OUR NETWORK

Kai Alter, PhD (ENGLAND) Senior Lecturer in Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Institute of Neuroscience. Research Fellow University of Oxford University, Research Associate at Tuebingen University Hospital for Psychiatry, and affiliate at the Austrian Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Key areas: Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Cognition, Speech Recognition 

Melda Arslan, PhD (BELGIUM) is a cognitive-brain scientist specialized in autism. She an ICF certified professional coach interested in well-being and leadership. She obtained her bachelor degree in Biological Sciences from Turkey (METU) and her MA in Neural and Behavioral Sciences (Max-Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics). She has taught IO psychology and enjoys public speaking. Key areas: Leadership, IO Psychology, Autism

Francesca Bellagamba (ITALY) Associate Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at University of Rome. She has published dozens of research papers on weaning and cognitive development, media exposure and self-regulation in preschool age, Theory of mind in typical and atypical development, communicative and linguistic development gestural communication in primates and children, Development of the self and interpersonal relationships, expectancy and self-control in preschool age, decision making and risk appetite in preschool and school age children.

Ann Bigelow, PhD (CANANA) Award winning professor and developmental psychologist. St. Francis Xavier University, focused on infant social and emotional development and touch. Key areas: Developmental Psychology, Research Methods, Health & Wellness

Federica Contu, PhD (FRANCE) is a developmental psychologist, practicing privately at Centre Ressources Autisme Midi Pyrénées (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Toulouse). She is involved in providing a complete diagnosis, assessments and evidence-based interventions for children, adolescents and young adults with neuro-developmental disorders. Federica Contu has extensive international experience in child developmental research, working in Italy, UK and now in France.

Riccardo Faedda, MA (ITALY) Art teacher with a focus on beauty, architecture, and design in health and wellness. Key areas: Art history, Design, Psychology of Art, Health & Wellness, Sardinia Blue Zone.  

Shoji Itakura, PhD (JAPAN) Emeritus Professor of Kyoto University and Director of the Center for Baby Science, Doshisha University. Key areas: Developmental Psychology, Artificial Intelligence

Heidi Keller, PhD (GERMANY) Full Professor Award winning cultural-development researcher, professor and author Culture, Human Development, Education, Communication.

Kafetsios Konstantinos, PhD (GREECE) Konstantinos Kafetsios (BA, Aristotle University, PhD. Lancaster University) is a Professor in Social and Organizational Psychology and the Director of the Applied Psychology Laboratory at the University of Crete. He has held academic positions in the UK (University of Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin University) and as an invited-KIVA Professor at Technische Universität Darmstadt in Germany. Research interests focus on emotion in interpersonal and social interaction, in hierarchical relationships at work, and in social relationships across cultures. He is first author or co-author in more than 70 publications in international peer-refereed journals in Psychology and the Social Sciences. An editorial Board member for the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Personal Relationships and the Hellenic Journal of Psychology, is currently an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Communication, Organizational Psychology, and previously for the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (Sage). He has reviewed for more than 60 international peer refereed international journals in Psychology, Health sciences and Business and management, and frequently called to review for several international Grant funding agencies in Canada, The Netherlands, Israel, Norway, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus and the European Commission. Award winning Professor in Social and Organizational Psychology and the Director of the Applied Psychology Laboratory at the University of Crete. Key areas: Artificial Intelligence, Social Psychology

Evelyn Kolidas, PhD (USA) Clinical health psychologist who works with a range of diverse populations applying psycho-spiritual approaches to health and wellness. Key areas: Clinical Health Psychology, Wellness    

Markus Lemmens, PhD (GERMANY) CEO and co-owner of Lemmens GmbH Education, Science, Technology and KBHF GmbH at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Founder of Edutron, an algorithm-based matching tool for higher and continuous education, and Atlantik Trading, dedicated to helping scientists and researchers commercialize their work. North America representative for several European universities in New York (2014–2018).

Harriet Oster, PhD (USA), retired clinical Professor of Psychology at New York University. Her research spans clinical and developmental psychology. Harriet is one of the world leaders in infant facial expressions and founder of BABY FACS, an objective anatomically based coding system based on Adult Facial Coding System. Harriet is often called upon to lecture around the world. She has published dozens of research papers on early emotion, facial and vocal expressions.

Philippe Rochat, PHD (USA) Full Professor at Emory University who was trained by Jean Piaget, award-winning researcher author and researcher. Key areas: Cognitive Development,Culture, Self, Morality 

Maithri Sivaraman, PhD (England). Award winning Associate Professor at Columbia University. Researcher of early social and verbal repertoires in typically-developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Maithri has published dozens of papers on social referencing and word-learning in typical and atypical development. Founder of the Psychology Today Blog, Smart Babies. She completed her Master’s in Psychology at the University of Madras, India, and owned and operated the Tendrils Centre for Autism a resource center providing intervention services for children with ASD. She completed her PhD at the University of Ghent, Belgium.

Jasmine Siew, MA - PhD candidate (Belgium) Postdoctoral Researcher at Harvard University. Formerly, early Stage Research fellow in Developmental psychology and neuroscience focused on parental influences on child outcomes. Early Stage Research Fellow - SAPIENS EU Horizon 2020 Innovation Training Programme Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Key areas: parent-infant interaction coding, autism, fathers influence, EEG, psychopathology, global health

Tricia (Striano) Skoler, PhD (USA). Full Professor of psychology and award-winning researcher. Head of Cultural Ontogeny Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Founder and Head of the Neuro-cognition & Development Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and University of Leipzig, Center for Advanced Studies. She was Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Recipient of the Sanctae Crucis Award from College of the Holy Cross, The highest non-degree accolade that the College bestows on alumni. She is author of over 120 research publications on early development, autism, and biophilic design. She is author of Doing Developmental Research (Guilford Press). She is Research Ambassador Germany (DAAD), Emory University Alumni Interviewer and served as Undergraduate Committee Member for the International Society of Infant Studies for over a decade. Key areas: Cognitive Development,Design, Entrepreneurship,Real Estate, IO Psychology 

Alessandro Spano, PHD (ITALY) Entrepreneur and Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Management at the University Cagliari, Italy. 

Luca Ticini, PHD, MBA (AUSTRIA). Chief Scientific Officer at BrightMind (MedTech) Austria. Formerly Full Professor at Webster Univerisity. President of the Italian Society of Neuroaesthetics, Lecturer of Neuroscience Fellow of the Royal Society for Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Key areas: Neuro-Marketing, Neuroaesthetics, Design, Business Psychology 

Allison C. Treitler, JD, PhD (USA) Attorney and proponent of non-traditional educational paths and finding experience-rich adventure on the way to success. s a practicing attorney at Ropes & Gray LLP in Boston, Massachusetts, where she is the Practice Manager of the Private Client Group.  She received her B.S. in Anthropology from the College of Charleston (SC), M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Leipzig, Germany, and J.D. from Boston College Law School. As a student, Allison traveled to Russia, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Germany for various school programs.  She has at various points in her career studied non-human primate behavior, genetics, child development, and the law, and she has published peer-reviewed articles in each of these areas.  While at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Allison’s doctoral research examined different facets of infant learning, including the emergence of joint attention and infants’ understanding of video stimuli.  For the last 15 years, Allison has practiced as a trusts and estates attorney in Boston, both in law firm settings and at Harvard University. Key areas: Psychology & Law, Developmental and Cultural Psychology 

Gone Bi Zoro Bertin, PhD  (AFRICA) Research Professor of Primatology and Conservation at Felix Houphouet-Boigny Ivory Coast. Researcher at the Center for Scientific Research in Ivory Coast, CSRS. Key areas: Primatology, Conservation