Simone Lackner, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

I am an emerging cultural professional with a broad multidisciplinary scientific background - degree in Molecular Biology, Ph.D. in Systems Neuroscience, postdoctoral training in Complexity and Computational Social Science - and roots in performance art. Moved by creativity and critical thinking and the conviction that as a scientist I have a great opportunity and responsibility in sharing my skills and expertise with the public, I enjoy very much acting as a diplomat between Science, Art, Society and Policy. I am also a passionate public speaker and as ReMO Ambassador and the founder of The Empathic Scientist, Soapbox Science Lisbon, the We and Climate Circle and Salon Luminosa, I am advocating and developing novel interdisciplinary educational interventions that focus on immersive experiences, merging science and art.My JourneyGrowing up in a family-run viennese cafe, I was exposed to humans with diverse cultures, attitudes and belief systems. To understand the nature of being human, I explored the capacity of emotions as an actress. My thirst for (self-)knowledge was not satisfied. I built my bridge from art to science. I wanted to understand how we make decisions, form opinions, build attitudes and what roles emotions play so I can help to preserve empathy and human connection in a society that is governed by technology. I studied at great length the neural basis of fish swim choices and their bias due to changing environments until I transitioned to understanding human cognitive biases underlying opinion formation regarding attitudes towards science. Now I research how I can translate my scientific, technological and emotional discoveries into projects provoking public engagement and discourse.

Listed skills include Molecular Biology, Matlab, Data Analysis, Experimental Design, and 3 others.