GW will add a program on extremism to its Center for Cyber and Homeland Security according to a University release Monday.

The program will be led by counterterrorism experts Lorenzo Vidino and Seamus Hughes. Vidino has written several books on terrorism and is an expert on terrorism in Western countries and on government initiatives to combat radicalization. Hughes has worked at the National Counterterrorism Center and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The program will focus on forms of extremism, especially in the United States, that researchers will analyze to create counterterrorism policy solutions. Experts with experience in counterterrorism, including government officials, scholars, former extremists and counter-extremism specialists, will also be part of the program and will assist families dealing with issues related to radicalization.

“The current terrorist climate calls for a dedicated and sustained effort grounded in empirically based research,” Frank Cilluffo, director for the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security, said in the release.