Principal Investigators – Core Team
P.I. Huseyin Cakal
Keele University – UKSocial and Political Psychologist, PhD in Social and Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford, and Master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Manchester. His work focuses on prejudice reduction, social change, and mental health, with an emphasis on disadvantaged communities in the Global South, particularly refugee populations, Indigenous peoples, and women. He is Deputy Director of the Institute for Global Health and Mental Health at Keele University, where he also leads the Intergroup Relations and Political Behaviour Lab (Inter-Pol). He is a member of several academic committees, including the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Research Ethics Committee. His experience includes training researchers, supervising doctoral theses, and contributing to public policy decision-making. He has presented evidence to the UK Parliament and collaborated with organizations such as the United Nations in Cyprus.
C.I. Lisa Dikomitis
Warwick University – UKLisa is an Anthropologist with a PhD in Comparative Cultural Sciences (Anthropology) from Ghent University, with additional academic training in Art History, Archaeology, and Education. Her work focuses on health inequalities, mental health, displacement, and the experiences of refugee populations, through an interdisciplinary perspective that brings together anthropology, medicine, social sciences, and the humanities.
She is Director of Warwick Applied Health at the Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick. She has held academic and research leadership positions at the universities of Kent and Keele, including directing institutes and research centres focused on global health and health services. Her career includes securing competitive research funding from organizations such as NIHR, MRC, and AHRC, authoring more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, and demonstrating a strong commitment to community engagement and public outreach through exhibitions, podcasts, and creative collaborations.
C.I. Claudia Pineda Marin
Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz – ColombiaClaudia is a professor and Director of the PhD Program in Psychology at Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz. Her work has focused on peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation, both in Colombia and in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, and Belgium. She is passionate about social psychology and has worked closely with communities, particularly children, young people, and women, seeking to reduce inequalities and improve everyday life. She has published academic articles, books, and illustrated books on historical memory. She enjoys teaching and supporting educational and training processes, and firmly believes in the power of collaborative work and knowledge to transform realities.
Ph.D. Researcher
Daniela Serrato Álvarez
Konrad Lorenz – Fundación UniversitariaPsychologist with a Master’s degree in Psychology from Universidad de La Sabana. PhD student at Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz and lecturer at the same institution. Her research interests include gender-based violence, poverty, prejudice, and discrimination.
Leslie Stephanie Molina
Keele University – UKSociologist and Postdoctoral Researcher at Keele University. Her work has focused on gender-based violence, immigration law, and the racialized power of the state, in both Scotland and the United States and, more recently, across the Andean region. She has worked closely with marginalized communities, immigration law practitioners, and undocumented migrants, integrating reflexive, feminist, and anti-racist approaches into her knowledge production.
Research Assistants (Social Cognition Research Group)
Mariana Velazquez Kordon
Konrad Lorenz – Fundación UniversitariaResearch Assistants (Social Cognition Research Group)
Juliana Valentina Duarte
Konrad Lorenz – Fundación UniversitariaResearch Assistants (Social Cognition Research Group)
Juan Esteban Tangarife Ropero
Konrad Lorenz – Fundación UniversitariaResearch Assistants (Social Cognition Research Group)
Collaborating Researchers – Core Team
Paz Guarderas-Albuja
Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo – BrazilPsychologist with a degree from Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil; an MSc in Social Psychology Research and a PhD in Social Psychology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona; and currently undertaking training in Psychodrama. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Psychology Program at Universidad Politécnica Salesiana in Quito and Coordinator of the Psychosocial Research Group.
Carlos Reyes Valenzuela
Andean University Simón Bolívar – EcuadorAndean Programme on Human Rights at Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, Ecuador Campus. Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a Master’s degree in Governance and Human Rights, and a PhD in Methodology of Behavioural and Health Sciences. Lecturer and Researcher. Research interests include human rights, a culture of peace, social psychology, and political psychology.
Eric Roth Unzueta
Bolivian Catholic University, La Paz – Bolivia Psychologist and Researcher at the Experimental Research Unit, Bolivian Catholic University, La Paz.
Research interests: Moral behaviour (prosociality, empathy, and antisocial behaviour).
Juan Juárez
National University of San Martín – PeruHolds PhDs in Business Administration and Educational Sciences, a Master’s degree in Education with a specialisation in Research, a Bachelor’s degree in Education with a specialisation in Social Sciences, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. He has also completed the coursework for a PhD in Educational and Counselling Psychology. In 2019, he was a member of the Research Unit at the National University of San Martín (UNSM). He has conducted research in the fields of education, psychology, and business administration. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the National University of San Martín – Tarapoto (UNSM-T).
International Collaborators
Ana Sandra Aguilar de Mendoza
Technological University of El Salvador – El SalvadorPsychologist, Lecturer and Researcher, with a Master’s degree in Public Health and a Master’s degree in Teaching and University Research. Currently pursuing a PhD in Social Sciences.
Member of the Interamerican Society of Psychology (SIP), the Network of Health-Promoting Universities (RIUPS), and the Knowledge Management Network for Territorial Development (CODET).
Juana Guarderas
Patio de Comedias Theatre Cultural CorporationActress, director, and screenwriter, as well as a cultural manager. Executive Director of Patio de Comedias Theatre Cultural Corporation. Research interests include the performing arts and their engagement with social issues.
National Collaborators
Yamile Turizo Palencia
Universidad de la Costa, Barranquilla – ColombiaPhD in Psychology. Research Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Universidad de la Costa (Barranquilla, Colombia).
Research interests: Forgiveness and peacebuilding, mental health, gender-based violence, sociopolitical violence, and migration.
Mauricio José Núñez Delgado
Universidad Popular del Cesar – ColombiaPsychologist, Specialist in Clinical Assessment and Treatment of Emotional and Affective Disorders, and Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.
Research interests: Examining the relationship between social dynamics, violence, suicide, and mental health in ethnic communities.
. Evidence-based, low-cost psychological intervention programmes for vulnerable communities.
Adriana Acosta Ramos
Universidad Popular del Cesar – ColombiaPsicóloga – Docente Universitaria
Research interests: Political participation, intergroup dynamics, and collective action.
Manuel de Jesús Beltrán Espitia
Universidad de ManizalesPsychologist with a Specialisation in Legal Psychology from Universidad de San Buenaventura and a PhD in Psychology. He has served as Academic and Research Vice-Rector at Fundación Universitaria Claretiana and as leader of the GIPSICLA research group. His work has focused on ethics in the context of scientific advancement, cultural processes, and ancestral subjectivities in Colombia’s Pacific region. He has also actively participated in forums and networks dedicated to reflecting on violence in Colombia, including Redipaz.
Maritza Salamanca
Coordinator of Fundación Proyecto de Vida.Psychologist and Coordinator of Fundación Proyecto de Vida at its Soacha branch. Her work has focused primarily on supporting communities and young people in vulnerable contexts, with a particular interest in women’s leadership and reducing inequalities.
Karen Elisa Córdoba Rengifo
UniversidadPsychologist with a specialisation in Psychosocial Process Management and experience in psychosocial work, gender issues, and peacebuilding. Her professional career has focused particularly on working with women and communities in the Chocó region. She has supported training initiatives on women's political participation and the prevention of gender-based violence.
Elizabeth Montoya Giraldo
UniversidadPsychologist specialising in Research Methods and Techniques in the Social Sciences. Researcher affiliated with the GIPSICLA research group, with interests in post-agreement reconciliation, truth commissions, and transitional justice. Her work has focused on Afro-descendant communities in Colombia’s Pacific region, particularly in Quibdó and Andagoya, exploring how forgiveness and reconciliation are experienced within Christian communities and expressed through their own cultural traditions, such as alabaos (traditional Afro-Colombian funeral chants), in contexts shaped by armed conflict.
Nelson Molina Valencia
Universidad del VallePsychologist from Universidad de los Andes, with a Master’s degree and a PhD in Social Psychology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He has served as Director of the Institute of Psychology and Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at Universidad del Valle, as well as President of the Colombian Association of Psychology Faculties (ASCOFAPSI). He leads the Psychosocial Analysis and Transformation Research Group, whose research areas include community resistance, the transformation of political conflicts, social constructionism, and peace studies in the context of the Colombian armed conflict.
María Piedad Medina Márquez
Fundación Proyecto de Vida
Mariana Gutiérrez Peña
Universidad Pontificia BolivarianaPsychologist with a Master’s degree in Social Psychology from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. Her work brings together social psychology, social research, gender studies, and peacebuilding. She has worked with women engaged in prostitution and women experiencing socioeconomic vulnerability through group sessions and individual counselling, using narrative therapy approaches. Her work has addressed issues related to anxiety, depression, and trauma, particularly among women survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
Juan David Villa Gómez
Universidad Pontificia BolivarianaPsychologist with a Master’s degree and a PhD in International Migration and Development Cooperation from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. He is a lecturer in the Faculty of Psychology and the School of Social Sciences at UPB, and a member of the Subject, Society and Work Research Group. His work encompasses social and political psychology, human rights, psychosocial support for survivors of sociopolitical violence and forced displacement, historical and collective memory, political polarisation, and reconciliation processes in Colombia.