Dr. Anita Keshmirian

About me

I am a cognitive scientist based in Germany (Munich) - originally from Iran (first generation) - with a background in computer science, philosophy, neuroscience, and social psychology. In my research, I use multiple methodologies, including survey-based, behavioral, and online experiments, computational models, multivariate analysis, causal graphs, brain imaging, and applications of machine learning to tackle the mechanisms underlying moral, collective, and causal cognition.

I have collaborated with Dr. Ophelia Deroy, Dr. Bahador Bahrami, Dr. Fiery Cushman, Dr. Ulrike Hahn, Dr. Stephan Hartmann, Dr. Babak Hemmatian, Dr. Henrik Walter, and Dr. Alex Zenon.

Background

I have a bachelor's degree in computer (software) engineering and a master's degree in cognitive science from Iran. I did my second master's degree in neuroscience (double degree, Neurasmus program) in Berlin, Bordeaux, and Boston. Prior to my Ph.D., I did a lab rotation at Harvard University in Fiery Cushman's lab, where I worked on my project related to the interaction of intention and consequence in group moral decisions, at Humboldt-Universität, in Dr. Henrik Walter's lab on the role of introspection, anticipated emotions, and future thinking in self-control in an fMRI study of the insular cortex and finally with Dr. Alex Zenon lab at Bordeaux University on a project related to the mutual information-based neuroimaging investigation of perceptual decision making. I completed my Ph.D. at the graduate school of systemic neuroscience (GSN) at LMU in 2021, where my doctoral research focused on the cognitive science of group decision-making in social and moral contexts. Currently, I am working on causal reasoning and argumentation using Bayesian networks at LMU (Munich) MCMP as a postdoctoral researcher. I am also a research scientist at Reasoned AI Decisions Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems IKS where I work on the application of Bayesian reasoning in AI.

Education

Post-Doctoral Researcher (2021 – present) LMU, Munich University, Germany. Subject: Robust Argumentation Machines: Bayesian Belief Networks in (Social) Argumentation.

Ph.D. in Systemic Neuroscience – LMU, Munich University - Graduate School of Systematic Neuroscience (2018 – 2021). Committee: Ophelia Deroy, Bahador Bahrami, Fiery Cushman (Harvard). Dissertation: Moral decision-making in and for groups.

MSc in Neuroscience (Double degree) Berlin-University Charite (Medical Neuroscience) (2016 – 2017) University of Bordeaux (Cognitive Neurosciences) (2017-2018). Thesis: Neuroimaging investigation of perceptual decision-making as a function of task difficulty.

MA in Cognitive Science - Cognitive Psychology – Social Cognition track. Institute of Cognitive Science (2014-2016) Thesis: The role of the Internet in moral decision-making.

BA in Computer Engineering Tehran Azad University (2005-2009). Thesis: Quantum computers: algorithm and architecture.

Teaching Experience

Values in Science, Winter semester 2018 (LMU-Munich)
Minds and Methods (finalist seminar) summer semester 2020, Winter semester 2021 (LMU- Munich)
A Biological and computational approach to moral cognition, Summer 2020 (Center of Cognition-Iran)
Neuroscience of Social Cognition, winter 2022 (Center of Cognition, Iran – Tehran University)
Bayesian Networks in Cognitive Science, 2022 (Center of Cognition-Iran)
Experimental design and data analysis in R, Winter 2022 - 23 (LMU-Munich)

Skills

Research Design

online (survey-based) and social psychology laboratory-based experiments, as well as conducting behavioral, online, and lab-based group experiments to capture the cognitive mechanism underlying decision-making, field research, and experimental design using games.

Statistical analysis

logistic, ordinal, and Bayesian hierarchical mixed effect models, applications of machine learning, graph theories, and causal models in data analysis. Data visualization techniques and tools using different packages in R.

Programming R (Expert), Python (Intermediate) - MATLAB (Intermediate), SQL (Basic).

Soft Skills

Ability to work in collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and culturally diverse environments. Ability to lead a project, make decisions and solve problems. Strong verbal and written communication skills. Ability to work in a team structure. Ability to plan, manage and prioritize parallel projects. Ability to obtain and process diverse information. Ability to analyze quantitative data and create and/or edit written reports.

Other Qualtrics (Expert) –SPM (Mutual Information based analysis).

Languages English (Advanced) - Farsi (Native) - French (B2) - German (A2).