IOB awarded two prestigious EU postdoctoral research projects

Anthony Fernandez, Assistant Professor of Applied Philosophy, and Nikos Ntoumanis, Professor of Motivation Science, have been successful in securing two prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie post-doctoral fellowships by the European Union.

The new post-doc working with Anthony Fernandez, within MoCS and the Danish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS), will be Dr. Enara Garcia, currently lecturer in the department of philosophy, University of the Basque Country.

Dr. Tim Budden, currently a lecturer at Central Queensland University will be working with Nikos Ntoumanis within DRIVEN and DIAS.
Both fellowships will be hosted at the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics (IOB), providing an interdisciplinary environment that integrates expertise in philosophy, psychology, and sport science.

Will investigate potential for enhancing psychotherapy with affective atmospheres

Enara Garcia obtained her PhD in 2022 from University of the Basque Country. The title of her post-doc is THERASPHERES: Therapeutic Atmospheres. Enara’s project scored 98%.

The post-doc project will investigate how affective atmospheres within therapeutic settings impact the effectiveness of psychotherapy, with a focus on the therapeutic alliance and significant therapeutic change events.

Enara Garcia joins SDU on June 1st. Her advisors will be Anthony Vincent Fernandez and Sarah Trasmundi (Department of Culture and Language). During her postdoc, Enara will also carry out a secondment in Barcelona.

Extends DRIVEN’s focus on motivational dynamics of goal flexibility

Tim Budden obtained his PhD about a year ago from the University of Western Australia. The title of his post-doc is: GoalFlex: Developing an integrative framework of goal flexibility, depression, and anxiety symptomatology. Tim’s project scored 97%.

The post-doc work extends Nikos Ntoumanis’ past theoretical work on the motivational dynamics of goal flexibility, supported by funding bodies in the UK (ESRC) and Australia (ARC).

Tim is very much interested in the promotion of mental health. He is particularly committed to exploring how flexible goal-setting strategies can support emotional wellbeing, and how they might be applied in clinical and everyday settings to alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Tim Budden will join IOB at the beginning of 2026. His advisors at SDU will be Nikos Ntoumanis, Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumanis, and a colleague from Psychology, Associate Professor Maria Semkovska. During his post-doc, Tim will have placements at universities in Australia and the US.

About the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF) are part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program.

The MSCA fellowships are among the most competitive in Europe and globally and are seen as a prestigious step in a research career.

Learn more about Marie Skłodowska-Curie post-doctoral fellowships here. 

Contact

Anthony Fernandez, Assistant Professor of Applied Philosophy
The research unit, Movement, Culture and Society (MoCS)
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics
Danish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS)
University of Southern Denmark
T: +45 6550 2566
afernandez@health.sdu.dk

Nikos Ntoumanis, Professor of Motivation Science
Danish Centre for Motivation and Behaviour Science (DRIVEN)
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics
Fellow of APA, BPS, SBM, ACSS
Danish Institute of Advanced Study (DIAS), Chair
University of Southern Denmark
T: +45 6550 4525
nntoumanis@health.sdu.dk