Researchers/Trainers/Technicians
Maria Panteli, PhD student
Maria Panteli holds a BA in Psychology and two Masters degrees in Cognitive and Educational psychology (University of Cyprus) and in Research Methods in Psychology (University of Surrey, UK), while currently she is a Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Cyprus. She is currently a special research assistant in the Level-UP project, working a) on a meta-analysis about the outcomes of soft skills interventions on employability and b) on curriculum development for an undergraduate soft skills course. She has relevant teaching experience, as a teaching instructor at the University of Cyprus (Psychology of Motivation and Psychology of Happiness and Adjustment).
Maria Orphanidou, PhD candidate
Maria Orphanidou is a Clinical Psychology doctoral candidate at the University of Cyprus. Her research interests are in social-psychological approaches to mental health issues. Her Ph.D. thesis examines the ways in which depression is represented in the media and the public, as well as the subjective experience of depression among people of different ages diagnosed with depression. She has experience in the use of qualitative methodology (i.e., design, data collection, data analysis, presentation of findings) and has published qualitative research in peer-reviewed academic journals. She has experience in the organisation and execution of psychoeducational group interventions. She is currently involved as Researcher in the Level-UP project (Focus groups and Qualitative Analysis).
Gabriela Cortez Vázquez, PhD Candidate
Gabriela Cortez Vázquez, is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Health Sciences department, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She has specialized in the implementation of mindfulness-based interventions for enhancing cognitive and socio-emotional skills in educational and clinical settings. Her current research focuses on the development and evaluation of e-health interventions for soft skills training (e.g., stress management and emotion regulation) and mental health promotion in higher education students. She is currently involved as a researcher and trainer in the Level-UP project.
Prof. José Antonio Muela Martínez
José Antonio Muela Martínez is a Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Jaen. He holds a doctorate in Psychology from the University of Granada. He has research experience in the field of emotional disorders in children and adolescents and “Expressed Emotion”, and his current research interests focus on problems derived from lack of psycho-social skills (emotional problems, bullying, sexting). Prof. Muela Martínez is a member of the Proem Network (an interdisciplinary Research Network for the Promotion of mental health and EMotional well-being in young people) and the director of the UJA Psychological Care Service. He is currently involved as a researcher in the Level-UP project (content development and implementation of specialized trainings on soft skills).
Manuel Vivas Fernández, PhD Student
Manuel Vivas Fernández is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Psychology, University of Jaén, Spain. In his career he has carried out psychological treatments in a wide range of age groups and emotional symptomatology. He is currently researching on the assessment and intervention of emotional disorders in adolescents through his participation in national and international projects. He is currently involved as a researcher in the Level-UP project (content development and implementation of specialized soft skills trainings).
Prof. Lourdes Espinosa Fernández
Lourdes Espinosa Fernández is a Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Jaen. He holds a doctorate in Psychology from the University of Granada. He has research experience in the field of emotional disorders in children and adolescents and “Expressed Emotion”, and his current research interests focus on problems derived from lack of psycho-social skills (emotional problems, bullying, sexting). Prof. Fernández is a member of the Proem Network (an interdisciplinary Research Network for the Promotion of mental health and EMotional well-being in young people). She is currently involved as a trainer in the Level-UP project (content development and implementation of specialized soft skills trainings).
Dr. María Belén Díez-Bedmar
María Belén Díez-Bedmar is Associate Professor at the University of Jaén. Her main research interests are the compilation and exploitation of learner corpora, the acquisition of English as a foreign language, language testing and assessment, the use of the CEFR and the CV and the characterization of the language by L1 Spanish adolescents with emotional disorders or at risk of developing them. She is currently involved as a trainer in the Level-UP project (content development and implementation of specialized soft skills trainings).