The ai4unidiversity project investigates how AI can be used to support diverse students. It is based at Northeastern University London, and funded by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
Dr Julia Hofweber
Julia is an Assistant Professor in Cognitive Psychology at Northeastern University London. Julia’s research interests are wide, but she is primarily interested in the cognitive processes underlying language acquisition and language selection in multilinguals.
In her PhD, she investigated the effects of bilingualism on cognition, focusing on the question of whether frequent switching between languages (code-switching) had the potential to enhance bilinguals’ executive functions. The project was funded by the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading. In her postdoc, Julia conducted research about the acquisition of sign languages, notably implicit learning processes, as part of a project funded by the Leverhulme trust and hosted by the Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL (PI: Prof. Chloë Marshall).
Currently, Julia is involved in several bilingualism-related research projects. In an ongoing NU-funded ‘Tier 1’ project, Julia explores visual statistical learning processes in the context of sign language, comparing experienced signers to sign language novices (PIs: Hofweber & Qi). Moreover, Julia is a co-investigator on a project that explores the potential impact of different code-switching patterns on creativity and executive functions in Turkish-English bilinguals, funded by the Centre of Literacy and Multilingualism, University of Reading (PI: Prof. Treffers-Daller). In addition, Julia is PI of a small project grant investigating the cognitive processes underlying language switching in (Bengali-English) bilinguals with aphasia, with the aim of teasing apart typical and atypical switching. The project is funded by the IOE International Fund supporting collaborations with the Global South, and conducted in collaboration with Dr. Arpita Bose, University of Reading, and Prof. Niladri Dash, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
Julia’s current NU-funded PhD supervision includes a project on how theory of mind and decoding strategies influence literacy development, comparing individuals who are DHH versus individuals diagnosed with ASD (PhD candidate: Lizzy Aumônier).
Dr Bianca Serwinski
bianca.serwinski@nulondon.ac.uk
Dr Bianca Serwinski is Programme Director and Assistant Professor in Psychology at Northeastern University London in the Psychology minor and in the NU.in programmes, having joined in 2018. She further lectures in Psychology, health-science and social science-related courses at various institutions in London.
She gained her PhD in Health Psychology at UCL in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health in 2017 with a scholarship supported by the UK Medical Research Council. Her focus on the body-mind link included exploration into the physiological mechanisms of the stress response, how psychobiological processes could explain health and illness and into the role of subjective perception and coping during stress.
Dr Bianca Serwinski is supervising student research in the field of Health Psychology at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine and is involved in psychology-related academic research in various contexts. She is the founder of Evidence-it, a company whose mission is to provide companies outside the academic world with support in data collection and scientific analysis.
Bianca completed her PhD at University College London (UCL) in 2017 in the area of Psychoneuroendocrinology in Health Psychology. For this she investigated the body-mind link. Specifically, she explored the effects of psychological and psychosocial factors (including stress perception and coping) in relation to the hormone cortisol and well-being. She studied the physiological mechanisms of the stress response, further validating the quantification of cortisol in human hair. Psychoneuroendocrinology explores this way the underlying psychobiological processes in health and illness.
Ekaterina Cooper
Ekaterina Cooper, an educator and researcher, possesses over 17 years of research experience and has empowered approximately 150 educational enterprises to leverage research and integrate evidence-based practices into their products and business development.
Her expertise in mixed research methods and psychometrics has enabled her to significantly contribute to understanding how to support learners in their educational journeys. Her research endeavours extend beyond theoretical exploration, encompassing implementation projects and evaluations of various interventions.
Her passion for improving education is evident in her research and teaching, as she actively translates her research prowess into impactful teaching practices. Ekaterina holds an MSc in Public Health and a PhD in Developmental Psychology, reflecting her commitment to blending research and practical applications to improve education systems.
Charlotte Ward
Charlotte Ward graduated from Northeastern University London in 2023 with a degree in History and Psychology. She completed her dissertation on psychiatric treatment in Victorian London. Her primary research interests involve neurodiversity and the history of psychiatry.