University of Amsterdam - The Netherlands
Meet the 3 PhD students who will be working at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands on WP3 Emotional Politics & Identity.
PhD student
Céline Marie Laffineur
My name is Laffineur Céline and I was born in Luxembourg. I am a Ph.D candidate in Political Science at the University of Amsterdam and part of the Doctoral Network “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Politics of Adolescence & Democracy”, where I will be working on Emotional Politics and Identity. I recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Political Science and Political Behaviour from Sciences Po University’s Research School in Paris (France).
My main research interests are political psychology, and more specifically the development of political interest and its underlying emotions. I have worked at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Social Policy in the five months before joining the University of Amsterdam as I want to better understand how research can be applied and translated into real-world (policy) actions.
I am very excited to be part of IP-PAD because of its interdiscipinary approach, cross-country collaboration and the many learning opportunities it offers.
PhD student
Gustavo Jesus
My name is Gustavo, born and raised in Portugal, and I am joining the ‘Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Politics of Adolescence and Democracy’ doctoral network. I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Neurobiology at the University of Porto, recently conducting a Thesis within the field of Social and Affective Neuroscience concerning peripheral psychophysiology, psychopathy and personal space.
My research interests lie in combining psychophysiological methodology (e.g., EEG, fMRI, polygraphy) with the study of personality, emotions, ideological attitudes and social behavior. More specifically, I am interested in understanding how neuro-affective dispositions influence political identity and decision-making.
I will be working on the “Emotional Politics & Identity” package (WP3) at UvA, and I am thrilled to be part of such an innovative and interdisciplinary network that will tackle a serious sociopolitical issue using sound scientific methodology.
PhD student
Jakob Kasper
My name is Jakob and will join the doctoral network ‘Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Politics of Adolescence and Democracy’ as a PhD researcher affiliated with the University of Amsterdam. I obtained my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in psychology at the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and spent a year as an exchange graduate student at Cornell University (USA).
My research focuses on the intersection of social/cognitive psychology and politics. Specifically, I am interested in how people, particularly adolescents, respond to pressing global challenges like the climate crisis and rising societal inequality, and how these challenges shape political identities. I also have a keen interest in understanding ways to enhance political engagement, bridge affective and fact-based divides within our society, and promote cooperation for common societal goals.
I am thrilled to be part of the program because it fosters interdisciplinary and international collaboration to understand adolescent cognition and behavior, and promotes the application of the newly acquired knowledge to address urgent societal issues.
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@jakobkasper
Royal Holloway, University of London - UK
Meet the 2 PhD students who will be working at Royal Holloway, University of London in UK on WP2-Cognition, Affect & Ideology.
PhD student
Irene Arahal Moreno
I am Irene Arahal, coming from sunny Madrid to join the Royal Holloway - London IP-PAD team as a PhD student. My background is in International Studies and Political Science, having graduated from a Master's in Electoral and Political Analysis from University Carlos III in 2023.
My research interests revolve around political psychology and behaviour and I am especially interested in studying how political attitudes are developed from the teenage years into early adulthood.
I am particularly excited about the unique opportunity that joining WP2 will give me to better understand the connections between cognitive development and turning into a political being.
PhD student
Olaf Borghi
My name is Olaf Borghi and I am from Meran, Italy. I completed a MSc in Psychology with a specialization in social neuroscience, cognitive psychology and research methods at the University of Vienna. In my master thesis, I investigated factors that modulate neural activation during action observation. I also worked as a research assistant in the Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Unit, where I contributed to projects on comparative neuroscience with dogs and humans, and in the Methods Department, where I contributed to statistics lectures and mindfulness research.
As a PhD student at Royal Holloway, University of London, I will investigate the relative contributions of cognitive and emotional traits to ideological thinking across the developmental window of adolescence (Working Project 2).
I am particularly excited about the IP-PAD project as it provides a unique possibility to contribute to a societally relevant research topic in a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary environment!
Jagiellonian University - Poland
Meet the 2 PhD students who will be working at Jagiellonian University in Poland on WP6- Identity, engagement and radicalization.
PhD student
Anna Knorr
Hi, I’m Anna Knorr! I’m a PhD candidate in Psychology at Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland). I have obtained my Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology at the University of Vienna.
Within Work Package 6, I investigate various aspects related to radicalization in the context of identity development during adolescence. As adolescents are largely confronted with crucial developmental challenges such as social and metaphysical uncertainties (e.g., questions about reality, the meaning of existence), this age group is particularly vulnerable for radicalization processes.
With the essential support of IP-PAD’s network of outstanding professionals, I am eagerly looking forward to focusing my research on this understudied age group and investigating one of the most pressing issues of our time.
You can find more information about my research here.
PhD student
Christiana Nika
My name is Christiana Nika and I come from a village at the foot of the most famous mountain in Greece, Mount Olympus. In 2021, I acquired my Psychology Bachelor at the University of Crete and, after, I pursued my interest of legal psychology by applying for a Masters in Forensic and Legal Psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam. There, with the guidance of my thesis supervisor, Assistant Professor Melissa de Roos, I discovered my academic fascination with extremist ideologies as expressed by certain internet sub-cultures.
Applying and being accepted into the IP-PAD Consortium and specifically Work Package 6 at Jagiellonian University, which focuses on adolescent identity formation and how it affects political participation, was an unprecenteded surprise.
I am beyond proud and excited to be a part of this group as a young academic, where, with the support of the IP-PAD team, I can be part of the effort to understand how the experiences of children and adolescents shape their participation in politics and, at the same time, help promote their healthy engagement with political matters, through research and outreach activities .
University of Vienna - Austria
Meet the 3 PhD students who will be working at the University of Vienna in Austria on WP5-Social cognition and challenges to liberal democracy.
PhD student
Jule Kegel
My name is Jule Kegel and I am a political scientist from Germany. I obtained my bachelor's degree in political science at Leibniz University Hannover and went on to pursue master's studies at the University of Cologne in the same discipline, focusing on electoral studies, legislative behaviour and quantitative methodology. During my studies, I was a research assistant at the chairs for Comparative and German Politics in Hannover and for European and Multilevel Politics in Cologne.
I will be working on WP5 at the University of Vienna, working on inter-group relations and antidemocratic attitudes in adolescents.
I am very excited to join IP-PAD to play a small part in improving the future of democracy by doing research on the voters of tomorrow.
PhD student
Nikita Kovalov
Hi! My name is Nikita Kovalov, and I am from Ukraine. I have finished my high school education in Canada and moved to Amsterdam to complete a Communication Science Bachelor's program and Political Communication and Journalism Master's at the University of Amsterdam.
I will be working within Work Package 5 at the University of Vienna and I plan to focus on the different ways adolescents learn political information and the effect it has on them!
I am incredibly excited to join IP-PAD as this project provides a fantastic opportunity to conduct valuable research and improve as a researcher, as well as gives access to an incredible network all over Europe!
PhD student
Yufang (Arya) Liao
Hello! My name is Yufang (Arya) Liao, and I’m a Chinese girl. I earned my bachelor's degree in psychology from Beijing Normal University and then a research master's in communication science at the University of Amsterdam.
My interest has always been piqued by the intersection of psychology and communication science. So I'm thrilled to have joined the IP-PAD program, where I can explore this interdisciplinary field.
I’ll be starting my Ph.D. study at the University of Vienna. My research will focus on the impact of empathy on political attitudes, exploring this intricate relationship from psychological perspectives.
Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences - Greece
Meet the 2 PhD students who will be working at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Greece on WP4- Epistemic & Political Trust.
PhD student
Melina Niraki
I am Melina Niraki and I come from Heraklion, Crete. I have a BA in Psychology and a MSc in Social Psychology and Psychosocial Interventions from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, as well as a Master's specialisation in Human Rights and Conflict Management from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna.
In IP-PAD under WP4- Epistemic and Political Trust, I will conduct my research on the social aspects of the experience of political agency.
Joining the IP-PAD doctoral network will allow me to focus on a topic that I have always been drawn on, this of political participation and democratic processes.
PhD student
Ermioni Seremeta
My name is Ermioni Seremeta and I am a member of the Panteion team of the IP-PAD project. I have completed my research MA in Linguistics and Communication at the University of Amsterdam. During my Masters I specialized in Argumentation and Rhetoric, with a strong focus on political argumentation and argumentative cognition. My Masters thesis investigated the effect of ideological bias on the processing of informal fallacies.
One of my main research interests is motivated cognition within the political domain. I am particularly fascinated by how ingrained political beliefs affect the way we process and respond to new political information. Getting on board with the IP-PAD project and investigating how young minds absorb political ideas is a great chance to unravel how these influential belief systems take shape.
I am joining the IP-PAD project as a PhD researcher on WP-4. My research will focus on the cognitive and affective components of political trust-calibrating mechanisms during the developmental window of adolescence.