Awais Aftab: From Pakistan to the US, Embracing Pluralism in Psychiatry

Dominique Maciejewski: All things research, parenting, and academia

Hi everyone, In this episode, my guest was Dr. Dominique Maciewski. We recorded this episode a while ago and I only recently had the chance to publish it. After re-listening, I wished I had done it before - it really left me with a big smile. It was such a sincere conversation about life in academia with an inspiring, authentic, and kind researcher. We talked about what first drew her to developmental psychology, balancing parenthood and academia, her research on emotion regulation and psychological measurement, her favourite (all female!) researchers, and much more. I hope the episode leaves you with a big smile as well! If you'd like to skip to specific parts: 00:45 --> What first drew you to developmental psychology? 05:14 --> Was there a moment when you knew for sure that you wanted to stay in academia? 06:40 --> Perks of being a researcher who lived in many different cities and academic cultures. 09:07 --> Balancing personal and academic life 10:41 --> Balancing parenthood and academia 17:21 --> Current research interests: emotion regulation in adolescents, measurement, 25:55 --> If you had all the funding and resources in the world what would you try to explore? 27:48 --> The impact of parenthood on research perspective to developmental psychology 29:56 --> If you could give advice to your PhD self, what would it be? What skills do you think are the most helpful at different stages of an academic career? 33:53 --> Do you think there are skills that makes one stand out when one is applying for professorships? 35:42 -- Her favourite researchers 38:55 --> If you had a free day with no responsibilities, how would you spend it? 41:08 --> How do you hope people will remember you?

Selçuk Şirin: Challenging Structural Barriers

Hi everyone, In this episode my guest is Prof. Selcuk Sirin. He is a professor of applied psychology in NYU. He has also made a big impact outside of academia, serving on the U.S. National Academy of Sciences' Board for Children, Youth, and Families. On top of these, he’s committed to making science accessible to the public, especially in Turkey. He has authored several prominent books on education and societal issues in Turkey. If you're interested in specific parts, you can skip to those parts here: 01:15 → Did you have an ideal about your older self during childhood? 04:26 → Choosing a university and field of study 05:51 → After graduation: Working in the banking sector 08:00 → Fighting against the odds? Not giving too much power to structural barriers 10:18 → How do diverse educational and field experiences shape your academic perspective? 12:20 → Academic journey: Staying in the same field or shifting directions? 16:26 → Getting funding for research 23:27 → If you had unlimited funding, what would you try to answer/explore? 26:56 → Who is your favorite researcher or role model inside or outside academia? 27:59 → Who is Selçuk Şirin beyond his professional life? 28:58 → Balancing science outreach, research, and teaching — What does your typical day/week look like? 30:54 → Getting inspired to write fiction and non-fiction — How do you find your words? 33:11 → How do you hope people will remember you?

Awais Aftab: From Pakistan to the US, Embracing Pluralism in Psychiatry

In this episode, my guest was Prof. Awais Aftab, a psychiatrist in Ohio and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University. His research interests include philosophy of psychiatry, psychiatric classification, history of psychiatry. We talked about his journey from Pakistan to the US as a psychiatrist, how his interest in philosophy of psychiatry developed, his efforts to improve psychiatry training, and much more! Beyond his clinical and academic work, he recently published a book "Conversations in Critical Psychiatry" and runs a very active blog Psychiatry at the Margins [https://www.psychiatrymargins.com/]. Truly inspiring! Be sure to check them out if you're interested in the vast and complex landscape of psychopathology.

Katie Hoemann: From Linguistics and Cultural Anthropology to Psychology

You can now follow Faces Behind Papers on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/facesbehindpapers/] and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/facesbehindpapers.bsky.social]! Feel free to spread it to students or early career researchers who might be interested in psychological research! In this episode my guest is Prof. Katie Hoemann. She is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Kansas. Her research focuses on relationship between language, the perception and experience of emotion. With a diverse educational background in the social sciences and a return to academia after a break, it is inspiring to hear the story of a researcher who took the road less traveled. 01:02 - How was your journey from cultural anthropology and linguistics to psychology? 03:44 - Emotions as we study them vs. as we experience them. 06:39 - Was finding your focus of research smooth or messy sometimes? 08:31 - Was there a specific moment when you realized you were on the right path? 09:55 - Would you say that your diverse educational background make your academic work more meaningful? 14:12 - Transition from non-academic work (project management) to academia. 16:34 - which research questions are you trying to answer/explore right now? 19:34 - if you had all the funding and resources in the world, what would you try to answer or explore? 22:38 - What do you think makes a good psychology study? 26:19 - Academia in the US vs. Europe 30:57 - Who is your favourite researcher? Someone you look up to? 35: 39 - Who is Katie Hoemann besides her academic work? 38:01 - How do you hope people will remember you?

Christopher Hopwood

From the people who shaped Prof. Hopwood’s journey to his thoughts on therapeutic orientations, this interview was one of those where I didn’t even notice how time flew by. I might be a bit biased, since I’ve been reading Prof. Hopwood’s work since the start of my PhD, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! In case you're interested in specific parts, you can skip to them directly here: 00:52 - What sparked his interest in psychology? 05:37 - A foot in both camps: research and clinical work 07:07 - Therapy orientations: it's a waste of time to compare them, says Prof. Hopwood 10: 08 - What drives research? Curiosity, easing mental suffering, or something else? 11:36 - Four people who shaped Prof. Hopwood’s academic journey 13:38 - Writing papers with your partner: what’s that like? 15:16 - From existential questions after getting a tenure to his research on human-animal relationships and sustainability 17:46 - Future directions in his research 20:16 - Tables are turned: a bit about my (Rana's) PhD research 23:51 - Prof. Hopwood and I ask each other: If we had all the funding and resources in the world, what would we explore? 27:44 - What makes a great psychology study?: "There comes a time in one's career when one has to have kind of integrity about their own work" 31:51 - Comparing academia: US vs. Europe 36:25 - Going back to your PhD years with the current experiences you have right now, is there anything that you wish you had done differently? 38:18 - Who is Christopher Hopwood outside of academia? - Family, family, arts, sport, and the pleasure of work 40:25 - How do we hope to be remembered?