Annemarie Seither-Preisler
Annemarie Seither-Preisler has been leading the “Unit for Music Psychology and Brain Research" as a newly appointed university professor since October 2023. As a psychologist and biologist with a research focus on the neuronal foundations of auditory information processing, she worked at different German universities (Institute of Neurobiology at the University of Munich, ENT Clinic at the University of Münster, Neurological Clinic at the University of Heidelberg). During her postdoctoral period, she was a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and received an APART fellowship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences. She habilitated in 2007 at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Graz. From 2014 to 2023, she conducted research and teaching at the Center for Systematic Musicology at the University of Graz.
For about 15 years, Annemarie Seither-Preisler's research has focused on the field of music psychology and neuromusicology. The central focus is on the relationship between musical aptitude, biological development, and learning-induced plasticity, which are investigated using neuroanatomical and -functional methods (MRI, MEG, EEG) and self-developed auditory tests. From 2009 to 2022, she, along with her German colleague Peter Schneider, conducted the most comprehensive study to date on the effects of music-making on brain and behavior from childhood to young adulthood, which was funded by the German BMBF and DFG. Currently, the Music and Brain Research Unit is developing and neuroscientifically evaluating music-based training programs that challenge auditory pattern recognition to improve hearing functions. Sound is transmitted not only through air conduction (speakers, headphones) but also directly to the body through special stimulation. The target groups primarily include children and adolescents with auditory processing disorders associated with developmental disorders and learning difficulties (ADHD, ADD, ASD, Dyslexia).
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Natalia Zaretskaya
Natalia Zaretskaya is a newly appointed Assistant Professor for Visual Neuroscience. Prior to her appointment, she was a group leader funded through BioTechMed-Graz, university assistant at the University of Graz, postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Integrative Neuroscience Tübingen and a research fellow the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/Harvard Medical School, Boston.
The research of Dr. Zaretskaya focuses on how the human brain processes visual information, with topics ranging from basic perceptual functions to visual illusions, hallucinations and consciousness. In her work she utilizes various human neuroscience techniques, including EEG, fMRI and non-invasive brain stimulation. She also takes advantage of the newest developments in MRI technology, such as the ultrahigh field MRI, to advance our understanding of the visual system.
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Sabine Bergner
The prestigious teaching prize of the European University Alliance Arqus went this year to Sabine Bergner from the Department of Psychology at the University of Graz. Sabine Bergner was honored for her seminar "Psychological Principles of Negotiation, Persuasion and Influencing".
Every year, the European University Alliance Arqus presents its Teaching Excellence Award for university courses which are outstanding and particularly innovative in terms of didactics. The award goes to teaching initiatives which promote an interdisciplinary learning culture that enables students from diverse backgrounds to succeed in inclusive, community-based and dynamic learning environments.
Out of more than thirty pre-selected submissions, Sabine Bergner won over the jury with her seminar "Psychological Principles of Negotiation, Persuasion and Influencing", which she held in the winter semester 2022/23. The seminar systematically explores the psychological principles of leadership and influencing in a professional work context in the form of interactive lectures, team-based learning with a gamification approach, case studies and practical application of what has been learned. After completing the course, students should be able to describe, compare and critically evaluate the most important psychological leadership/influence theories and apply them to real world problems. In addition, they should be able to understand the interrelationships between power, leadership and influence, develop simple leadership interventions and analyse their own leadership style. "I am very honored to have received the Arqus Teaching Award," says Sabine Bergner. "It recognises a part of my work that is particularly important but all too often tends to fade into the background in everyday academic life. I am delighted that Arqus attaches great importance to academic teaching."
Chiara Banfi
Chiara Banfi was recently awarded the „Visiting Award for High Potentials 2024“ by the University of Graz, a mobility grant for postdoc researchers in the amount of up to € 10.000,00. Dr. Banfi will use the funding for a research exchange in the laboratory of Prof. Nadine Gaab, at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts (US). The research stay will have two main goals: First, it will enable Dr. Banfi to expand her knowledge and expertise of neuroimaging methods and strengthen her scientific network by preparing a manuscript in co-authorship with Prof. Gaab and her lab members. Second, it will establish a long-term collaboration with Prof. Gaab with the aim to prepare an international research project.
Dr. Banfi works in the Developmental Psychology lab of the University of Graz and is currently the principal investigator of the FWF-funded project “Common mechanisms of orthographic and arithmetic learning”. This is an international collaboration between the University of Graz and two Italian Universities (Sapienza University in Rome and University of Foggia) and was awarded to Dr. Banfi (as applicant) and Prof. Landerl (as co-applicant) within the framework of the Herta-Firnberg-Programme for highly qualified female scientists.
The research stay at Harvard Graduate School of Education will enable Dr. Banfi to expand and refine the research questions that are currently being investigated in the Firnberg project and strengthen important research collaborations.
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Corinna Perchtold-Stefan
Corinna Perchtold-Stefan receives the “Visiting Award for High Potentials 2024” for PostDocs shortly after her habilitation in psychology (venia docendi). With this award, Dr. Perchtold-Stefan will return to the University of Amsterdam for another 2-months research visit, where she will deepen her research networks in two different domains: Together with creativity scholar Matthijs Baas, she will more closely investigate the phenomenon of malevolent creativity to understand when, how, and why people use harmful creative ideas to damage others. Together with Suzanne Oosterwijk, Dr. Perchtold-Stefan will investigate the human interest in threatening negative information (morbid curiosity) like watching horror movies or true crime – the narration of real-life criminal cases in the media – to see whether this negative exposition also holds positive potentials.
Dr. Perchtold-Stefan established this promising research network in Amsterdam in a previous 2-month research visit in autumn 2023, funded by a scholarship from the Österreichische Forschungsgemeinschaft (ÖFG) and the Office of International Relations of the Uni Graz. Now, the plan is to further strengthen the European research network on creativity and morbid curiosity.
Katja Corcoran
Katja Corcoran has been successfully acquiring third-party funding for the transformation process in the energy system since 2018. With FIWARE Driven Energy Communities for the Future (ECom4Future), she is following on from two previous projects (EC2 and I-GReta). On the one hand, it continues the successful cooperation of I-GReta in an international consortium (Austria, Germany, Sweden, Romania). In Austria, TUGraz, FH Joanneum Katzenberg, Campus 02, dwh and DiLT are involved in addition to the University of Graz as lead. New to the team at the University of Graz is legal scholar Prof. Dr. Maria Bertel. The content of Katja Corcoran's work in this project will build on the findings from the H2020 project EC2. The focus is on the question of which factors determine the willingness of citizens to actively participate in the energy transition and to join or found an energy community.
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Andreas Fink
Physical activity and sport play a central role in promoting physical and mental health. The positive effects on physical performance, subjective quality of life and mental well-being are increasingly being recognized. But what kind of physical exercise and how much of it has a beneficial effect on which areas of our psyche?
The Department of Biological Psychology is investigating these fundamental questions in two projects currently approved by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) ("Running against depression with brain and heart" and "Dancing and brain"). An interdisciplinary team of psychologists and sports scientists is investigating how different movement interventions (endurance activities such as running and visuomotor/multisensory activities such as dancing) affect our brain and thus affective and cognitive functions.