Two UG researchers join The Young Academy

In 2019, ten talented researchers from a range of disciplines will join the ranks of The Young Academy of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) . The Academy organizes activities in the field of science and society, interdisciplinarity and academic policy. Two of the ten latest recruits come from the University of Groningen: linguist Nanna Hilton and neuroscientist Marie-José van Tol. Both are also members of the Young Academy Groningen.

Dr Nanna Hilton (Faculty of Arts)

Nanna Haug Hilton (1981) specializes in sociolinguistics. She actively involves the public in her research by, for example, conducting research together with non-researchers and using modern methods such as apps. In addition, she presents the UG podcast In Science and is working on two MOOCs. Hilton helped to devise the Bachelor’s degree programme in Minorities & Multilingualism at the UG, and was part of the small team that set up the Master’s programme in Multilingualism. On joining The Young Academy, Hilton intends to continue promoting citizen science projects in line with her research.

Dr Marie-José van Tol (University Medical Center Groningen)

Marie-José van Tol (1980) is exploring the role of the brain and cognition in the development and continuation of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, and specific symptoms including suicidal tendencies. She and her team aim to improve the treatment and prevention of mental problems by, for example, finding ways of predicting which treatment will work best for which groups of people. Van Tol is also a keen proponent of involving the general public in science and research. Working with the Netherlands Brain Foundation in 2017, she set up a public laboratory in which she demonstrated that people who are prone to irritability subconsciously focus more on negative information than on positive information. During her time at The Young Academy, Van Tol wants to explore the impact that major and minor collaborative grants have on young researchers. Earlier this year, Van Tol won the Heineken Young Scientist Award.

Five years

The Young Academy comprises young researchers who are at the top of their field internationally. They share have a broad interest in science, scientific policy and the importance of communicating science. The new members will be officially installed on 21 March 2019, and their membership will last for five years. A total of 10 UG researchers are currently members of The Young Academy.