Chair in Cognitive Science,
University of Bristol (UK)

Stephan Lewandowsky is a cognitive scientist interested in the pressure points between the architecture of online information technologies and human cognition, and the consequences for democracy that arise from those pressure points. This has led him to examine the persistence of misinformation and spread of “fake news” in society, including conspiracy theories, and how platform algorithms may contribute to the prevalence of misinformation. He is also interested in the variables that determine whether or not people accept scientific evidence, for example surrounding vaccinations or climate science. Because his research speaks to important contemporary issues, he works with policy makers, mainly at the European level, to make democracy more resilient to toxicity online. He also contributes to public debate through opinion pieces in the media and public engagements. In 2022, 2023, and again 2024 he was identified as a highly cited researcher by Clarivate. He was elected to the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) in 2022.

Professor of Public Health Risk Communication
Amsterdam UMC,
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Netherlands)

Danielle R. M. Timmermans is Professor of Public Health Risk Communication at Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where she also head of RISC Amsterdam, a centre of expertise on health risk communication and decision making. As principal investigator, she leads an interdisciplinary team studying how citizens, professionals and policymakers interpret and respond to health risk information. Her research bridges theory and practice, aiming to support informed decisions and effective risk management by offering clear, timely communication to the public and evidence-based guidance for policy and care. Her work focuses on individual and shared decision making, health and risk literacy, and the communication of scientific uncertainty, with applications in cancer and prenatal screening, vaccination, food safety, environmental risks and other health-related behaviours. From 2013 to 2019, she served as Chief Science Officer for Risk Communication at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. Author of over 210 peer-reviewed papers, with more than 6,400 citations, Timmermans is recognised as one of Europe’s leading voices in risk communication.

Titular Professor in English Linguistics,
University of Fribourg (Switzerland)

Steve Oswald is Titular Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Fribourg and lectures at the University of Neuchâtel. His research lies at the intersection of cognitive pragmatics, linguistics, cognitive psychology, argumentation theory and discourse analysis, with a central focus on the relationship between language and cognition. He is particularly interested in how implicit meaning, commitment attribution and covert strategies (such as insinuation, fallacies or rephrasing) shape argumentative practices and their rhetorical effects. He approaches argumentation from theoretical, empirical, methodological, and experimental perspectives. His most recent work has been conducted in two SNF-funded projects: IMAFUN, on the rhetorical role of implicit meaning, and AMoRe, on rephrase strategies in deliberative argumentation. A key figure in the European argumentation community, he is vice-chair and founding member of the European Conference on Argumentation (ECA), former vice-chair of the APPLY network, and founding member of the CoRReA research collective.