Paul Gilbert is an Honorary Professor at the School of Psychology, University of Queensland. As a pioneer of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), his work integrates evolutionary, social, developmental, and neurobiological perspectives to address mental health challenges. He maintains an active research profile with recent collaborations spanning multinational studies on compassion-based interventions. Gilbert's research focuses on the mechanisms and applications of compassion in clinical, educational, and community settings. Key areas include reducing shame and self-criticism, developing compassion training protocols for specific populations (e.g., teachers, adolescents, forensic groups), and exploring evolutionary underpinnings of psychopathology. His work frequently employs randomized controlled trials and meta-analytical approaches to validate therapeutic efficacy. Analysis of Gilbert's 15 most recent articles (2023-2024) reveals three dominant themes: 1) Efficacy of compassion-focused interventions across diverse populations (clinical disorders, educational settings, forensic contexts), 2) Integration of contemplative practices (mindfulness, Buddhist psychology) with evolutionary models, and 3) Physiological and neural correlates of compassion and emotional regulation. Methodologically, these studies emphasize mixed-methods designs, scale validation, and cross-cultural applications.
Dr. Catherine Creamer is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law and Society at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. With a PhD from Glasgow Caledonian University and extensive postgraduate experience, she specializes in forensic psychology, focusing on intimate partner stalking, neurobiology of attachment, and risk assessment. She holds Chartered Psychologist status and is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and the Higher Education Academy. Education: PhD, Glasgow Caledonian University MSc (Forensic and Legal Psychology), University of Leicester, UK BSc (Hons) Psychology, University of Bristol, UK Research Interests: Her work explores the neurobiological underpinnings of attachment disruption in intimate partner violence, human rights in forensic contexts, and clinical interventions for forensic populations. She has conducted groundbreaking studies on the pathophysiology of attachment style and its link to stalking behaviors. Grants & Projects: Key projects include Council of Europe initiatives on counter-terrorism, mental health protocols in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and radicalization prevention in the Western Balkans. She has secured over €180,000 in funding for projects spanning Australia, Europe, and New Zealand. Awards: British Psychological Society Chartered Psychologist (1999) British Psychological Society Associate Fellow (2012) Higher Education Authority (HEA) Associate Fellow (2022) Advisory Roles: Consultant for the European Union, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and UK Home Office. She advises on human rights, risk assessment, and mental health policies globally. Teaching: Coordinates the Master of Counselling program and teaches psychotherapeutic approaches and mental health counseling.
Ranjana Mehta serves as Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Affiliate Faculty in the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, directing the NeuroErgonomics Laboratory while co-directing the Texas A&M Ergonomics Center and holding faculty fellowships at the Center for Population Health and Aging and Center for Remote Health Technologies and Systems. Her academic background includes: PhD in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech MS in Industrial Engineering from University at Buffalo BE in Production Engineering from University of Mumbai, India Mehta pioneers neuroergonomic approaches to study human performance under fatigue and stress in safety-critical environments, developing closed-loop human augmentation technologies for emergency response, space exploration, and oil/gas operations. Her work integrates adaptive AR/VR interfaces, wearable systems, human-robotic interactions, and brain-computer interfaces to enhance human-technology partnerships through user-centered design. Analysis of her recent publications reveals strong emphasis on fatigue detection in offshore workers, trust dynamics in human-robot collaboration, and sex-specific neural adaptations to exoskeletons. Her research spans human factors engineering, neuroscience, and industrial engineering, employing multimodal physiological metrics to address real-world safety challenges across high-risk industries. Her scientific recognition includes: 2024 Virginia Tech, ISE Distinguished Alumni 2023 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Fellow 2022 IISE Award for Technical Innovation in Industrial Engineering 2022 NASA ideas* Fellow 2022 NASEM Gulf Research Early Career Research Fellow 2022 The Human Factors Prize 2021 Virginia Tech, ISE Emerging Leaders Award 2021 Texas A&M Presidential Impact Fellow 2020 TEES Engineering Genesis Award 2020 Virginia Tech Engineering Outstanding Recent Alumni Award 2019 HFE Woman of the Year 2017 William C. Howell Young Investigator Award Her research receives funding from multiple federal agencies and industry partners supporting neuroergonomic solutions for worker safety. She mentors graduate students through ISyE 699/790/890/990 research courses and PSYCH 859 special topics, focusing on human factors engineering applications in emergency response and healthcare systems. Mehta leads interdisciplinary teams across the NeuroErgonomics Laboratory and Texas A&M Ergonomics Center, integrating engineering, neuroscience, and emergency medicine expertise to develop real-time fatigue monitoring systems and adaptive interfaces for high-stakes occupational environments.
Dr. Manuela Angioi is a Reader in Sports and Exercise Medicine Education at Queen Mary University of London's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, leading the iBSC Sports and Exercise Medicine Course. She specializes in curriculum development for intercalated degrees, supervising student research projects and managing academic modules. Her research focuses on injury prevention in performing arts, particularly dance and judo, and the application of exercise in healthcare, such as dementia care. She collaborates with organizations like the National Centre for Circus Arts and Dancefit Prime. Teaching includes modules on research methods, exercise physiology, and dance medicine at levels 6 and 7. Research interests span physiological determinants of performance, musculoskeletal injury risk in dancers, and cardiovascular health interventions. She has contributed to high-impact journals and international conferences. Collaborations include the Royal Ballet School and NHS projects on dance-based therapies.
Dr. Nicholas Cummins is a Lecturer in AI for Speech Analysis at King’s College London, specializing in applying machine learning to health conditions, particularly mental health disorders. He holds roles in the Department of Biostatistics & Health Informatics and is affiliated with the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre. His research focuses on speech processing, affective computing, and digital phenotyping, with projects like RADAR-CNS and DE-ENIGMA. He earned his PhD from UNSW Australia (2016) and conducted postdoctoral work in Germany before becoming habilitation candidate at the University of Augsburg. Education: PhD in Electrical Engineering, UNSW Australia (2016) Habilitation Candidate, Chair of Embedded Intelligence for Healthcare, University of Augsburg Research Interests: Machine learning for mental health monitoring Speech-based biomarkers for depression and psychosis Wearable device integration for health tracking Multilingual speech analysis Key Projects: RADAR-CNS: Data analysis for neurological conditions DE-ENIGMA, TAPAS, sustAGE (Horizon 2020) National Science Foundation of China project on speech-based depression diagnosis Grants & Awards: Over 100 peer-reviewed publications (h-index: 23) NSFC-funded project on speech analysis for depression Reviewer for IEEE, ACM, ISCA journals Labs & Teams: Involved in the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Health and the EMBRACE initiative for maternal/child health with AI.
Katarzyna Wac is a researcher at the University of Geneva affiliated with the Faculty of Economics and Management and the Information Science Institute . Her work bridges Digital Health , Mobile Computing , and Human-Computer Interaction , focusing on leveraging wearable devices, smartphones, and AI for health and quality of life (QoL) quantification. Research Themes: Digital biomarkers for Alzheimer's and migraines, QoL assessment via ubiquitous computing, peer- and self-reported behavioral data, and QoE of mobile applications. Labs: Leads the mQoL Lab , a platform for interactive, mobile, and wearable-based studies. Her recent publications explore Transformer models for health data analysis, social robots in homecare, and ethical frameworks for digital mental health. She has contributed to standards for proxy-reported QoL measures and personalized drug delivery systems in digital health. The multimodal integration of emotional signals and context-aware QoS/QoE provisioning for m-health services are recurring technical themes. Key collaborations include the MobiHealth project and COPD24 , translating future internet technologies into telemonitoring solutions. Her work spans from foundational studies on mobile cognition to applied ambulatory assessment of affect and health risks.
Professor Cynthia H.Y. Fu is a leading researcher in the Department of Psychology & Human Development at the University of East London's School of Childhood and Social Care. She serves as an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and holds a Visiting Professor position at the Centre for Affective Disorders, King's College London. Her research focuses on identifying brain regions affected by depression and how they change with various treatments including talking therapies, antidepressant medication, and neurostimulation techniques like transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Professor Fu pioneered work demonstrating that neural activation patterns during sad facial processing can accurately diagnose depression in individual patients and predict treatment response. Her research has direct translational potential in developing biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis based on brain imaging. Professor Fu's work spans multiple disciplines including affective neuroscience, computational psychiatry, and neuromodulation. Her recent publications reveal strong trends in applying machine learning to neuroimaging data for depression classification, investigating home-based tDCS treatment protocols, and exploring the relationship between physiological markers and psychological states in real-world contexts like driving and commuting. British Association for Psychopharmacology Award National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (Brain & Behavior Research Foundation) Award Professor Fu has secured significant research funding from major organizations including the Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, GlaxoSmithKline, and Eli Lilly. Her work regularly appears in top-tier journals and is consistently cited among the most influential publications in psychiatry. She leads research investigating how brain responses can predict individual treatment responses, potentially enabling personalized depression treatment approaches. Her laboratory focuses on multimodal neuroimaging approaches combined with machine learning to identify neural signatures of depression and treatment response. Current projects include home-based tDCS treatment protocols with remote supervision, biomarker development for predicting antidepressant response, and computational approaches to understanding stress responses in everyday contexts.
Michael J. Larson is a Professor of Psychology in the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he directs the Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology (CCNN) Lab. His research integrates neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience methodologies to investigate cognitive control mechanisms in healthy individuals and cognitive dysfunction following traumatic brain injury (TBI). He employs advanced techniques including event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neural correlates of cognitive processes. Dr. Larson's research program has four primary aims: (1) Investigating behavioral and neural reflections of cognitive control using ERP/fMRI; (2) Understanding lifespan developmental trajectories of cognitive control in neurologic insult or psychopathology (TBI, autism, depression); (3) Examining cognitive control's role in exercise and food-related behaviors including obesity; (4) Determining psychometric properties of biological measures for clinical application. His work spans traumatic brain injury recovery, exercise cognition, food inhibitory control, and psychopathology-neurocognition interactions. His publication trends reveal strong focus on methodological rigor in psychophysiology, with recent articles emphasizing ERP reliability across paradigms, preregistration practices, and multiverse analysis approaches. Key research domains include TBI rehabilitation (particularly via photobiomodulation and HRV biofeedback), sex differences in concussion mechanisms through the LIMBIC MATARS Consortium, and neural markers of food-related inhibitory control. Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Psychophysiology (2016-Present) Top-Cited Scholar for Scientific Field (2019) Martin B. Hickman Innovation in Teaching Award (2018) University Young Scholar Award (2015) College Outstanding Young Alumnus, University of Florida (2014) Dr. Larson mentors students through the BYU Chapter of the Association of Neuropsychology Students and Trainees (ANST) and collaborates extensively with Dr. Tricia Merkely, Dr. Derin Cobia, and Dr. Shawn Gale on clinical neuropsychology training. His lab emphasizes rigorous methodology and psychometric validation, contributing significantly to standards in electrophysiological research through editorial leadership and methodological publications.
Dr. Katherine Mickley Steinmetz is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Wofford College, where she directs the Neuroscience of Cognition and Emotion Lab. Her office is located in the R. Milliken Science Center 231D, and she can be reached at (864) 597-4643 or steinmetzkr@wofford.edu. She has established herself as a prominent researcher in emotional memory and cognition through her extensive publication record and laboratory work. Dr. Steinmetz earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Neuroscience from Allegheny College, where she participated in the Neuroscience in the Humanities program and completed a thesis on electrophysiological changes caused by learning words in emotional contexts. She then pursued graduate studies at Boston College under Dr. Elizabeth Kensinger, using neuroimaging (fMRI), eye-tracking, electrophysiological, and behavioral techniques to investigate neural mechanisms influencing memory for emotional events. Following this, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship focusing on stress and sleep effects on memory at Boston College and Notre Dame. Her research program focuses on understanding the neuroscience behind how emotional processing influences attention and memory. Dr. Steinmetz combines behavioral testing, event-related potential (ERP) recordings, and salivary hormonal assays to examine both cognitive and neural processes guiding attention toward and memory for emotional information. She is particularly interested in how factors like stress and anxiety modulate these processes. Her work spans multiple domains including emotional memory enhancement, cross-cultural differences in memory, physiological correlates of emotional processing, and the interaction between sleep, stress hormones, and memory consolidation. Analysis of Dr. Steinmetz's publication history reveals consistent focus on emotional memory mechanisms across various contexts. Her research demonstrates how emotional content differentially affects item versus background memory, how stress hormones like cortisol modulate memory processes, and how attentional mechanisms interact with emotional processing. Her methodological approach integrates multiple techniques including ERP, eye-tracking, physiological monitoring, and behavioral paradigms to provide comprehensive insights into emotion-cognition interactions. Dr. Steinmetz has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in prominent journals including Journal of American College Health, Frontiers in Physiology, Cognition and Emotion, Memory, and Affective Science. She has also contributed book chapters and co-authored the book "How Does Emotion Affect Attention & Memory?" (2010) with Elizabeth A. Kensinger, which reviews behavioral and neuroimaging evidence on emotion's effects on memory and attention in individuals with and without PTSD. As an educator, Dr. Steinmetz has focused on developing effective undergraduate research experiences in cognitive neuroscience. Her work in this area addresses the challenges of preparing students for careers in this interdisciplinary field while maintaining sustainable faculty development. She appears to be actively involved in mentoring undergraduate researchers through her laboratory work at Wofford College. Dr. Steinmetz's Neuroscience of Cognition and Emotion Lab serves as the primary research hub for her investigations. The lab employs multiple methodological approaches to study emotion-cognition interactions, providing students with hands-on research experience in cognitive neuroscience techniques. Her research program demonstrates continuity from her graduate and postdoctoral training while developing its own distinct focus on the interplay between emotional processing, attention, and memory.
Dr. Jemma King is an Honorary Fellow at the School of Psychology , The University of Queensland , focusing on biomarkers of stress and emotional intelligence. She has contributed to research on workplace stress, military psychology, and psychoneuroimmunology. Education: PhD in Emotional Intelligence and Workplace Stress (2020), Honours Thesis on Emotional Intelligence and Cyber-Ostracism (2012) Her research explores how emotional intelligence buffers physiological stress responses in virtual environments and high-stress occupations. Recent work links circadian alignment to psychological resilience and leadership performance. Publications span journal articles , conference proceedings , and theses , emphasizing cortisol and HRV as stress markers. She supervises doctoral students, including projects on circadian rhythms and leadership stress , and has received funding from the Commonwealth Department of Defence. Dr. King is also a media expert for biomarkers of stress testing, wearable emotion tracking (WHOOP, Wim Hof Method), and workplace interventions.
Elizabeth Ellen Epstein, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School, with her primary appointment in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. She maintains a robust research program focused specifically on women with alcohol use disorder and related behavioral health conditions. Education: BA in Psychology from Clark University, Worcester, MA MS in Psychology from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel PhD in Clinical Psychology from University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT Dr. Epstein's research focuses on gender-specific treatment approaches for alcohol use disorder, with particular emphasis on women's health, cognitive behavioral therapy adaptations, couple and family interventions, and mechanisms of change in treatment. Her work frequently examines the unique needs of women veterans and how physiological factors like menstrual cycle phase impact treatment outcomes. She has pioneered research on female-specific cognitive behavioral therapy protocols and their comparative effectiveness against standard approaches. Analyzing her recent publication history reveals a strong focus on gender-specific treatment mechanisms, with increasing attention to digital health interventions and co-occurring disorders. Her research has evolved from foundational work on classification of drinking patterns to sophisticated investigations of treatment mechanisms, with consistent emphasis on women's health across her career. Recent work shows expansion into veteran populations and integration of physiological measures with behavioral outcomes. Dr. Epstein has collaborated extensively with researchers including Bruce McCrady, Katie Hallgren, and Christine Holzhauer on numerous clinical trials examining alcohol treatment efficacy. Her work has been consistently funded through NIH mechanisms, supporting both clinical trials and methodological innovations in measuring treatment processes. She maintains active research collaborations with the Center of Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education at the VA Boston Healthcare System, with particular focus on women veterans. Her laboratory has developed specialized protocols for gender-specific cognitive behavioral therapy and has contributed significantly to understanding how treatment mechanisms differ for women compared to men with alcohol use disorders.
Volkher Scharnhorst is a part-time Professor of Clinical Chemistry at Eindhoven University of Technology, affiliated with the Chemical Biology research group within the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He also holds positions at the Eindhoven MedTech Innovation Center and EAISI Health. With over 2000 citations according to Scopus, his academic work bridges clinical practice and engineering approaches to medical diagnostics. His educational background includes: MSc in Biology from Leiden University PhD in Medical Biochemistry from Leiden University (2000), researching 'W1 proteins and their functions in growth and differentiation' Scharnhorst's research focuses on the application of biomarkers in diagnosing and monitoring disease, with particular emphasis on improving analytical techniques and the clinical interpretation of test results. His work spans cardiovascular diagnostics, cancer biomarkers, and laboratory medicine. He is committed to translating laboratory analysis results into clinically relevant information for physicians treating patients, with specific expertise in general laboratory medicine, blood disease diagnostics, and cardiovascular biomarkers. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on advanced mass spectrometry techniques for biomarker detection, particularly in lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. The work shows increasing sophistication in analytical methods, moving toward more precise quantification of low-abundance protein biomarkers that can improve early disease detection and monitoring. Scharnhorst has supervised 16 students throughout his career and teaches several courses including Clinical Chemistry, Capita Selecta Laboratory Medicine, and Applied Clinical Data Science. His media presence shows engagement with translating research findings to the public, particularly regarding blood-based tests for lung cancer detection. His research contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to good health and well-being, with work spanning cardiac troponin analysis, lung cancer biomarkers, obesity medicine, and circulating tumor DNA detection.
David Brown is a Professor in Interactive Systems for Social Inclusion at Nottingham Trent University's School of Science & Technology, Department of Computer Science. He serves as Director of the Computing and Informatics Research Centre (CIRC) and Research Group Leader for the Interactive Systems Research Group (ISRG). Director, Computing and Informatics Research Centre Research Group Leader, Interactive Systems Research Group Governor, Oak Field School for students with severe learning disabilities Conference Chair, International Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and Associated Technology (ICDVRAT21) Associate Editor, Frontiers: Virtual Reality in Medicine Professor Brown's research focuses on developing inclusive technologies for people with disabilities. His work spans accessibility for students with learning, physical and sensory impairments; virtual reality applications for rehabilitation; multimodal affect recognition systems; social robotics for education; accessible visual programming toolkits; and serious games for developing physical and cognitive skills. His research is characterized by strong interdisciplinary collaboration and practical application in educational and healthcare settings. His recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on applying emerging technologies like virtual reality, machine learning, and social robotics to address real-world challenges in accessibility and inclusion. The research shows a clear trajectory toward increasingly sophisticated multimodal systems that can detect user states and adapt accordingly, with applications ranging from autism support to mental health interventions. Extensive EU-funded research projects including Horizon 2020, Erasmus+, and EPSRC grants Notable projects: DIVERSIA, MaTHiSiS, Pathway, AI-TOP, EDUROB, No One Left Behind, Real Life, RISE Professor Brown has supervised numerous PhD students and collaborates extensively with international partners across Europe and Asia. His work bridges computer science, psychology, education, and healthcare to create technologies that promote social inclusion and improve quality of life for people with disabilities.
Judith Andersen is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Mississauga, specializing in health psychology with a focus on the psychophysiology of stress and its impact on mental and physical health in high-stress occupations. Her research emphasizes evidence-based training programs for police and special forces, resilience development for first responders, and mental health disparities among LGBTQ+ communities. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Irvine. Her work includes designing stress-regulation interventions to enhance police decision-making during critical incidents and developing competency frameworks for incident commanders. Recent projects involve applying biofeedback technology (e.g., HRV monitoring) to improve officer performance and wellness. She collaborates internationally with law enforcement agencies in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Key research domains include: Psychophysiological stress responses and their modulation Resilience training for first responders Mental health disparities in marginalized groups Evidence-based policing strategies Her publications from 2024–2025 explore topics like stress physiology in policing, competency development for crisis leaders, and the role of social support in reducing LGBTQ+ mental health disparities. Ongoing projects focus on reducing racial bias in policing and optimizing training through big data analytics. While no formal advisees are listed, her research teams engage in translational studies impacting policy and practice. She advocates for applied psychological research to bridge academic and real-world challenges in public safety and health.
Judith OEH van Laar is an Assistant Professor in the Signal Processing Systems group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and a gynecologist at Máxima Medical Center. Her research focuses on technological advancements for maternal and fetal health, including fetal monitoring systems and congenital defect detection. She holds a Master's in Medicine from Radboud University (2004) and a PhD from TU/e (2012) on fetal autonomic responses during pregnancy. She completed gynecology specialization at Máxima Medical Center (2014). Research interests include fetal electrocardiography, heart rate variability, and cardiotocogram analysis. She leads projects like HASTA (Healthy Ageing Starts with a HealThy stArt) and contributes to MEDEIA (MEDical Engineering Innovations and Applications). Recent work involves AI-driven fetal health assessment and maternal physiological monitoring. Key collaborations span biomedical engineering and clinical medicine.
