Tessa Verhoef

Tessa Verhoef is an Assistant Professor at Leiden University's Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), where she leads the Emergent Communication Group and co-founded the Creative Intelligence Lab. Her research bridges language evolution, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence, focusing on how cultural evolution and neural-agent simulations can improve human-AI interaction. She is part of Leiden's interdisciplinary SAILS program (Society, Artificial Intelligence and Life Sciences).

Verhoef's work includes simulating language universals (e.g., word-order/case-marking trade-offs) via frameworks like NeLLCom, investigating cognitive biases in space-time language evolution, and addressing gender biases in AI. Her projects often combine human experiments with computational models.

Scientific Awards:

• NWO Rubicon Grant
• Frontiers of Innovation Scholars Program (FISP) Fellowship

She actively collaborates across faculties (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Humanities, Law) and institutions (UC San Diego, University of Groningen, UC Merced).