YERUN Research Mobility Awards

Anamaria Bentea is a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Konstanz, where she is hosted by Prof. Theodoros Marinis. Her research interests lie especially in the domain of bi- and multilingual language development, processing and production. In a new exciting research project with Prof. Monika Schmid at the University of Essex, Anamaria will focus on heritage language speakers - bilinguals who acquire their first language at an early age in a minority setting with reduced input and a strong influence of the dominant societal language. More specifically, the aim is to uncover whether and how the dominant societal language impacts heritage language acquisition, maintenance and even loss. The processing of heritage language will be assessed online by collecting eye-tracking data during language comprehension from adult heritage speakers of Romanian in the UK and Germany. The jointly collected data will allow the comparison in two countries thus contributing to and advancing the current research on heritage language.

Federica Marconi is a PhD student in the PhD Program of the Management and Law Department of Tor Vergata University in Rome, which is part of the University’s Doctoral School. Her research topic investigates the interconnections between public procurement and the risk of corruption during times of emergency, such as the actual COVID-19 pandemic. In comparing the Italian and the German system the research project aims to examine the issues of transparency and accountability in public tenders: a balancing act between the need for speeding up the awarding procedures on the one hand and fighting the risk of abuse and corruption on the other. Federica Marconi was hosted by Prof. Eva Thomann at the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Konstanz. Find out more interesting details about the project here

 We congratulate Maria Meier for her success and we are curious to know more details. Here is what Maria shared with us in a short interview:

Please tell us more about yourself.

I am currently working in the “Neuropsychology” research group of the Psychology department at the University of Konstanz, led by Prof. Dr. Jens Pruessner. We study how stress affects health and wellbeing, with one focus being whether and how stress spreads in groups of individuals.

How did it all start? What was the most appealing characteristics of the call and your experience with the application process?

For our studies in Konstanz, we are currently establishing a new methodology to measure interpersonal neural synchrony using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), but the expertise regarding this method is limited in our group. The YERUN mobility grant enables me to visit a lab that already has extended expertise with the method. I thus can learn novel skills first-hand, and moreover, build my own research network – both of which will be important for my future career.

The application process itself was very intuitive and smooth. I received very helpful advice from the program officers in Konstanz, who were very responsive throughout the whole process. The final proposal had to be submitted by an online form which was accessible and easy to understand.

With which YERUN University and respective researcher will the cooperation take place?

I will visit Dr. Pascal Vrticka and his Social Neuroscience of Attachment (SoNeAt) Lab, located at the Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

What is your experience in finding the right host across YERUN?

I met Pascal on Twitter, where he asked whether anyone knows a doctoral student who would be interested in applying for the YERUN mobility grant with him. I knew his work on attachment and that he is an expert in interpersonal neural synchrony using fNIRS hyperscanning – a topic and method that I would like to study in the future. I reached out to him, and we arranged a meeting to exchange ideas for the application.

When and how long are you going to visit your host?

I will be visiting Pascal and the SoNeAt Lab for two weeks in May 2023.

What are your common research interests? How does the expertise of your host fit and complement yours?

We aim to understand how interactions with others impact and shape our health and wellbeing and which mechanisms mediate these effects. As we are both rooted in neuroscience, synchrony of brain activity between interacting individuals is particularly interesting for us. As Pascal has been studying interpersonal neural synchrony using fNIRS hyperscanning for a while now, he can teach me how to use it in my own studies.

What are the research questions and/or activities you would like to work on together within the project? 

We want to study (1) how psychophysiological states - such as stress - spread from one individual to another on a neural level, and (2) how this emotional contagion associates with well-being as well as dyadic interaction and relationship quality. We are planning to work on a joint research proposal, and I am looking forward to learning more about fNIRS hyperscanning and interpersonal neural synchrony during my research stay and a Synchrony Conference Workshop we jointly organize in May.

How does YRMA fit your career stage and plans? What impact could the mobility and planned activities have - direct or indirect, personal or career development?

I am currently in an early stage of my career. I would like to use this time to deepen my methodological knowledge and broaden my research spectrum. My research network is becoming increasingly important at this stage, for example regarding research proposals that I will submit in the future. The YRMA funding scheme supports these steps on many levels.

What are your hopes and expectations for the duration of the mobility scheme and beyond?

I hope that my stay in Essex will provide me with the skillset to establish the fNIRS hyperscanning method in my home institution in Germany and that we can establish a fruitful collaboration in the future.

We thank Maria for this interview and wish every success for the project!

We congratulate Anna Hughes for her success!  Find out more about Anna and the planed project in the short interview with her.

Please tell us more about yourself.

I’m a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex. My research focuses on how humans and other animals perceive the world and how they use this information to make decisions. I take an interdisciplinary approach, with my research lying at the boundary of psychology, biology and neuroscience. I also make use of advanced statistical and modelling methods using large and complex datasets.

How did it all start? What was the most appealing characteristics of the call and your experience with the application process?

I applied for YRMA because it offers a (now sadly rare!) opportunity to collaborate with colleagues based in mainland Europe. The application process is relatively simple which makes it appealing. It requires just one form to be filled in. I was also lucky to get lots of very helpful support from colleagues in the Research and Enterprise Office at the University of Essex and from the team at the University of Konstanz.

With which YERUN University and respective researcher will the cooperation take place?

I will be visiting the University of Konstanz, where I will be hosted by Professor Iain Couzin and his lab.

What is your experience in finding the right host across YERUN?

There have been previous collaborations between the University of Konstanz and the University of Essex, with Konstanz hosting a research visit in 2022 (that I was unfortunately not able to attend). However, one of the Professors at Essex who had been on the visit helped me get in contact and establish the connection that led to the YRMA application.

When and how long are you going to visit your host?

I will be visiting the University of Konstanz for about a week in early May 2023.

What are your common research interests? How does the expertise of your host fit and complement yours?

The proposed research topic is the phenomenon of ‘motion dazzle’, where stripes and other conspicuous markings are hypothesised to cause difficulties for predators in judging the speed and direction of motion of a prey animal, perhaps helping them to avoid capture. However, this idea is still controversial. To date, there has been relatively little research in natural systems, or the possible influence of collective behaviour (i.e. group movement) on the efficacy of putative motion dazzle patterns. The University of Konstanz has unique facilities that allow experiments using real predators hunting virtual prey populations, which would be an ideal way to test some of these ideas. Thus, the collaboration would be an excellent combination of skills and strengths from the two different YERUN institutions, and the work that could result from the collaboration would advance our understanding of camouflage and animal coloration significantly.

What are the research questions and/or activities you would like to work on together within the project? 

During the visit, I am hoping to discuss planned collaborative research activity on the topic of motion dazzle, and begin the process of applying for funding for this research. As a relatively new independent researcher, the collaboration will help me develop a number of key skills, including networking, international grant writing, facilitation and leadership.

How does YRMA fit your career stage and plans? What impact could the mobility and planned activities have - direct or indirect, personal or career development?

The collaboration will enable me to develop further as an independent researcher and gain an understanding of how research is undertaken and financed in Germany.

In the medium-term, the collaboration has the potential to bring in grant funding for both the University of Essex and the University of Konstanz, boosting the research profile for both institutions. The collaboration also will help to establish Essex-Konstanz links, providing further opportunities for other staff and students to work together in the future on project that could range from writing scientific papers, to collaborating in other learning and research activities.

What are your hopes and expectations for the duration of the mobility scheme and beyond?

I am really looking forward to taking part in the mobility scheme and I hope that it is a very productive visit which leads to an interesting future collaboration, and hopefully paves the way for other researchers to contribute to these Essex-Konstanz links.

We thank Anna for this interview and wish every success for the project!