Institute for Advanced Study - University of Amsterdam

Changing Perspectives on Self-Control - Institute for Advanced Study IAS Yuko Munakata is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis. During her fellowship event, she will introduce her area of research and her ongoing projects centred around self-con...

Curious to find out more? Join Yuko’s fellowship event on the 18th of November at IAS ias.uva.nl/content/even...

Discover her research at IAS: ias.uva.nl/community/fe...

@yukomunakata.bsky.social is a Professor at the University of California, Davis. She is currently exploring why people vary in cognitive control and why childhood variations predict life outcomes.
#Psychology #SelfControl #IAS #uva #BehavioralScience #Research #IASfellow

YouTube video by UvA Institute for Advanced Study IAS Fellow Yuko Munakata on the effect of adversity on self-control

How do you manage your impulses? Recent research from the Cognition in Context lab, led by @yukomunakata.bsky.social , suggests that people may have the capacity for self-control but choose when to use it.

youtu.be/WiqeaW7Er_I?...

Sven Hirsch (Sept 2025 - Dec 2025) - Institute for Advanced Study IAS Sven Hirsch (Sept 2025 - Dec 2025)

Read more about Sven Hirsch at ias.uva.nl/community/fe...

#IAS #uva #DigitalTwins #HealthcareInnovation #IASfellow #Research

Digital Twins: Transforming Healthcare and Redefining Ourselves - Institute for Advanced Study IAS Sven Hirsch is a translational scientist and a passionate promoter of digitalization in health care. He is the founding director I head the Center for Computational Health at Zurich University of App...

Sven Hirsch, a translational scientist and a passionate promoter of digitalization in health care studies the complex socio-cultural impact of digital twins in healthcare.

Don’t miss his IAS fellowship event on 30 Oct (lunch included):
ias.uva.nl/content/even...

YouTube video by UvA Institute for Advanced Study IAS fellow Sven Hirsch on the future of medical care with digital twins

Digital twins could be the future of medical healthcare! These virtual models use machine learning and biomedical simulation to predict outcomes, test treatments, and train surgeons safely. Would you let your digital twin be used in clinical decision-making?

youtu.be/xZlYYfGpTSs

2025: Harpo ’t Hart - Institute for Advanced Study IAS 2025: Harpo ’t Hart

More about Harpo ’t Hart: ias.uva.nl/community/ar...

Join us for his kick-off event on 17 June at noon: ias.uva.nl/content/even...

Harpo ‘t Hart will share listening methods, sonic experiments, and images from the work of the Embassy of the North Sea and his research collective exploring myth, policy, and worldview in North Sea politics.

Harpo 't Hart, sound artist & artistic director of the Embassy of the North Sea, is IAS's Artist-in-Residence. Through experimental listening and research, he explores how the sea and its inhabitants can gain political representation.

This approach challenges the idea that nature is silent. It begins not with speaking for nature, but by listening closely to its existing voices, such as waves, currents, ecosystems, and tuning into their political relevance.

How can we represent the political voice of the sea? 🌊

Artists and researchers are rethinking human-centred narratives, developing an ecological politics that listens to and represents more-than-human life through deep, active listening.

Femke Bekius (March 2025 - June 2025) - Institute for Advanced Study IAS Femke Bekius (March 2025 - June 2025)

She will present how interdisciplinary approaches can reveal the underlying dynamics of complex decision-making behind real-world challenges, using case studies from healthcare networks.

More about Femke Bekius: ias.uva.nl/community/fe...

In her kick-off event on 5 June at noon, IAS fellow Femke Bekius explores how formal models can support the understanding of strategic uncertainty in complex, multi-actor environments, like the ones we face everyday.

Register (lunch is included): forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...

YouTube video by UvA Institute for Advanced Study IAS Fellow Femke Bekius on exploring mathematical concepts that can analyse complex decision-making

How can we understand and learn how to manage strategic uncertainty in decision-making?
Complex decisions often involve multiple actors, competing incentives, and evolving circumstances. Real insight come from bridging disciplines and modelling the dynamics between them.

youtu.be/P82DGHMNQ5U?...

Marilyn Gatica (Apr 2025 - June 2025) - Institute for Advanced Study IAS Marilyn Gatica (Apr 2025 - June 2025)

Join Marilyn Gatica, Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the @northeasternu.bsky.social, on 27 May at noon. She will present how data analysis and computer modelling reveal complex brain activity patterns across multiple interacting regions.

More about Marilyn Gatica: ias.uva.nl/community/fe...

In her kick-off event as IAS fellow, Marilyn Gatica explores how combining data analysis with computer modeling reveals dynamic patterns of brain activity, which may help explain ageing and responses to non-invasive treatments.

Register (lunch is included): forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...

YouTube video by UvA Institute for Advanced Study IAS Fellow Marilyn Gatica on discussing non-invasive neuromodulation techniques and mental health

How can we better understand the brain, and even influence its activity?
Traditional neuroscience often studies brain regions in isolation, but what if real insight comes from modeling complex, large-scale interactions instead?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=twwz...

Enacting Vulnerability: AI, Childhood, and the Co-construction of Vulnerable Data Subjects - Institute for Advanced Study IAS Paula Maria Helm and Delfina Sol Martinez Pandiani are new fellows at IAS and the DSC. During their kick-off event, they will explore how AI tools not only detect but shape vulnerability in digital sp...

Their research highlights:
🔎 How vulnerability is enacted, not just observed
🤖 Where AI ethics and exploitation intersect
🎓 The evolving responsibility of researchers in digital spaces

📅 Join the kick-off event on 21 May to learn more:
ias.uva.nl/content/even...
#DataScience #EmpiricalEthics

DSC/IAS Fellows PaulaHelm and Delfina Martinez Pandiani explore how AI observes and constructs vulnerability in digital spaces through the lens of childfluencers in family vlogs. Their work shows how technologies reshape childhood visibility and deepen ethical concerns around exposure and consent.

YouTube video by UvA Institute for Advanced Study From Vlogs to Data: How AI Shapes Vulnerability in Digital Environments

What happens when our online lives become research data? How does AI not only observe but actively construct vulnerability?
youtube.com/shorts/nj5jj...

Join Riet Van Bork, Assistant Professor at University of Amsterdam and IAS fellow, on April 7 at noon to explore the interactivity of behaviour, cognition and emotions, and the measurement challenges.

Register: forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...
More about Riet Van Bork: ias.uva.nl/community/fe...

Contemporary network theories identify human behaviour as a result of cognitive, emotional and behavioural interconnections. However, a shared measurement framework is missing.
Passionate researchers address the issue and investigate how to compare psychological attributes across people and time.

YouTube video by UvA Institute for Advanced Study IAS Fellow Riet van Bork on psychological measurement and its relation to the statistical models

How do our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours shape each other?
Traditional psychology assumes mental attributes are hidden drivers of our behaviour, but what if they emerge from dynamic interactions instead?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnJl...

Register: forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...
More about Tomás Dodds: ias.uva.nl/community/fe...

So how do we break these silos?

Join Tomás Dodds, new fellow sat IAS and Assistant Professor at @unileiden.bsky.social, for a discussion on February 25 on how interdisciplinary collaboration can lead to more ethical and effective AI practices in journalism.

When journalists, editors, data analysts and business strategists work in isolation, responsible AI adoption becomes harder. A lack of collaboration can lead to fragmented decision-making, risking journalistic integrity and public trust.

YouTube video by UvA Institute for Advanced Study IAS Fellow Tomás Dodds on Knowledge Silos as a barrier to responsible AI practices in journalism

How can we ensure that AI strengthens journalism? As AI becomes more integrated into newsrooms, concerns about transparency accountability and ethics are growing. But there is a deeper challenge that often goes unnoticed: knowledge silos.
YouTube link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOTN...

🔹 Our Artists-in-Residence, who creatively connect the dots between science and the arts.

🔸 Sanne Bloemink, our first Journalist-in-Residence, who amplifies the conversation between academia and the public.

Learn more in the full report!

A few of the key highlights from 2024:

🔹 IAS Academy sparked fresh ideas by uniting early-career researchers.

🔸 The achievements of our 2024 fellows, highlighting how interdisciplinary research can tackle complex challenges.

Cover

IAS proudly presents the IAS annual report for 2024!

This year’s report reflects our commitment to innovation, collaboration, and connecting disciplines to tackle complex societal and scientific problems.

Dive into the full report here: magazines.uva.nl/magazine/ias...