Author Archives: anneurai

Today, I was inaugurated as a member of the Young Academy Leiden, a group of early-career academics who think and work together on questions of research policy, outreach and interdisciplinary collaboration. The theme of the inauguration was ‘Engagement’, and each incoming member made a short video on the topic. See below for my contribution.

We visited the Cognitive Computational Neuroscience meeting in Oxford! We presented our science, met new and old colleagues and friends, and Anne hosted a workshop on climate action.

This post is inspired by my brother Max Urai, the better writer of the family – two steps ahead in his thinking, as always. Why literature is a gift-economy (Rekto:Verso, in Dutch). I shamelessly copied some quotations. The pursuit of scientific knowledge works by virtue of the work of others. We stand on the shouldersContinue reading “Science as a gift economy”

How to be an academic in a world on fire? As scientists concerned about the climate crisis, we set out to rethink the role and goals of the university in tackling the 21st century’s challenges. Inspired by Raworth’s Doughnut Economics, we propose seven new ways to thinking – not only to help us think, but alsoContinue reading “Doughnut science: rethinking academia in a time of climate crisis”

This week, a good friend (let’s call them W.) was facing a big decision: they got a job offer but were unsure whether to accept as it would come with some major life changes. W’s hesitation, doubt and slight panic reminded me of myself just 2 years ago. This quick blog describes some techniques forContinue reading “How to make big decisions”

The end of the year is near, and so here goes my selective review. This time, good and bad all mixed together.

Across many decision-making tasks, people and animals systematically repeat (or alternate) their choices – even when the choices they make are intrinsically uncorrelated. This phenomenon (also known as ‘sequential effect’ or ‘choice hysteresis’) has been known for at least a century, and may be a stable individual trait. How do these behavioral biases arise fromContinue reading “Individual choice repetition biases arise from persistent dynamics in parietal cortex”

I am proud and honoured to have received the Young talent award from the DNM Dutch Neuroscience society. This was the first time I explicitly talked about my climate activism in combination with my neuroscientific pursuits, which I hope contributes to more conversations about the climate crisis within the Dutch neuroscience community.

I participated in the fantastic Growing Up In Science series, founded at NYU, in which scientists tell their personal stories. It was great, as well as a bit terrifying, to tell my story and discuss with those who joined the session live. Always wanted to know about my career and life paths?

I hereby commit to flying less. This means that if you invite me for a conference, talk or visit that requires flying, I will likely decline. I am happy to travel by train and to give virtual talks. This not only reduces my carbon footprint, but also aims to question the social norm that scientistsContinue reading “Flying less”