Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics, University of Birmingham I am a lecturer in English Language and Linguistics. My research examines iconicity in speech and gesture, with special interest in the evolution of human communication. I also study the gesturing and vocal behaviour of great apes. I joined the Department of English Language and Linguistics in September of 2017. Before coming to Birmingham, I earned my PhD in Cognitive Psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, with Raymond Gibbs. Following this, I was a postdoc at the Gorilla Foundation, where I studied under the gorilla Koko. I then did postdocs in Cognitive and Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced, and in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Most recently, I was a postdoc in the Language and Cognition department at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. My research is driven by two big questions. What is language? and Where did it come from? My main angle into these questions is through iconicity – resemblance between the form of a signal and its meaning. My work examines iconicity across a range of phenomena, from prosody in the production of spoken sentences, to word learning by children, to the gesturing of gorillas. I am especially interested in the role of iconicity in the evolution of human communication and the ongoing historical development of languages.
Assistant Professor of Homeland Security, DeSales University Dr Mustafa Kirisci is an Assistant Professor of Homeland Security at DeSales University. His research interests are terrorism, civil conflict, interstate conflict, and civil-military relations. His papers appear in Government and Opposition, Civil Wars, Terrorism and Political Violence, International Negotiation, Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, Critical Studies on Terrorism, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Inkstick Media, and National Interest.
Ph.D. Candidate in Microbiology, Cornell University A microbiologist by training and a writer by passion. I research the mechanisms behind antibiotic tolerance and how this process relates to other cellular processes. With an aspiration to bridge the gap between academia and the public, I have spent time bettering my communication skills through various workshops, programs, and seminars. I enjoy outreach programs where I get to directly connect with my local community. I taught a class on sewage and public health this past semester to over 20 undergraduates. I additionally started my own website and write for The Cornell Daily Sun. I am excited to expand the scope of my audience through The Conversation!
Associate Professor Michelle Jongenelis has expertise in health promotion, intervention development and evaluation, behavioural psychology, and clinical psychology. She works across multiple and diverse health-related behaviours including alcohol and tobacco control, nutrition, physical activity, and sun protection. Michelle works as a researcher and consultant for a broad range of organisations covering the not-for-profit and government sectors. She is currently Deputy Director of the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change.
I am an Associate Professor in Food Science and the Arrell Chair in Food Quality at the Arrell Food Institute (University of Guelph). During my career, I have focused on developing procedures and protocols to identify and assess changes in food quality and safety linked to processing and handling practices throughout the supply chain, from producer to consumer. I have also developed and validated mathematical models to evaluate and predict how food processing and handling practices can favor or act in detriment of food quality, safety, and nutritional content. Using a systems dynamics perspective, I have leveraged my expertise to participate as the PI and co-PI in research projects that take an integrative view of food safety and security conditions within communities in Argentina (City of Buenos Aires), China (City of Macau), and USA (Newark, NJ). I have authored or coauthored over 110 research articles in refereed journals, 17 book chapters, two contributions to encyclopaedias, and designed three educational kits on STEM topics for middle school students.
Maleeka received her BSc. from the University of Toronto (majors: Genes, Genetics & Biotechnology and Sociology; minor: English), MSc. from University of Guelph (Food Science) and is currently a PhD Student at the University of Guelph (Food Science). Her current research aims to improve transparency in the food supply chain by using biological and chemical fingerprinting as multi-parameter and complementary tools to assess food integrity. This research will ensure a safe supply chain, high-quality foods for consumers, increased accountability from farmers to distributors and minimize waste.
