union. Her work combines archival research, oral history, and memory analysis, with a strong emphasis on ethically grounded scholarship and public engagement.
Within the Institute of Knowledge, Research and Society, she serves as Co-Founder and Director of Programs, overseeing research initiatives, educational programming, and partnerships, and acting as a primary point of contact for academic and cultural collaboration.