Dr. Margaryan has recently earned her Ph.D. from Rutgers University-Newark. Additionally, she has an M.P.A. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the City University of New York and a M.A. in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University-Newark. Her main research interests include the treatment of prisoners mandated by international human rights instruments; national penal reform processes and penal systems in countries in transition; the sociology of punishment; and research and evaluation in criminal justice. Her dissertation examined penal reform in the Republic of Armenia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.