Meet the Lab

Lab Director

Version 2

Andria Shimi

Andria is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Cyprus and directs the MADLab.

Click here for a short Bio.

PhD students

AnnaP

Anna Papantoni

Anna is a PhD student in Psychology at the Department of Psychology of the University of Cyprus, under the supervision of Dr Andria Shimi and during the last two years, she has been working as a Special Research Scientist at MADLab. Anna holds a BA degree in Psychology from the University of Cyprus (2011) and a degree in Business Administration from the Cooperative State University of Heilbronn in Germany (2017) funded by Lidl Stiftung & Co.KG, Germany. During her studies in Germany, she was trained as an Area Manager and she researched employee satisfaction and workplace motivation. She also completed a 3-year MSc degree in Counselling Psychology at Neapolis University Paphos (2020). During the last year of her postgraduate studies, she worked as a trainee Counselling Psychologist at the Counselling Center of Neapolis University and the Counselling Center Ithaki (Kenthea), while for her MSc thesis she examined the relationship between work-related stress, substance abuse, and resilience. Before joining MADLab, Anna worked as a Special Scientist (administrative support) at the UCY Center for Applied Neuroscience and as a researcher at the Experimental Psychology Lab at the University of Cyprus.

MaraMichaelidou_square_

Mara Michailidou

Mara is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology. She graduated with a BSc degree in Psychology from the University of Glasgow. She holds an MSc in Clinical Psychology from Utrecht University, through which she acquired and developed fundamental knowledge and skills in evidence-based psychotherapies and became familiar with prevailing research methods in the field of clinical psychology. Her interest in working with children and adolescents further flourished through her various internship placements in Scotland and Cyprus. For her PhD thesis, she will investigate the impact loneliness has on cognitive skills during transitional periods, among children.

MA students

rsz_nicholaspamboris

Nicholas Pamboris

Nicholas graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Edinburgh in 2021. His internships in private schools and private psychological institutions have fueled his interest in working with children and Nicholas believes that efficient psychological interventions can enhance the life trajectory of a child. Engaging with research encompassing executive functions, memory, and social cognition have allowed him to acknowledge the ubiquitous nature of cognitive mechanisms and how unfolding those mechanisms can assist to comprehend atypical neurodevelopmental trajectories.

ChristinaCh.

Christina Charalambidou

Christina is a graduate student in the Master’s program of School Psychology and holds a a BA degree in Psychology from the University of Cyprus. For her MA thesis, Christina is studying the cognitive profile of individuals with mental retardation.

EleniChristodoulou_square

Eleni Christodoulou

Eleni is enrolled in the Master’s programme in School Psychology at the University of Cyprus. She holds a BSc in Psychology from the University of Reading and an MSc in Child Development from the University College London, for which she was awarded the Prakesh de Silva Prize for outstanding merit. During her undergraduate studies, Eleni examined the impact of cocoa flavanols on memory and mood in neurotypical adults. As part of her postgraduate studies, she examined the mental and physical health and motor coordination differences between autistic and neurotypical families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Eleni gained extensive experience in London, while working with atypical and neurotypical populations in kindergartens, schools and care homes. Eleni’s academic and practical experience instilled a sense of commitment and determination to better understand the cognitive processes that promote development and the factors which may hinder it. Therefore, Eleni is hoping that with her passion for scientific research and practical experience, she will be able to contribute to the formation and delivery of effective interventions that promote child development.

Special Research Scientists

MariaKyriakou_square

Maria Kyriakou

Maria is a Special Research Scientist at MADLab. She graduated with honours from the Department of Psychology of the University of Essex in 2021. She holds an MSc in Psychological Research from the University of Edinburgh, which was obtained in 2022. During her studies, Maria was trained in various research, statistical and neuroimaging, methodologies in a number of psychological sub-disciplines with a specialization in Cognitive Neuroscience. Both her BSc and MSc theses investigated behaviour and decision making. The former project, which was presented in the 30th Annual meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science, investigated the effect of framing and trustworthiness of the speaker on vaccination intention for Covid-19. The latter examined the influence of social power motives on action for women’s rights under a Bayesian framework, as a way to uncover the psychological barriers that prevent gender equality from being achieved, a cause that is of great significance to her.

PanayiotisPallaris_2

Panayiotis Pallaris

Panayiotis is a Special Research Scientist at MADLab working on EEG studies on attention and working memory. He obtained an Upper-Second Class Honours degree in Psychology from Bangor University in 2019. With a keen interest in neuroscience, he pursued a Master’s degree in Philosophy of Mind and Psychology (with neuroscience) at Glasgow University in 2020, earning a Merit for his thesis on Dancing Movements and Attractiveness. To merge his interests in neuroscience and machine learning, Panayiotis completed five certificates in Python as part of the “Python for Everybody Specialization” after obtaining his Master’s degree. He then honed his project management skills during his year-long tenure as a Video Specialist, after which he obtained three project management certificates offered by Google. In 2022, he enrolled in a second Master’s degree program, “Cognitive Systems,” at the Open University of Cyprus, where he is learning how to develop Cognitive Systems using artificial intelligence and machine learning. While pursuing his studies, Panayiotis worked as an intern for five months at the Neo-Move group in CYENS, where he gained experience in website development and design using HTML. He also assisted the group’s research efforts and further contributed to a project that utilized motion capture, by developing a code for clustering the data collected regarding the movement’s velocity and trajectory. Ultimately, Panayiotis aspires to establish a career that integrates AI and neuroscience.

Affiliated Research Assistants

Pic-Antonis P.

Antonis Papantoniou

Antonis graduated from the Master’s program of School Psychology at the University of Cyprus in 2023. During his time in the program, he carried out his Master’s thesis in MADLab, focusing on the development of a child mindfulness program. He is currently an affiliated Research Assistant in MADLab and continues to pursue his research interests in the interaction between Cognitive and Applied Psychology as well as the examination of the role that executive functions have in everyday life.