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Zizi PapacharissiView profile

Professor

• Social Media Studies
• Political Communication
• Digital Democracy
• +5 more

Zizi Papacharissi is a UIC Distinguished Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), serving as Department Head of Communication. She is also a University Scholar and affiliate faculty at the Discovery Partners Institute (University of Illinois System). Her research explores the social and political implications of digital media, with a focus on affective publics, networked identities, and democratic processes. She holds a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin and has authored over 10 books and 80+ journal articles. Education: PhD, University of Texas at Austin (2000) in New Media Technologies and Political Communication MA, Kent State University (1997) in Communication Studies BA, Mount Holyoke College (1995) in Media Studies and Economics Research Interests: Dr. Papacharissi investigates how digital media shape political participation, identity formation, and public discourse. Key areas include affective publics (emotional dimensions of online activism), the role of social media in democracy, and the ethical implications of AI and connective technologies. Her work bridges communication studies, political theory, and sociology. Recent Contributions: Her 2021 book After Democracy explores post-democratic futures in the digital age. She edits Social Media & Society and collaborates with tech firms like Facebook/Meta and Tencent on media ethics and policy. Her research on #Egypt and #OWS movements highlights social media’s role in mobilizing protests. Awards & Recognition: 2018 Wayne Danielson Award (National Communication Association) 2015 Best Book Award (NCA Human Communication and Technology Division) High-Impact Scholar (University of Texas at Austin) Advising & Grants: While no student names are listed, her courses (e.g., Democracy in a Digital Age ) reflect her mentorship in critical media studies. She has secured grants from the National Academies of Science and the Institute of Medicine for projects on youth well-being and digital media. Labs & Teams: Her research lab focuses on digital media’s societal impact, collaborating with global institutions like the Oxford Internet Institute and the Harvard Kennedy School. She chairs UIC’s interdisciplinary Digital Media and Democracy initiative.

• Conservation Biology
• Ecology
• Wildlife Management
• +4 more

Professor Peter Banks is a prominent academic in Conservation Biology at The University of Sydney's School of Life and Environmental Sciences. His research focuses on developing humane solutions to invasive species impacts, particularly through understanding predator-prey dynamics and behavioral interventions. He has held roles including Treasurer of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW and editorial board memberships at journals like Oecologia. Education: PhD (2004, University of Sydney), BSc (1991, University of Sydney). His career includes positions at UNSW and University of Turku (Finland). Research interests span animal behavior, ecology, and conservation strategies. Research Themes: Animal behavior and ecophysiology, ecology and evolution, wildlife conservation. Collaborations include projects with Finland’s University of Turku on predator-prey deception and New Zealand’s Landcare Research on pest management. Recent publications emphasize olfactory misinformation tactics, urban tick ecology, and predator learning mechanisms. His work bridges behavioral ecology with applied conservation, exploring innovative methods to mitigate wildlife conflicts.

Jenny OuyangView profile

Associate Professor

• Endocrinology
• Urban Ecology
• Physiological Adaptation
• +4 more

Jenny Ouyang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno , where she also serves as Director of the Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology graduate program. She earned her B.S. and B.A. from the University of California, Irvine (2007), followed by M.A. and Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University (2009, 2012). Her research focuses on the ecology and evolution of physiological systems , particularly how hormonally regulated traits enable organismal adaptation to environmental changes like urbanization , light pollution , and endocrine stress responses . Education: Ph.D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University (2012) M.A., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University (2009) B.S., Biology, University of California, Irvine (2007) B.A., French, University of California, Irvine (2007) Her work integrates neuroendocrine mechanisms with ecological contexts to understand phenotypic flexibility and epigenetic adaptation in birds. Recent projects examine how artificial light at night disrupts circadian rhythms, hormonal profiles, and parental behaviors across urban-rural gradients. She has secured major grants including the NSF CAREER award (2022) for studying urbanization and NIH COBRE funding (2017) as part of a neuroscience team. Key collaborations include Dr. Maria Echeverry at Universidad Pontificia Javeriana in Colombia through her 2023 Fulbright award . The Ouyang Lab combines natural and laboratory experiments to investigate stress physiology, with recent papers analyzing glucocorticoid responses to urbanization, gene expression patterns under light pollution, and epigenetic reorganization in response to environmental stressors. Her publications span top journals like Proceedings of the Royal Society B , Biology Letters , and Ecology Applications , where her 2022 paper on lead pollution and reproduction was highlighted by ESA and Swedish Radio. Scientific Awards & Recognition: US Fulbright Scholars Award (2023) NSF CAREER grant (2022) NIH COBRE grant (2017) as team member Advising students like Valentina Alaasam (NSF GRFP awardee) and Ivan Celso Carvalho Provinciato (Dean's Merit Fellowship)

Johannes LarschView profile

Assistant Professor

• Neuroscience
• Social Behavior
• Neuronal Circuits
• +3 more

Johannes Larsch is a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the Center for Integrative Genomics within the Faculty of Biology and Medicine at Université de Lausanne (UNIL). His research focuses on understanding the neuronal mechanisms underlying social interactions, using larval zebrafish as a model organism. He employs advanced techniques like virtual reality and optical imaging to study how social signals are processed in the brain. Education: Bachelor of Biology, University of Konstanz, Germany PhD in Neurobiology, Rockefeller University, USA (lab of Cori Bargmann) Postdoc at Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Germany (with Herwig Baier) Research interests center on neuronal circuits driving group behavior, social recognition, and the interplay between genetics and environment in shaping behavior. His lab investigates how individual brains coordinate collective social behaviors through studies of neuronal activity and circuit dynamics. Current lab openings include fully funded PhD and PostDoc positions focused on social neuroscience and neurogenomics. Contact: johannes.larsch@unil.ch .

Megan RennaView profile

Assistant Professor

• Clinical Psychology
• Clinical Health Psychology
• Emotion Regulation
• +6 more

Dr. Megan Renna is an Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University's Teachers College and completed a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the National Cancer Institute at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research focuses on the bidirectional relationship between psychological and physical health, particularly how emotion regulation and negative emotionality contribute to chronic disease risk in breast cancer survivors and healthy adults. Education: Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (2019) and M.Ph. (2018) from Teachers College, Columbia University Training: Predoctoral internship at Duke University Medical Center Her work bridges clinical psychology, psychophysiology, and behavioral medicine through studies on inflammation, autonomic dysfunction, and cancer survivorship. Recent publications examine metabolic syndrome, smartwatch body composition metrics, and couples' health dynamics. Key research themes include stress reactivity, emotion regulation therapy, and biobehavioral pathways linking mental states to physiological outcomes. Dr. Renna teaches Advanced Psychopathology and can be reached at Megan.Renna@usm.edu. Her methodological expertise spans experimental worry inductions, longitudinal studies, and psychometric scale development, with a focus on reducing distress disorders through emotion regulation interventions.

• Computational Neuroscience
• Theoretical Neuroscience
• Reinforcement Learning
• +4 more

Nathaniel D. Daw serves as the Huo Professor in Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience and Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at Princeton University, based at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute. His research integrates computational modeling with experimental neuroscience to investigate fundamental mechanisms of learning and decision-making. Daw's research focuses on computational and theoretical neuroscience, specializing in reinforcement learning, memory systems, and decision-making processes. He examines how neural circuits represent value, update beliefs through experience, and balance model-based versus model-free control strategies. His work frequently bridges theoretical frameworks with behavioral and neural data to explain phenomena ranging from habitual behavior to flexible cognitive control. Analysis of his 2025 publications reveals dominant themes in neural replay mechanisms, individual differences in learning trajectories, and clinical applications to eating disorders. His work increasingly incorporates large language models for psychological assessment while maintaining core focus on interpretable cognitive architectures and hierarchical planning. Daw maintains active research operations through the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, an interdisciplinary hub fostering collaboration between computational modelers, neuroscientists, and psychologists to advance understanding of neural mechanisms underlying cognition.

Michael C. FrankView profile

Professor

• Developmental Psychology
• Language Acquisition
• Cognitive Development
• +3 more

Michael C. Frank is the Benjamin Scott Crocker Professor of Human Biology at Stanford University and Director of the Symbolic Systems Program. He leads the Stanford Language and Cognition Lab and has pioneered large-scale collaborative projects including Wordbank (open vocabulary data), MetaLab (developmental meta-analyses), ManyBabies (replication network), childes-db (language transcripts), and Peekbank (eye-tracking repository). His research examines children's language learning and its interaction with social cognition, utilizing computational modeling, large datasets, and open science frameworks. Key interests include: Mechanisms of early language acquisition Pragmatic inference in social contexts Cross-cultural variability in cognitive development Data-driven approaches to developmental science Reproducibility and meta-scientific innovation Recent publications (2022-2025) demonstrate strong emphases on: 1) Novel methods for measuring language environments and cognitive abilities, 2) Computational models of learning and perception, 3) Cross-cultural investigations of social cognition, and 4) Infrastructure for open developmental science. The majority employ multimodal data, meta-analytic techniques, and large-scale collaborations. He teaches courses including Experimental Methods, Developmental Psychology, and interdisciplinary seminars on language, cognition, and computation. His lab maintains active research teams across multiple continents through initiatives like ManyBabies and LEVANTE.

Marcelo MattarView profile

Assistant Professor

• Computational Neuroscience
• Decision-Making
• Reinforcement Learning
• +3 more

Marcelo Mattar is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University, leading the Mattar Lab. His research focuses on the neural computations underlying memory, decision-making, and reinforcement learning. He holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and has held academic positions at NYU, UC San Diego, and postdoctoral roles at Princeton University and the University of Cambridge. His work bridges computational neuroscience and artificial intelligence, aiming to model how the brain uses internal models for planning and decision-making. Education: Ph.D. in Psychology (Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience), University of Pennsylvania, 2016 M.A. in Statistics, University of Pennsylvania, 2016 B.A. in Electronics Engineering, Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica, Brazil, 2010 Research Interests: The lab develops mathematical models of learning and decision-making, leveraging reinforcement learning, Bayesian statistics, and neural networks. Experiments involve human behavioral studies and neuroimaging, with collaborations in animal electrophysiology and computational psychiatry. Key Contributions: His work explores how episodic memory and hippocampal replay support flexible decision-making. Recent studies highlight parallels between human cognition and AI systems, such as language models' metacognitive abilities and brain-inspired algorithms. Awards: Newton International Fellowship, Royal Society (2018–2019) Lab Team: The lab includes postdocs, PhD students, and undergraduates from diverse fields like cognitive science, neuroscience, and computer science. Current members are listed on the lab's website. Lab Location: Meyer Hall, 6 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003.

• Design Studies
• Transition Design
• Sustainable Design
• +3 more

Professor Cameron Tonkinwise is a leading international expert in Design Studies and Transition Design, currently serving as Research Director at the Design Innovation Research Centre at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). With a career spanning institutions like Carnegie Mellon University, Parsons The New School for Design, and UNSW Australia, he has significantly influenced global design education and practice through his advocacy for systemic sustainability and social responsibility. PhD in Philosophy, Art History and Theory from the University of Sydney (1999) His research focuses on the role of design in enabling structural transformations for sustainable futures, blending Transition Design, ethical considerations, and speculative practices. Recent work examines systemic change through everyday habits, ontological design, and service systems in sharing economies. Key trends in his publications include: Transition Design frameworks for climate futures and circularity Critical analysis of sustainable practices and design ethics Systems theory applications in sociotechnical change Projects currently led by Cameron involve: Transitioning Australian banks toward inclusive financial services Designing equitable distributed energy systems Developing cool public spaces to combat urban heat

• Urban Sociology
• Social Inequality
• Neighborhood Studies
• +4 more

Prof. Dr. Talja Blokland is a Professor of Urban and Regional Sociology at the Institute of Social Sciences within the Faculty of Cultural, Social and Educational Sciences at Humboldt University of Berlin. Based at Universitätsstraße 3b, Room 301, she actively contributes to urban sociological research and teaching, with contact via talja.blokland@sowi.hu-berlin.de. Her position as Women's* representative underscores her institutional engagement beyond academic duties. Bloklund's research centers on urban sociology, examining social inequality, neighborhood dynamics, social capital, public space, and urban diversity through qualitative and ethnographic lenses. She investigates how spatial arrangements shape social interactions, community formation, and exclusionary processes in cities like Berlin, Rotterdam, and São Paulo. Her work emphasizes the lived experiences of marginalized populations and the role of public spaces in mediating urban life, particularly in contexts of migration, segregation, and rapid urban transformation. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a dominant focus on 'urban impasses'—structural deadlocks where inequality becomes entrenched. Her scholarship consistently explores segregation mechanisms, social trust in public spaces, and the impact of policies like lockdowns on urban dwellers. Methodologically, she prioritizes ethnographic approaches to capture nuanced social realities, with recurring attention to Berlin's evolving urban landscape. Key thematic threads include the paradoxes of diversity, the spatial dimensions of social capital, and how marginalized groups navigate urban inequalities through everyday tactics.

Andrea MasonView profile

Professor

• Motor Control
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Gait Analysis
• +5 more

Andrea Mason is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on motor control, particularly in autism spectrum disorder, aging, and virtual environments. She holds the Conway Professorship of Kinesiology (2021) and has received the NSF Career Award (2004). Education: Ph.D. in Human Motor Systems from Simon Fraser University (under Dr. Christine MacKenzie). Her work examines bimanual coordination, gait analysis, and balance training. She leads a lab (visit lab webpage) and collaborates on projects involving robotic-assisted motor assessments and VR feedback for clinical populations. Key research themes include: Motor control in autism Age-related changes in locomotion and grasping Virtual environment interaction Developmental coordination disorders Recent studies explore gait variability in dual-task scenarios, sensory feedback effects in VR, and biofeedback-based balance training for children with autism. Her work bridges kinesiology, neuroscience, and clinical applications. Awards: Conway Professorship (2021), Best Paper (2013), NSF Career (2004) Lab: Accessible via dedicated webpage CV: Downloadable from her portal

Thomas SzantoView profile

Professor

• Political Philosophy
• Social Philosophy
• Political Phenomenology
• +9 more

Prof. Thomas Szanto is a Professor of European Political Philosophy at Europa-Universität Flensburg since 2024. He holds a dual affiliation as Recurrent Visiting Professor at the Center for Subjectivity Research (University of Copenhagen). His research bridges social/political philosophy with phenomenology and emotion theory, focusing on normative political emotions, collective agency, and epistemic justice. He earned his PhD (2010) and MA (2004) from the University of Vienna. Affiliations: Europa-Universität Flensburg, University of Copenhagen (CFS), Carlsberg Foundation Project "Who are We?" Education: PhD in Philosophy (University of Vienna, 2010), MA in Philosophy (University of Vienna, 2004) Research Interests: Political emotions (hatred, solidarity), collective intentionality, critical phenomenology, climate change ethics, feminist epistemology, group agency dynamics. His work combines continental and analytical approaches, engaging social science findings from sociology, political psychology, and social movements research. Grants & Projects: Led FWF-funded project "Antagonistic Political Emotions" (€386k), Marie Curie Fellowship (SHARE project, €212k). Current projects include collaboration on group-based affective mechanisms and political cohesion. Editorial Roles: Associate Editor of Emotion Review , Editorial Board member of Philosophy and Society . Reviewed for 70+ journals including Mind and ERC. Key Contributions: Pioneered analysis of epistemically exploitative bullshit (2023), developed taxonomy of political resentment types (2024), authored monograph Bewusstsein, Intentionalität und mentale Repräsentation (2012). Supervised 6+ doctoral theses across European institutions.

• Sociological Theory
• Media Theory
• Monetary Theory
• +4 more

Prof. Cornelia Bohn is a Professor of General Sociology at the University of Lucerne's Department of Sociology, within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Bielefeld and a habilitation from the University of Trier. Her career includes roles as Associate and Assistant Professor at several institutions, and she has been a visiting scholar at Toyo University, Stanford, and the University of Chicago. Bohn's research focuses on sociological theory, media theory, monetary systems, and inclusion/exclusion dynamics. She co-edits the journal Soziale Systeme and collaborates with prestigious research networks like NCCR 'Iconic Criticism' and SFB 600 'Strangers and Poor People'. Her work bridges historical and contemporary social analysis, emphasizing visual and monetary systems. Key achievements include a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study (University of Constance), editorial leadership, and international research engagements. Her theoretical contributions address autonomy, societal structures, and cultural representation. Current research explores the intersection of art, documentation practices, and modern sociological frameworks.

Annemieke Apergis-SchouteView profile

Lecturer

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Preoccupied Thinking
• Procrastination
• +7 more

Dr. Annemieke Apergis-Schoute is a Lecturer in Psychology (Teaching and Research) at Queen Mary University of London, affiliated with the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences and the Centre for Brain and Behaviour. Her research focuses on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), cognitive flexibility, prefrontal mechanisms, and student mental health. She holds a PhD from New York University, where her early work explored threat learning in rats and humans using fMRI. Subsequent roles at the University of Cambridge and UCL expanded her expertise into clinical OCD studies, including deep brain stimulation trials. Her research investigates how prefrontal control deficits and inflexible learning contribute to OCD and related disorders, with a focus on adolescents and young adults. Collaborations include pioneering DBS studies targeting basal ganglia regions to reduce compulsive behaviors. She also explores connections between brain function, interoception, and mental health in daily decision-making contexts. Key publications analyze reversal learning deficits in OCD under serotonergic modulation, neuroimaging markers of cognitive rigidity, and developmental trajectories of compulsivity. Her work bridges basic neuroscience with translational clinical interventions, emphasizing early intervention strategies and cognitive-behavioral approaches.

Rachit DubeyView profile

Assistant Professor

• Climate Change
• Computational Modeling
• Machine Learning
• +3 more

Rachit Dubey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at UCLA, affiliated with the College of Letters & Science. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Princeton University, an M.S. in Education from UC Berkeley, and a BEng in Computer Science from Nanyang Technological University. His research bridges computational modeling, behavioral experiments, and policy design to address climate change challenges, focusing on human motivation and policy impact. Key research areas include using AI-generated visualizations to enhance climate communication, understanding cognitive underpinnings of climate inaction, and designing interventions to reduce polarization. His work has been featured in Nature Human Behavior , Nature Sustainability , and PNAS . Notable contributions include demonstrating that binary climate data visuals significantly amplify perceived urgency compared to gradual trends, and developing computational models of grief using reinforcement learning. He received the 2024 SfNC Dissertation Award for his doctoral work. Dr. Dubey collaborates closely with policymakers to bridge research and practice, and is recruiting PhD students in cognitive science, climate policy, and machine learning. His lab, the Computational Cognitive Policy Lab, emphasizes quantitative rigor and interdisciplinary collaboration.