Professor of Applied Dementia Research, University of East Anglia Michael is the Professor of Applied Dementia Research at the Norwich Medical School and the Associate Dean of Innovation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. His research focuses on improving diagnosis, disease progression tracking and symptom management in dementia. His research group employs various research methodologies (clinical, cognition, sensor technology, neuroimaging and genetics) as well as disease interventions (pharmacological and non-pharmacological) for their research studies. His current research is particularly focused on spatial orientation and navigation deficits in dementia and how this has an impact on people's outdoor activities such as driving and walking safely. Michael is originally from Germany but gravitated soon to England where he did his PhD at University College London before working at Cambridge University. He spent six years in Sydney (Australia) before returning to Cambridge and finally arriving at UEA in November 2015. In his spare time he loves listening to Jazz, playing passionately - though badly - the violin and going cycling.
Honorary Professor of Local Government, University of Bristol Mark Sandford is a researcher specialising in local government, devolution, local government finance and territorial identity. He works as a senior research analyst in the House of Commons Library. He has published a number of reports, papers and journal articles on local government finance and English devolution. He has also been a research fellow at the Constitution Unit, University College London, and head of research at the Electoral Commission.
Professor of Animal Behaviour, University of Plymouth Mark Briffa is Professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Plymouth, U.K. He has studied the behaviour of hermit crabs since 1995. He gained a PhD on this topic at Queen’s University Belfast and conducted post-doctoral research there, before moving to Plymouth in 2004 for a lectureship in marine biology. As well as studying the effects of human impacts on behaviour he is also interested in animal contests and animal personality, which he studies in hermit crabs, sea anemones and other marine animals.
Lecturer in Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism Studies, Macquarie University Dr Farida is a lecturer, researcher, and consultant. She is currently a Lecturer in Terrorism Studies at the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie university. She has also served as researcher and consultant for Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) programs in CSNSW. Dr. Farida's research sits at the intersection of Middle East politics, non-state groups, terrorism, and political violence. Her work primarily focuses on non-state actors' recruitment, mobilisation, and ideology. She has published on religion and politics, non-state actors identity building, and popular culture in relation to a range of contexts, and has a particular interest in understanding the function and impact of identity construction in popular, political, and religious discourses. Dr Farida has conducted field work studies on the recruitment and mobilisation of Hizbullah in Lebanon. Her research has been published in journals such as International Review for Social Research, Journal for Policing, Intelligence, and Counter Terrorism, and Handbook of Terrorist and Insurgent Groups: A Global Survey of Threats, Tactics, and Characteristics. She is also the author of Religion and Hezbollah: Political Ideology and Legitimacy (Routledge 2020).
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Kennesaw State University Michael K. Logan is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Kennesaw State University. He received his Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of Nebraska Omaha (2020). Michael's research focuses violent extremism, offender decision-making, and malevolent creativity and innovation. Michael's research has been funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE), and his research appears in scholarly journals such as the Journal of Research on Crime and Delinquency; Terrorism and Political Violence; Perspectives on Terrorism; Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts; and Journal of Creative Behavior. Additionally, Michael is an Editorial Board member for Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict: Pathways toward Terrorism and Genocide.
