John Holland-McCowan serves as an Adjunct Professor at American University and is completing his PhD in War Studies at King's College London. His doctoral dissertation analyzes the Syrian Kurds and their partnership with the U.S.-led coalition during their campaign against ISIS from 2014-2019.

From the fall of 2019 to summer of 2021, John served as a Predoctoral Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affair's International Security Program at the Harvard Kennedy School as he finished his PhD. John previously worked as a Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) in the Department of War Studies at King's College London. He also served as Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS) at the American University of Iraq, Sulaymaniyah while conducting fieldwork in the region.

His think tank and academic research centers on the fight against ISIS, terrorist financing, and the Kurds. Courses he has taught include 'American Foreign Policy', 'National Security in the Middle East', and 'The War on Terror.'

He holds an M.A. in Terrorism, Security, and Society at King's College London and a A.B. in Government with a Minor in Archeology from Harvard College.