Professor David Bannerman is a leading academic in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry. He heads the Behavioural Neuroscience Unit, focusing on neural mechanisms underlying anxiety, learning, and memory. His research integrates neurophysiological, genetic, and pharmacological approaches to study neuropsychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and sleep disturbances. Education: BSc (Hons) and PhD qualifications are listed. His research interests span synaptic plasticity, neurodegenerative processes, and the neurobiology of fear/anxiety. Notable areas include the role of orexin pathways in anxiety, tau protein effects on spatial cognition, and the impact of psychedelics like 5-MeO-DMT on neural states. He also investigates sleep spindles’ role in brain state regulation and the consequences of SSRI discontinuation on serotonergic systems. Recent work emphasizes Alzheimer’s disease mechanisms (e.g., amyloid β’s synaptic effects), schizophrenia models (NMDA receptor dysfunction), and the neuroplasticity linked to working memory training. His lab employs cutting-edge techniques, including optogenetics and in vivo neural recordings, to dissect complex behaviors and circuit-level dysfunction. His publications highlight interdisciplinary approaches, bridging basic neuroscience with translational research. Key themes include: synaptic dysfunction in neurodegeneration, environmental influences on neurobehavioral outcomes (e.g., magnetic fields), and the neurobiological basis of psychiatric symptomatology.
Dr. Mark Pendleton is a Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies at the School of Languages, Arts and Societies, University of Sheffield. He holds a BA from Griffith University and a PhD in History from the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on social and cultural history, particularly 20th-century Japan, with expertise in memory studies, gender and sexuality, transnational movements, and industrial heritage. He has lived in Japan for six years, including stints as an exchange student and salaried worker, and has worked with NGOs in Australia. Research Highlights: Investigates traumatic memory (e.g., 1995 Tokyo subway attack), queer histories, and urban ruins. Leads projects like AHRC's 'Reconfiguring Ruins.' Teaching: Oversees the Japanese Studies undergraduate program and emphasizes primary sources in teaching. Service: Serves on Social Sciences Equality Committees and advises on gender equality at the university. His work bridges history and cultural studies, analyzing sites such as Hashima Island and Tokyo’s urban spaces. He frequently engages media for commentary on Japanese cultural and political issues.
Henrice Altink is a Professor of Modern History and Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre (IGDC) at the University of York. She holds a BA from Zwolle, MA from Nijmegen/Lancaster, and a PhD from Hull. Her research focuses on social inequalities in the Caribbean, particularly race, gender, and environmental vulnerability. Key works include Public Secrets: Race and Colour in Colonial and Independent Jamaica (2019) and studies on health policies in the British Caribbean. She has secured grants from the British Academy, GCRF, and Rockefeller Foundation. Education: BA (Zwolle) MA (Nijmegen/Lancaster) PhD (Hull) Affiliations: Co-Director, IGDC (2017–present) Former roles: Head of Department, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer Her research explores race/color discrimination in post-emancipation Jamaica, gender roles in Caribbean societies, and the intersection of social inequality with environmental risks. Recent projects include studies on artisanal gold mining in Ghana and disaster resilience in the Caribbean. She teaches modules on Caribbean history, decolonization, and Black radicalism. Altink advises on postgraduate research in Caribbean history, particularly decolonization and migration. She collaborates internationally, leveraging archives in Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, and London. Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to global development challenges, including health equity and urbanization.
Dr. Chang Bi-Yu is a Researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) and a Visiting Fellow at Ruhr University Bochum. Her work focuses on the interplay of culture and power, particularly in the context of Taiwanese identity formation, cultural policy, and spatial representation. She holds a PhD from an unspecified institution, with her dissertation examining Taiwan's post-war cultural policies (1945-2001). Her research has been funded by grants including the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation and Taiwan's Ministry of Education. Key projects include analyzing cartographic representations of 'China' in Taiwanese maps and exploring spatial constructs like Chung-hsin New Village. She is co-editing Imaging Taiwan and authoring a monograph on spatial narratives in post-war Taiwan. Her work bridges cultural studies, political history, and geography, emphasizing how state power shapes national identity through cultural and spatial frameworks.
Douglas A. Nitz is Professor and Chair of Cognitive Science at UC San Diego. His research program explores neural mechanisms underlying spatial navigation, memory formation, and decision-making processes across cortical and hippocampal circuits. Research Approach: Combines electrophysiological recordings, behavioral analysis, and computational modeling to decipher how distributed brain networks represent spatial information and support memory-guided behaviors. Current Focus: Neural coding principles in parietal-hippocampal networks during navigation tasks, with emphasis on path integration, landmark encoding, and route planning mechanisms.
Dr. Gonul Bozoglu is a Lecturer in Museum and Heritage Studies at the University of St Andrews' School of Art History. She holds a PhD from Humboldt University's CARMAH program and has extensive experience across museums, archaeological excavations, and academic research. Her work focuses on marginalized communities' heritage preservation, particularly Greek communities in Istanbul, through digital memory maps and documentary filmmaking. Key projects include the CoHERE EU project and Katip Çelebi Newton Fund initiatives, resulting in publications like Dimensions of Heritage and Memory and Plural Heritages and Community Co-production . Education: MPhil in Ottoman Art (Mimar Sinan University), MA in Museum Studies (Newcastle University), PhD in Heritage Studies (Humboldt University). Research interests span memory culture, digital heritage, and ethnographic filmmaking. She co-edits the Routledge Key Issues in Cultural Heritage series and has directed award-winning films such as Life After Life: the Greeks of Istanbul (2021) and The Journey and the Grief (2023), part of a trilogy exploring Greek-Turkish heritage. Awards include recognition at the London Greek Film Festival and Chania Film Festival. Current projects include a new book on Greek Istanbuli heritage under contract with Routledge, and ongoing work on memory maps and documentary films. She has held a Leverhulme Fellowship and contributed to international heritage policy discussions.
Dr. Katherine Angel is a Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London's School of English and Drama and a Fellow at the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences. She specializes in literary non-fiction, with research focusing on sexuality, feminism, gender, psychoanalysis, and psychiatry. Her notable works include Unmastered (2012), Daddy Issues (2019), and Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again (2021), which explore themes of desire, consent, and post-MeToo dynamics. Angel holds a PhD in History and Philosophy of Science from Cambridge University and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Warwick and Queen Mary. Previously, she taught at Birkbeck College and Kingston University, where she led creative writing programs. She is also undergoing psychoanalytic training at the Site for Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Her research spans medical humanities, queer theory, and feminist critique. Angel’s work has been translated into 13 languages and widely praised in media outlets like The Guardian , New York Times , and Boston Review . She actively engages in public discourse through lectures, podcasts, and festivals globally, advocating for nuanced discussions on sexuality and consent. Her current project critiques the historical tensions between psychoanalysis and feminism. Angel’s academic contributions include publications in History of the Human Sciences , Studies in Gender and Sexuality , and Current Opinion in Psychiatry . She welcomes doctoral students interested in her research areas and collaborates with institutions like the Freud Museum and Wellcome Collection. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges literature, science, and culture, reflecting a commitment to advancing critical feminist and queer scholarship.
Lu Liu is an Assistant Professor at the School of Modern Languages, Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research examines intersections of literary, visual, and media cultures with transnational biological, hygienic, and environmental knowledge in modern China. She is completing a book manuscript, *Trans-species Revolution: Pests and the Unwanted Nature in Modern China, 1900s–1970s*, analyzing pests as agents in political and ecological struggles. Her work appears in journals like *British Journal for the History of Science* and *China Perspectives*, and edited volumes such as *Socializing Medicine* and *Global Humanities Approach to the UN SDGs*. Education: Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin-Madison), M.A. and B.A. (Peking University, China). Teaching focuses on Chinese literature, cinema, foodways, revolutionary art, and sustainability. Research interests span Chinese history of technology, literary studies, media studies, and science/technology studies, with a geographic focus on East Asia. Courses taught include Chinese language, culture, and special topics like food culture and health rhetoric. Publications highlight themes of scientific narratives in socialist China, environmental imagery in literature, and medical innovation. Advising and grants are not explicitly detailed in the text. She is affiliated with no specific lab or team mentioned.
Carl Rommel is a Researcher at Uppsala University’s Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology. His research focuses on contemporary Egypt, exploring themes such as the politics of emotions, masculinity, temporality, sports, and authoritarian statecraft. His current project, Egypt as a Project: Dreamwork and Masculinity in a Projectified Society , funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, examines how projects shape visions of personal and national futures in Egypt. Education: Bachelor/Master in Sociotechnical Engineering and History of Science/Ideas (Uppsala University, 2001–2007) MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies (SOAS, University of London, 2009) PhD in Social Anthropology (SOAS, University of London, 2015) Research Interests: Carl’s work combines ethnographic fieldwork with theoretical inquiry. He analyzes the interplay between projectification, masculinity, and statecraft in Egypt, as well as football’s role in shaping national identity and revolutionary movements. His approach emphasizes ‘project dreamwork’—the interplay of imagination, labor, and material conditions in socio-political contexts. Teaching and Fellowships: Postdoctoral researcher in the ERC-funded Crosslocations project (University of Helsinki, 2017–2021) Research fellowships at Zentrum Moderner Orient (Berlin) and University of Bern Teaching appointments at Free University Berlin, University of Helsinki, and Stockholm University Labs/Teams: Collaborator in the Crosslocations project and affiliated with Uppsala’s Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology research groups.
Richard Cleminson is a Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Leeds, affiliated with the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures. His academic career includes roles as External Examiner for Catalan studies at Queen Mary University of London (2010–2014) and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Granada (2003–2004). He holds a BA (Hons) and PhD. His research focuses on intersections between Gender and Sexuality Studies and History, particularly in Iberia. Key areas include the cultural and scientific construction of male homosexuality, hermaphroditism, eugenics, anarchism, and anticolonialism. He has led AHRC-funded projects on anarchism-eugenics dialogues and colonial eugenics in Portugal. Current collaborations include the Spanish Ministry-funded 'Ciudadanía social, estado del bienestar y género en España' and the Portuguese FCT-funded 'Photo Impulse' project. Research outputs include over 150 publications, with recent works analyzing LGBTQ+ movements in 1960s Spain, anarchist anticolonial thought, and eugenic theories in Portugal. His book Anarchism and Eugenics: An Unlikely Convergence, 1890–1940 (2019) explores transnational anarchist engagement with eugenics. Current supervision topics span LGBTQ+ histories in Iberia, cultural studies, and anarchist theory. He serves as Associate Editor of Anarchist Studies and on editorial boards of journals like Dynamis and International Journal of Iberian Studies . Awards include AHRC and Wellcome Trust fellowships. His work bridges historical analysis with contemporary debates on race, gender, and colonialism.
Dr. Chuan Khoo is a Lecturer in the Department of Design at Monash University, specializing in interaction design, digital media, and physical computing. He holds a PhD from RMIT University and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. His work explores the dual edges of technology through projects like Touchstone (interactive public art) and Lumogram , which interrogate the relationship between humans and digital systems. Khoo’s research focuses on 'slow data'—design perspectives that critically engage with digital augmentation. He has exhibited internationally and developed tools like the mote mini , an IoT microcontroller for design students. His academic roles include teaching at RMIT and heading the Interaction Design program at Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore. Key projects include When Echoes Find Light (2019), an interactive public bench installation, and Slow Data in the Age of Digital Things , his PhD work critiquing tech velocity. He co-designed the Alfred Health Universal Design Principles project (2024) and received a 2024 DIA Award shortlist for Lumogram . Khoo maintains Technologies for Interactivity , an open-source resource for physical computing, and collaborates globally on projects blending art, tech, and critical design.
Robyn Creswell is an Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of Graduate Admissions at Yale University. He specializes in Modern Arabic Literature, Translation Studies, and Modernist Poetry, with a focus on the intersection of literature and politics in the Middle East. Creswell holds a Ph.D. from New York University (2011) and a B.A. from Brown University (1999). His research explores Cold War intellectual movements, pan-Arabism, and the role of translation in preserving literary heritage. Education: Ph.D., Comparative Literature, New York University, 2011 B.A., Comparative Literature, Brown University, 1999 (Magna cum laude) Research Interests: Creswell’s work spans Modernist Poetry, Arabic literature, translation theory, and the politics of Middle Eastern cultural production. He has written extensively on 20th-century Arab poets like Nazik al-Mala’ika and Adonis, analyzing how literary forms reflect broader sociopolitical shifts. His current project, The Ruins: Arabic Poetry in an Age of Extremes , examines post-WWII Arab intellectual history through poetic analysis. Publications: His book City of Beginnings: Poetic Modernism in Beirut (2019) won the Gaddis Smith International Book Prize. He has translated works by Iman Mersal, Sonallah Ibrahim, and Abdelfattah Kilito, including the National Translation Award-winning The Threshold (2022). His essays appear in The New York Review of Books , Daedalus , and Critical Inquiry . Awards and Fellowships: Guggenheim Fellowship (2021) National Translation Award (2023) Berlin Prize (American Academy in Berlin, 2015–16) Cullman Center Fellowship (2011–12) Teaching and Service: Creswell has taught courses on Arabic poetry, literary translation, and the global history of sports writing. He directed Yale’s Comparative Literature Department (2021–23) and served as poetry editor for The Paris Review (2011–18). He has organized academic symposia such as Translation/Tarjama (2018), exploring Arabic literary translation’s political dimensions.
Theo Kindynis is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the Department of Sociology and Criminology, City St George's, University of London, where he joined in March 2024. Previously, he taught at Goldsmiths, University of London, and the University of Roehampton. His academic affiliations reflect a strong commitment to critical, ethnographic, and spatially informed criminological inquiry. PhD in Criminology, University of Greenwich, United Kingdom MPhil in Criminological Research, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom BA Hons in Sociology, University of Kent, United Kingdom Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, Higher Education Academy, United Kingdom Theo Kindynis’s research centers on the intersections of urban space, lawbreaking, and social control. He is a leading expert on deviant subcultures, particularly graffiti writing and urban exploration, having conducted long-term ethnographic fieldwork in London. His work bridges empirical investigation with theoretical innovation, most notably through co-pioneering the concept of "ghost criminology" —a framework that examines the haunting aftereffects of crime, violence, and punishment. His methodological contributions include publishing legal, ethical, and practical guidance for criminological ethnographers researching criminalized groups, especially in digital and high-surveillance environments. His recent publications reveal a sustained engagement with spatial criminology, subcultural practices, and the ethics of ethnographic research. Themes across his work include the policing of urban aesthetics, the affective engineering of consumer spaces, the spectral presence of past violence, and the information security challenges faced by researchers in sensitive fields. His scholarly output combines theoretical rigor with grounded empirical insight, frequently published in top journals such as The British Journal of Criminology and Crime, Media, Culture . Theo Kindynis has contributed to public discourse as an expert commentator on graffiti and urban exploration, appearing in media outlets including the BBC Evening News and The Guardian. His work on information security for ethnographers addresses a critical gap in methodological literature, drawing from journalism, activism, and digital rights advocacy. Co-authored the foundational book Ghost Criminology: The Afterlife of Crime and Punishment (NYU Press, 2022) Pioneered methodological guidance on protecting ethnographic data from state and non-state threats Developed innovative approaches to anonymization and data protection in high-risk research Advocates for ethical rigor in researching criminalized populations As a supervisor, Theo welcomes doctoral proposals on urban space, deviant subcultures, and ethnographic methods. He is actively involved in shaping the future of criminological theory and methodology, particularly in relation to digital surveillance, researcher safety, and the cultural afterlives of crime. Theo Kindynis is affiliated with research teams exploring the intersections of space, crime, and memory. His ongoing projects continue to develop the framework of ghost criminology, while expanding into issues of algorithmic surveillance, border control, and the digital footprints of academic research. His work is increasingly relevant in an era of automated state profiling and data-driven social control.
Konstantinos Avramidis is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture of the University of Cyprus , where he focuses on architectural design, urban cultural studies, and visual communication. He earned his PhD in Architectural Design from the University of Edinburgh as a fellow of the Edinburgh College of Art, following a Master's in Architecture and Spatial Design with distinction from the National Technical University of Athens and undergraduate training at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Current position: Assistant Professor, University of Cyprus Previous teaching: Drury University, University of Portsmouth Academic honors: Fellow of UK Higher Education Academy His research explores intersections between architectural design, graffiti/street art, and urban spatial practices. He has co-edited the book Graffiti and Street Art: Reading, Writing and Representing the City (Routledge, 2017) and founded the Drawing On research journal and Routledge Advances of Graffiti and Street Art Research series. His work analyzes urban inscriptions as critical spatial practices, examining how crises reshape architectural representation. Scientific distinctions include first prizes in the 'Kozani x4' and 'Thesprotia Chamber of Commerce' architectural competitions. His research has been presented at institutions like TU Delft, ICA, and University College London, with publications in journals such as City: Analysis of Urban Change and The Design Journal . He actively supervises student projects that have won multiple awards.
Xuesong Shao is a Lecturer in Chinese at the University of California, Davis. His research focuses on Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, Film and Media Studies, Urban and Rural Studies, and Affect Studies. He holds a B.A. in English and International Economics (Wuhan University), an M.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures (University of Massachusetts Amherst), a Ph.D. in Comparative Literatures (UC Davis), and an additional M.A. in English (Wuhan University). His publications include analyses of Beijing’s representations in film, studies on Chinese cinema’s urban narratives, and collaborative work on transnational Chinese cinemas. Teaching roles include leading courses on Chinese literature, film, and comparative texts. No major scientific awards are noted, but his academic contributions span pedagogical and scholarly domains. His work bridges literary and cinematic studies, emphasizing cultural and spatial dynamics in modern China.
