Beatriz Calvo-Merino

Beatriz Calvo-Merino is an Associate Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience at City, University of London, where she also directs the MSc Clinical, Social, and Cognitive Neuroscience and the Joint PhD Programme in Psychology and Social Neuroscience. Her research focuses on sensorimotor processes, neuroaesthetics, and dance cognition, often collaborating with institutions like the Royal Opera House Ballet and Laban Dance Centre. She has received prestigious awards, including the 2019 BACN Early Career Award and the 2018 Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten Award for contributions to neuroaesthetics. Her work combines fMRI, EEG, and behavioral studies to explore how sensorimotor expertise influences perception and aesthetic experiences.

Education includes PhD training at University College London and Universidad Complutense de Madrid, with postdoctoral research at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. She has pioneered interdisciplinary projects bridging neuroscience and performing arts, funded by ESRC, Leverhulme Trust, and Wellcome Trust. Despite career breaks for family, she maintains active research while supporting junior researchers. Notable collaborations include studies on dancers' interoceptive accuracy and multisensory perception of emotions.

• Research Themes: Sensorimotor aesthetics, embodied cognition, emotion perception
• Awards: BACN Early Career Award (2019), Baumgarten Award (2018), Ramon y Cajal Fellowship
• Key Projects: Dance-brain interactions, autism emotion perception, robotics-induced yawning studies