Serena Does (she/her) is endowed professor of social inequality & resilience at VU Amsterdam and scientific advisor and senior researcher at the Verwey-Jonker Institute. Her chair is funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment through the Knowledgeplatform for an Inclusive Society (KIS).
Her research focuses primarily on intergroup relations and the psychology of social inequality, and has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as American Psychologist, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Social and Personality Psychology Compass, and Social Psychological and Personality Science, and featured in outlets such as Harvard Business Review, Vox, and The Washington Post.
Before joining VU Amsterdam, she was senior researcher and acting director in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She obtained a Master's degree (cum laude) and a PhD in social and organizational psychology at Leiden University. She completed her postdoctoral training in UCLA's Department of Psychology, Harvard Kennedy School's Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, and later at UCLA Anderson School of Management, where she went on to become senior researcher.
Students who are interested in doing research on social inequality are encouraged to reach out.
