Meet Our Team
LAB DIRECTOR
Marc-Lluís Vives
CV / Email: m.l.vives.moya@fsw.leidenuniv.nlI am an Assistant Professor at Leiden University, after a PhD at Pompeu Fabra University, Center for Brain and Cognition, and three years of postdoc at Brown University. My interests revolve around better understanding how flexible preferences arise and impact decision-making, the role of instrinsic motives in choice and learning and the structure of mental representations. When I am not in the lab, I enjoy playing football, cooking, visiting friends around the world, and reading Catalan literature.
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS
Beth Lloyd
CV / Email: b.lloyd@fsw.leidenuniv.nlI’m a postdoctoral researcher in the lab. I completed my PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at Leiden University. My main research interests are in learning and decision-making — I'm especially curious about the dopamine system and how it contributes to making perfect predictions, as well as how prediction errors and semantic structures change with age.
Outside of work, I live in The Hague with my dog, Fudge. She loves long walks on the beach, so I guess that means I do too.
Kadi Tulver
CV / Email: kaditulver@gmail.comI’m a postdoctoral researcher at the lab working on creativity and idea generation. I’m particularly interested in sudden moments of insight, or “aha-moments,” and how they reveal shifts in our mental representations, giving rise to new meaning and understanding. Outside of work, I like to borrow Beth's dog for long walks on the beach. I also enjoy reading magical realism, watching true crime, and making highly inconsistent attempts at painting and writing.
LEAD RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Olga Bogachko Holmblad
Email: olga.bogachko@gmail.comI’m a Swedish psychology (research) master’s student at Leiden University specialising in cognitive neruoscience. My interests lie in neural representations of cognitive constructs such as emotions. I am specifically intrigued by the role neurotransmitters play in emotion-based decision making in our daily lives. I enjoy spending time with sports like volleyball, running and climbing.
MASTERS INTERN
Gabriel Zajac Choisi
Email: g.j.zajac.choisi@umail.leidenuniv.nlHi! I am 24 years old and currently pursuing a Master's in psychology (research), specialising in cognitive neuroscience. I have a broad interest in psychological research, although I am particularly interested in the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and clinical psychology. In my free time, I like to spend as much time as possible outdoors, whether running, cycling, or hiking in the mountains.
BACHELOR HONORS STUDENTS
Ioana-Maria Ungureanu
Email: i.ungureanu@umail.leidenuniv.nlI’m a third-year Psychology student currently working on my bachelor’s thesis in the lab. I’m particularly fascinated by political psychology, especially how people make decisions when the stakes are high and emotions are running wild. I’m interested in political extremism, belief shifts, and how sudden “aha” moments might play into radicalisation or ideological change.
Outside of university, I like to read, write, or travel. I love learning languages, spending time with family, and (unironically) studying for fun.
Marlena Oebel
Email: m.s.oebel@umail.leidenuniv.nlI’m an International Psychology Bachelor student at Leiden University. For my Honours Research Bachelor’s Project, I’m exploring the expansion effect in value-based decision-making under uncertainty. My project examines how uncertainty aversion affects value representations. Specifically, how the mental or neural representation of value expands or separates, influencing how easily and consistently people make choices. After my Bachelor’s, I plan to pursue a Research Master’s in Clinical Psychology.
Outside of my studies, I love writing speculative fiction, dancing and listening to music, as well as going on silly adventures with friends, preferably the kind that make for good stories later.