Department of Psychology

Dr. Katharin Hermenau - Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Protestant Hospital Bethel, University Clinics OWL, Bielefeld University

Dr. Katharin Hermenau works in the research department of the Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. Her research focuses on evaluating therapy approaches and app-assisted therapy, as well as family stress and childhood violence.

Dr. Nkuba Mabula and Dr. Margesi Machumu - Dar es Salaam University College of Education

The working group Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies (EPCS) of the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE) is headed by Florence Kyaruzi (PhD) and includes a wide range of senior and junior academics specializing in broader areas of psychology and curriculum studies. It provides courses in research methods, measurement and evaluation, educational psychology, guidance and counselling, curriculum studies and teaching methods for Bachelor, Masters and Postgraduate Diploma in Education students, postgraduate supervision for Postgraduate diploma and Masters Students. The working group also researches and offers consultancy and public service in the fields of educational psychology, assessment and evaluation,  child development and protection, early childhood education, special needs education, curriculum development, science and mathematics and technology (STEM), social sciences, as well as language and literature education.

Prof. Sven Mueller - Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University

Sven Mueller examines the impact of gender affirming hormome treatment in transgender persons on brain structure and function. In addition, he is interested in the impact of early life stress and trauma on social function and emotional processing.

Prof. Dr. Robert Kumsta - Department of Genetic Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum & Professor of Biological Psychology at the University of Luxembourg

Professor Robert Kumsta and his team are interested in how genetic and environmental factors work together to shape the course of human development. A particular focus of our research concerns the long-term consequences of exposures to adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse and neglect or growing up in institutions. Using a range of methods, including the study of genetic variation, gene expression patterns and epigenetics, as well as the characterization of stress physiology, they are trying to understand how psychosocial experiences become biologically embedded and influence developmental trajectories and outcomes across the life-span.

Assistant Prof. Jonathan Hall - Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University & Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) focuses on three main research topics: (1) SIPRI looks at the most important symptoms of insecurity and efforts to control them, (2) at the most important consequences of insecurity and efforts to minimize them, and (3) the long-term causes of insecurity to understand how societies identify and navigate paths to sustainable peace.

The Uppsala Peace Lab is a program for the conduct of experimental peace and conflict research. It is located at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, Sweden. The lab maintains a standing team of experienced researchers that are able to conduct both lab and field experiments in challenging settings, such as in post-conflict countries and in refugee communities around the world. Jonathan Hall uses natural experiments, lab-in-the-field experiments and surveys to study the political psychology of warfare and displacement.

Prof. Dr. Petra Kolip - Department of Prevention and Health Promotion, University of Bielefeld

Prof. Dr. Petra Kolip and her interdisciplinary team they are concerned with the question of how health can be promoted and illness prevented - the social and material environment are just as important as personal factors (e.g. motivation and attitude). Their work focuses on child and adolescent health research, women's and gender-responsive health research, and evaluation and quality development.

Prof. Dr. Anke Hoeffler - Development Research Group, University of Konstanz

Prof. Hoeffler's research group is concerned, among other things, with research into the consequences of the experience of violence on the social development of children and adolescents. Violence not only inflicts pain and suffering on the individual but also has far reaching consequences for governance and societal developments. Adverse effects of violence on health, human capital, norms, trust and institutions can be observed. Development studies have mostly concentrated on organized violence (collective violence) and given little attention to the developmental consequences of interpersonal violence.

Assistant Prof. Roos Van der Haer - Institute of Political Science – International Relations, Leiden University

The research group of Prof. Roos van der Haer focuses on the empirical examination of the causes and consequences of child soldiering, recruitment strategies of rebel groups, psychological consequences of conflict participation, quantitative survey research (especially in conflict settings), and more broadly, micro level conflict research.  They conducted field research in the DRC, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Dr. Joseph Ssenyonga - Mbarara University of Science and Technology

The Department of Educational Foundations and Psychology is at the core of science teacher training at Mbarara University of Science and Technology. Our mandate is to train science teachers with a focus on professional courses including psychology and education foundation courses. Currently, the department is conducting research in the area of school violence. Our goal is to understand the magnitude and cause of harsh disciplinary methods, drivers, and the consequences of school violence.  We are also evaluating the efficacy of the violence preventive intervention approach Interaction Competencies with Children (ICC) in primary and secondary schools.

Senior Researcher, Adj. Prof. Kirsi Peltonen - Research Center for Child Psychiatry, University of Turku, Finland

Senior Researcher, Adj. Prof. Kirsi Peltonen is interested in finding the best, theoretically valid, and empirically evidence-based ways to help children exposed to violence and multiple psychological traumas.

Prof. Dr. Markus Paulus - Working unit Developmental and Education Psychology of Early Childhood, Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich

Prof. Dr. Markus Paulus’ working unit focuses on research about the development of empathy, prosocial behavior and morality, as well as social understanding, social learning and cooperative behavior. Their methods range from behavioral observations in experimental settings (laboratory, kindergarten) or in naturalistic interaction environments (for instance mother-child interaction) to the use of modern eye-tracking method for the analysis of children’s gaze behavior and EEG / fNIRS to examine neurocognitive correlates.

Dr. Susan Elliott, Professor in Health Geography, University of Waterloo

Dr. Susan Elliott and her team focus on the intersection of health and environment with an emphasis on bridging science and policy. Presently, she is leading three large projects around gender, water, and violence in Sub-Saharan Africa with strong links to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition to her projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, Dr. Elliott also conducts research on the lifescape experiences and impacts of neglected chronic diseases in North America and beyond.  

PhD Karen Devries, Professor in Social Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Karen Devries is a social epidemiologist with expertise in the prevention of violence against children and adolescents, and child protection. She leads the Child Protection Research Group at the LSHTM and is affiliated with the Gender, Violence and Health Centre, the Centre for Evidence in Disability, the Centre for Evaluation, the Centre for Global Mental Health (among others). Her main research interests include the understanding of the causes and consequences of violence against children and adolescents; understanding the nature of violence; and developing and testing interventions to reduce violence and other adverse experiences in childhood. Furthermore, she conducts research on violence against women, sexual health, mental health, disability, and epidemiological methods. Her current main research collaborations are with partners in Uganda and Zimbabwe. She also has collaborations focusing on a wide range of data analyses and evidence syntheses which are global in scope.

Dr. James Walsh, Political Science Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

James Walsh is a Professor of Political Science, Data Science, and Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research focuses on the causes of armed conflict and the consequences for civilians using methods including survey and lab-in-the-field experiments, new observational datasets, and geospatial data. He is a leading part of the Peace and Conflict Innovations Lab of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte which hosts two research projects supported by the Minerva Research Initiative—the Resources and Conflict project and the Displace, Return, and Reconstruct project.