Data Champions Search

Mandy Wigdorowitz is Open Research Community Manager for Cambridge University Libraries. She holds a PhD in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics from the University of Cambridge, St John's College, and is a registered Research Psychologist with a Masters in Social and Psychological Research from the University of the Witwatersrand. She is interested in the benefits of open research practices across all research disciplines and is building a community that promotes open research at Cambridge. Her research focuses on understanding language and interaction from linguistic, social, cognitive, and psychological perspectives. Mandy is also the Associate Editor for the Journal of Open Humanities Data, which publishes data papers in disciplines spanning the Humanities.

My current work combines neurobehavioral observation, fMRI and EEG in patients with Disorders of Consciousness. In particular, my research investigates which factors might predict patient performance, which technique (or combination of techniques), might be most sensitive in detecting residual conscious awareness, and which pattern of performance best classifies conscious state. 
I am also interested in the role of attentional mechanisms in conscious perception; specifically, I have been studying which temporal and spatial factors influence divided attention when stimuli in different sensory modalities compete for conscious access, leading to integration or interference. 
I strongly believe in the importance of open access and data sharing. I joined the Data Champions initiative at the University of Cambridge, aiming to increase awareness of the importance and benefits of sharing data, and to providing support within my department on how to share data through the university repository.

Additional areas of expertise:

Attentional cognitive processes, disorder of consciousness.

My research lies at the intersection of psychology, education, and computer science. I am interested in the philosophical underpinnings of different statistical paradigms and reproducible science. I was previously trained in Bayesian cognitive modeling at the JAGS and WinBUGS workshop (by Prof. Michael Lee and Prof. Eric-Jan Wagenmakers) and Bayesian item response modeling at the University of Twente (by Prof. Jean-Paul Fox). 

Swati is a Research Assistant in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Currently, her research focuses primarily on understanding the temporal structure of pain through behavioral assessment of chronic pain patients. In addition to her research, she actively participates in mentorship initiatives such as Google’s WomenTechmaker Program. Prior to joining Nox lab, she worked with collaborators from Mayo Clinic, Oxford University, and Accenture Research Lab.