Meet our team
Meet our team
David Janků
Founder and Executive Director
david.janku@effectivethesis.org David founded and Is Executive Director of Effective Thesis. He has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Masaryk University, MSc in Organizational Psychology from the University of Leeds and works toward PhD in Sociology of Science at Charles University in Prague. He also works in the Czech Science Foundation in the development and analyses team, collaborated on a couple of academic research projects and helps organising international research symposium on academic inequalities and epistemic gaps in science funding.
Silvana Hultsch
Managing director
silvana.hultsch@effectivethesis.org Silvana is Managing Director at Effective Thesis and previously led and developed our coaching services. She is also Community Manager on the Effective Thesis community platform. She holds two bachelor's degrees in Philosophy & Economics and in Management and a master's degree in Practical Philosophy from Stockholm University.
Diwangna Kathuria
Marketing and Communications Director
diwangna.kathuria@effectivethesis.org Diwangna is the Marketing and Communications Director at Effective Thesis. She has a degree in Information Science Engineering and experience working across tech, travel and education brands. Previously, she has worked in International Education as a Marketing Advisor for Masters and PhD programs, particularly in STEM.
Aleksandrina Dimova
Community Manager
aleksandrina.dimova@effectivethesis.org Aleksandrina is Community Manager on the Effective Thesis community platform. She holds a B. A. in Psychology with a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies from New York University Abu Dhabi. Since September 2021, Aleksandrina has been working as a research assistant in psychology. She has contributed to projects focusing on child development, emotion regulation, mental health, and working memory.
Sophie Kirkham
Content Manager
sophie.kirkham@effectivethesis.org Sophie is the content manager for Effective Thesis. They have a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Oxford and are currently studying a master’s in psychotherapy. Previously they worked in operations for an education startup and as a freelance editor.
Our Coaches
Apply for our coaching and the coach who is the best fit for you will support you in your journey towards an impactful research career.
Marie Zedler
Head of Coaching
Marie is the Head of Coaching at Effective Thesis and is responsible for managing the coaching services and our expert network. She holds a BSc in Neuroscience from UCL and is currently working towards an integrated MRes+PhD in Sensor Technology at the University of Cambridge. Her most recent research focused on developing low-cost sensors for the early detection of plant stress. Marie’s interests include alternative proteins and the food system, biosecurity, as well as community building. In her free time, Marie loves rock climbing, ice skating and cold water swimming, and she needs ideas for a new sport to try out!
Conor Spence
Coach
Conor is a Coach at Effective Thesis. He enjoys helping talented students have a high positive impact through their thesis and study decisions. He enjoys discussing interesting impactful topics and encouraging and motivating people. He has a masters in neuroscience and a background as an educator, researcher, and coach within universities and the non-profit sector. He also enjoys throwing ultimate frisbees when he has time.
Opportunities Search Team
Adéla Novotná
Newsletter manager
Adéla identifies promising research-related opportunities for students and writes the Effective Thesis opportunities newsletter. She has a background in Psychology and focuses mainly on Research in Social Psychology. She was one of the first students coached by Effective Thesis and wrote her Bachelor's thesis on the Influence of animal advocacy movies on meat consumption.
Vivek Verma
Opportunities search volunteer
Vivek is studying an Msc. Informatics at the University of Delhi and previously studied a Bsc. in Electronic Science. He began working on Machine Learning projects during his undergrad and is currently focused on learning software engineering and Machine Learning engineering. He is also exploring AI safety. Vivek is participant on the AGISF programme run by EA Cambridge.
Kalori Wesonga (Wes)
Opportunities search volunteer
Kalori Wesonga (Wes) is a postgraduate law student at the Kenya School of Law. Wes has always had a deep passion for improving the life outcomes of youth. At Effective Thesis, he does this by identifying research opportunities for students, focusing on biosecurity and pandemic preparedness. He has a background in mental health research, policy, and climate change advocacy. In his free time, he enjoys reading literature on AI safety and policy, and global catastrophic risks.
Our Expert Network
Our coaches can connect you to researchers from our network of over 100 experts, who can help you find the most important open questions in your field.
Philip Trammel
Philip Trammel is a research affiliate at the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford University. He advises students on applications of economic theory to global priorities research.
Cassidy Nelson
Cassidy Nelson is Co-Lead of the Biosecurity Research Group at the Future of Humanity Institute. She advises students on health security, biosecurity and pandemic prevention.
Vanessa Kosoy
Vanessa is a research associate at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. She advises students in mathematics, computer science and other quantitative degrees interested in human aligned artificial intelligence research.
David Denkenberger
David Denkenberger co-founded and directs the Alliance to Feed the Earth in Disasters (ALLFED). He has 65 peer-reviewed publications and is the third most prolific author in the field of existential and global catastrophic risk.
Maxime Stauffer
Maxime is a co-founder and chief executive officer of the Simon Institute for Longterm Governance. Max advises students in political science, behavioural sciences, mathematics and physics interested in improving political decision making.
Parendi Birdie
Parendi Birdie is the Head of Brand Strategy at Mission Barns. She advises students who are interested in both technical and non-technical areas of the field of cellular agriculture.
David Moss
David is the Principal Research Manager at Rethink Priorities and a research fellow at Canterbury Christ Church University. David advises students interested in moral psychology and empirical social science.
All others
There are many other researchers and collaborators for whose support we are very grateful.