Congratulations to the winners of the GSSR International Scholarship Award (GISA): Andrzej Frelek, Zuzanna Laudańska, Jacek Mazurczak, Katarzyna Obarska and Aleksandra Piejka.

The GISA, supported via NAWA STER funding, awards the best doctoral students at GSSR.

More about the winners:

Andrzej Frelek is a 2nd year PhD student at GSSR, pursuing his PhD in philosophy (IFiS PAN). His dissertation proposes a novel philosophical approach to understanding the climate crisis, based on a complementary reading of Adorno and Marx. Through the legacy of critical theory he aims to provide an account of our historical stage that clearly shows the enormous gravity of the problems we face, while not foreclosing the possibility of hope and the need of praxis.

Zuzanna Laudańska is a 2nd year PhD student at GSSR, pursuing her PhD in Psychology (IP PAN). Zuzanna is a researcher at Babylab PAN, where she plays with babies for science and investigates the early development of social motor coordination. She graduated from the University of Warsaw in 2020 with a MA in Psychology and MSc in Medical Biotechnology (Inter-Faculty Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences).

Jacek Mazurczak is a 2nd year PhD student at GSSR, pursuing his PhD in sociology (IFiS PAN). Jacek is studying the phenomenon of radicalisation leading to extremism and terrorism in Europe. His PhD project involves applying Emile Durkheim’s theoretical framework to explain the different stages of radicalisation. His experience includes academic research, providing training for law enforcement, serving as an expert witness in numerous court cases, and supporting human rights NGOs in assisting hate crime victims and carrying out strategic litigation.

Katarzyna Obarska is a 3rd year PhD student at GSSR, pursuing her PhD in psychology (IP PAN). Katarzyna graduated from SWPS Warsaw, Poland, and gained research experience at Humboldt University in Berlin and the University of Würzburg. Katarzyna works for the PredictWatch company, which develops technologies supporting people in maintaining abstinence and allowing for early prediction of relapses using mobile devices. Her research interests include addiction, compulsive sexual behavior disorder, and sexualized drug use.

Aleksandra Piejka is a 3rd year PhD student at GSSR, pursuing her PhD in psychology (IP PAN). Aleksandra works at the Social Neuroscience Lab. She is conducting research on the impact of loneliness on social cognition and the autonomous nervous system, both in the laboratory and in everyday life, in collaboration with the University of California, Irvine. Aleksandra has been involved in projects in the fields of social, clinical, and cognitive sciences in Poland and abroad, and is a laureate of the prestigious Scholarship of the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences (2021-2022).