Profile

Photo:

Paula Kaanders

My CV

  • Education:

    I went to secondary school in the Netherlands to the Stedelijk Gymnasium Nijmegen. I then did an undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts & Science at University College Utrecht, majoring in psychology, economics and mathematics. After this, I did a 2-year research master’s degree at Maastricht University in Neuroeconomics, a mixture between neuroscience and economics. I am currently enrolled in the Wellcome Trust Doctoral Training Programme in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford.

  • Qualifications:

    – BSc & BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences at University
    College Utrecht, International Honours College of Utrecht University, the
    Netherlands
    – Research Master (MSc) in Cognitive & Clinical
    Neuroscience at Maastricht University, the Netherlands

  • Work History:

    I worked as a research assistant for 2 years between my master’s degree and my PhD programme. This means I helped other scientists with their projects by helping designing and doing experiments. I first worked at the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, and later at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London.

  • About Me:

    I’m a PhD student in neuroscience living in Oxford.

  • Read more

    I currently live in Oxford, but moved to the UK from the Netherlands (which is where I’m originally from) 5 years ago. I enjoy travelling around the UK and other places: luckily, as a scientist I get to travel a lot! Most recently, I was in China for a month to learn about mathematical modelling of the brain.

    Other than that, I love going to the theatre (I even find myself on the stage occasionally rather than in the audience!), reading (fiction and non-fiction), history, yoga, rowing, animals (I walk other people’s dogs as a side-job!), hiking, going to the pub with friends and watching movies or TV shows.

    Pronouns: she/her

     

  • Read more

  • My Typical Day:

    My day depends very much on whether I am doing any testing or not. If I’m testing people, I’ll usually have to wake up early and I will test 2 or 3 people a day. When I’m not testing people, but am analysing data that I have already collected from people before, my day is a lot more flexible, and I can work whenever and wherever I please.

  • Read more

    My day depends very much on whether I am doing any testing or not. If I’m testing people, I’ll usually have to wake up around 7 to be at the lab and ready to go by 8.30. Usually, I’ll have a number of people (usually students, who are eager to earn some extra money by participating in our experiments) come in on one day, usually 2 or 3 a day. I explain the task to them, before they do the main experiment, which usually lasts 2-3 hours.

    When I’m not testing any people, but am working on something else – like: analysing data I’ve already collected, writing papers, designing new experiments -, my days are much more flexible. I can start work whenever I like (so I can sleep in!) and can work on my laptop wherever I like.

  • My Interview

    • Were you ever in trouble at school?

      Yes, I was banned from maths class for talking too much.

      What's your favourite food?

      Tofu ramen