KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Prof. Marios Avraamides
Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
Title: From Lab to real-world: Using Virtual Reality to assess and train cognitive skills
Abstract: Virtual Reality (VR) technology has gained widespread popularity in recent years, but it has been a valuable research tool in certain fields long before becoming affordable and user-friendly. In spatial cognition research, for example, VR has been used to investigate the cognitive processes underlying fundamental everyday tasks, such as maintaining spatial orientation and navigating through environments. Today, VR is widely employed across nearly every domain of cognitive science and psychology in general, offering a unique balance between ecological validity and experimental control. In this presentation, I will discuss how I initially employed VR in my research on spatial cognition and how I have since utilized it as a tool for assessing and enhancing cognitive functions in professional applications, demonstrating its potential for bridging the gap between research and real-world practice.
Short Bio: Dr. Marios Avraamides is a Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Cyprus where he teaches courses on Cognitive and Experimental Psychology, Memory, Attention, and Perception. He is also the Pillar Leader of Human Factors & Design at CYENS Centre of Excellence.
He has previously obtained a BA in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and an MSc and a PhD degree in Cognitive/Experimental Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to returning to Cyprus, he has worked as a postdoctoral scientist at the University of California Santa Barbara (USA) and at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics (Germany). Read More
Prof. Giuseppe Carrus
Department of Education Sciences, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
Title: The past, present and future of environmental psychology and its contribution to the current global environmental challenges
Abstract: To achieve a transition to a more sustainable human society, the need of radical lifestyle changes is increasingly recognized, at the scientific, political and public opinion level. In some ways, a transition to a low-carbon, more inclusive, more democratic and open society has already started, after various important political and governmental actions (among them, the UN Agenda 2030 or the European Green Deal of the EU), but also as a consequence of bottom-up and spontaneous popular movements of world’s younger generations. Read More
Short Bio: Giuseppe Carrus has a PhD in Social Psychology. He is Full Professor at the Department of Education Sciences, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy. He is author of several scientific publications, including articles in peer-reviewed national and international journals, volumes and chapters in collective volumes. He took part and/or coordinated several nationally and internationally funded research projects, including the EU-funded projects “DIALOGUES” (H2020), “ENCHANT” (H2020), “ECHOES” (H2020), and “GLAMURS” (FP7). He is Chief Specialty Editor of Frontiers in Psychology – Environmental Psychology.
Prof. Eirini Flouri
Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK
I received my PhD in psychology in 2000 from the University of Exeter, was a postdoctoral research fellow at Oxford in 2000-2004 and joined UCL Institute of Education as senior lecturer in 2005. I was promoted to reader in 2008 and professor in 2010. I am mainly interested in understanding the causes of children’s emotional and behavioural problems. Complementing my previous work on the role of family (parenting, parental mental illness and poverty) and the broader context (neighbourhood and school), my current research starts to explore the role of biological factors, such as inflammation, in the development of emotional and behavioural problems in childhood. My broader research agenda is to test theory driven mediated moderation models of the effect of cumulative contextual risk on child psychopathology, so as to be able to advance theory on how risk impacts on child development and on how resilience can be promoted.
Dr. Maria João Forjaz
National Center of Epidemiology, Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
Title: Contributions of psychology to epidemiology and public health
Abstract: Epidemiology is a multidisciplinary field of knowledge, part of the public health, that aims to study the distribution and determinants of health-related events in the population. Individual and behavioral factors play a crucial role in the appearance, trajectory, treatment and recovery from health conditions. Therefore, psychology, as the study of mind and behaviors, offers important contributions to epidemiology. This talk will discuss the key relationship between these two fields of knowledge, psychology and epidemiology, by providing examples in several areas such as social determinants of health, mental health, psychosocial aspects of chronic health problems, behavioral insight studies and health behaviors, gender studies, lifespan perspective, in addition to methodology contributions including patient reported outcomes and psychometrics.
Short Bio: Dr. Maria João Forjaz is a scientific researcher at the National Center of Epidemiology, Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III. She graduated from University of Lisbon and obtained her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from University of North Texas, USA, with a Fulbright scholarship. She participates actively in the training of junior researchers and medical residents in public health and preventive medicine. Her research interests include scale validation and health indicators, quality of life, ageing, impact of COVID-19, pandemic preparedness and behavioural and cultural insights. Dr. Forjaz is the author of more than 160 articles in peer-review journal and several books and book chapters. She is a group leader at the Spanish research network Research Network on Health services and Comorbidity (REDISSEC) and part of the Spanish focal point of the WHO initiative in Behavioural and Cultural Insights. Since September 2024, she is the elected president of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology.
Prof. Maria Karekla
Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
Title: Can we achieve alleviation of suffering? Digitally moving towards the future of healthcare
Abstract: Approximately half of the world’s population owns a smart phone and utilizes the internet. Digitized means present with great opportunities to harness health behavior change in individuals. The digitalization of societies, coupled with increasing demands for self-management, cost-effectiveness, time-limited, widely accessible and quality services, present with an ideal arena for innovative approaches in the provision of services. Digital technologies offer opportunities for research and practice to encapsulate recent recommendations for field changes and for a science “more adequate to the challenge of the human condition” (Hayes et al. 2021). Read More
Short Bio: Maria Karekla, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist, peer-reviewed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy trainer, Professor at the University of Cyprus, and heads the “ACTHealthy: Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Medicine” laboratory. Her research focuses on areas of health promotion and the investigation of individual difference factors (especially psychological flexibility parameters) as they relate to the development and maintenance of various behavioural difficulties. She also examines the treatment of these difficulties utilizing process-based and Contextual Behavioral Science principles and innovative delivery methods (e.g., digital interventions, virtual reality) in line with precision and personalized medicine. Read More
