Juan C Melendez is professor of the Department of Developmental and Educational psychology, director of the research group Aging: Cognition and Emotion -EnveCoEm - GIUV2016-320- and Coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Psychogerontology: Life Cycle Perspective, University of Valencia, Spain. He obtained his PhD in 1994 on aging at the University of Valencia. His research focuses on the psychological mechanisms of aging. Within this field, he has developed two lines of research. Optimal aging, investigating the psychological processes of coping and adaptation, well-being and integrity. Dementia and cognitive impairment, investigating the cognitive processes of recollection and familiarity and the application of neurorehabilitation techniques based on non-invasive transcranial stimulation. In addition, in the applied field studied the efficacy of reminiscence therapy and cognitive training and stimulation in older adults.

Research projects:
IP Project I+D+I PSI2013-43533-R Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad Retos de la Sociedad. Experimental analysis of false recognition in normal and pathological aging.

IP Project I+D+I PSI2016-77405-R Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad Retos de la Sociedad. Deficits in familiarity and false recognition as markers of cognitive impairment: experimental and longitudinal analysis in healthy elderly, MCI and Alzheimer patients.

IP Project I+D+I PID2019-103956RBIOO Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Society Challenges. Experimental analysis of patterns of familiarity, recollection and false recognition, and effects of cognitive neurostimulation in healthy elderly and Alzheimer's Disease.

IP Project I+D+I PID2022-136798OB-I00. Ministry of Science and Innovation, Knowledge Generation Projects. Combined intervention using transcranial direct current stimulation and cognitive stimulation in patients with mild and major neurocognitive disorder.

Full Professor of Developmental Psychology at the UV and accredited to Full Professor in Health Sciences, with 3 five-year teaching periods and 4 six-year research periods, PhD in Psychology and specialist in Clinical Psychology; she has been a Specialist Clinical Psychology Practitioner in various Mental Health Units of the Generalitat Valenciana and Management Technician in Health Institutions (currently on leave of absence).

Lecturer in the Official Interuniversity Master's Degree in Psychogerontology, where he teaches the subject Evaluation and Clinical Intervention in Ageing. She has supervised more than 90 TFM and TFG and 8 Doctoral Theses. She has participated in more than 30 R+D+i projects (regional, national and European) and research contracts, as well as in more than 200 scientific publications, including articles (more than 90 in Web of Science - Core Collection), books and book chapters (25) and more than 130 scientific congresses. He has carried out research stays for more than 2 years, mainly in European universities, with which he maintains stable work collaboration (University College Cork - Ireland, Aston University - Birmingham - UK, Lancaster University, etc.). 

She is also director of the Psychology line of the Interdisciplinary Modeling Group-InterTech and the Research Group at the University of Valencia Psychology, Development, Health and Society (PSDEHESO).

Currently, her main line of research focuses on Health Psychology, particularly in two areas: psychosocial and lifestyle factors involved in health and healthy aging, and Frailty Syndrome and high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Paz Viguer Seguí holds a PhD in Psychology and has been an Associate Professor (Profesora Titular) in the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Valencia since 2000, where she has carried out her teaching and research activities since 1994. Her work has focused on the study and promotion of optimal development across the life span, evolving towards the analysis of positive youth development processes, socio-emotional competencies, socio-educational intervention and, more recently, media and information literacy for critical thinking.

Since 2001, she has directed the Research Group on Developmental Optimization (GIOE) and, since 2019, the Research Group on Optimal Development (GIDOP), created through the integration of GIOE and the Attachment Relationships Research Group. Her research focuses on identifying factors and processes associated with positive development and well-being, as well as on the design, implementation and evaluation of programmes aimed at children, adolescents, young people, families and communities. Her most recent research interests include media and information literacy and its role in fostering critical thinking among adolescents and young people. She currently works in interdisciplinary teams involving specialists in psychology, education, sociology, methodology and socio-educational intervention.

Throughout her career, she has led and participated in numerous competitive research projects at regional, national and international levels, as well as research and knowledge transfer contracts and agreements with public administrations and social organisations. This activity has resulted in a sustained scientific output including articles in national and international journals, book chapters and monographs, recognised through three six-year research assessment periods (“sexenios”) and one knowledge transfer assessment period. She has also undertaken research stays and collaborations with national and international universities and research centres and regularly participates in scientific evaluation processes as a reviewer and evaluator for agencies such as ANEP, CNEAI and AGAUR, in addition to serving as a reviewer for specialised scientific journals.

Knowledge transfer and social impact are central dimensions of her academic work. From the outset of her research career, she has developed a model of collaboration between universities, public administrations and community organisations focused on identifying social needs, designing evidence-based interventions and evaluating their outcomes. This work has led to the development of violence prevention and coexistence promotion models, participatory methodologies for working with families, socio-educational support programmes for adolescents and young people, and community-strengthening strategies implemented in diverse municipalities and institutional settings through the creation of stable networks of collaboration among universities, public administrations and social organisations.

Her commitment to youth issues has been constant throughout both her professional practice and her research and knowledge transfer activities. In 2022, she was appointed Director of the University of Valencia Youth Chair (UV-IVAJ), created through a collaboration agreement between the University of Valencia and the Valencian Youth Institute (IVAJ). In this role, she promotes applied research, specialised training, technical advisory work and science communication, strengthening links between academic knowledge, youth professionals and public policies. The Chair has established a broad network of collaboration with municipal youth services, intermunicipal associations, social organisations and public administrations throughout the Valencian Community, currently involving more than 70 municipal services and around 50 social organisations, while also participating in European initiatives and projects.

Committed to training new generations of researchers and professionals, she has supervised more than 25 Master's dissertations and doctoral theses and has contributed to the development of early-career researchers through research grants, contracts and projects. She has also carried out extensive supervision of external academic placements and worked closely with institutions and organisations in professional settings.

In the field of teaching, she has extensive experience across undergraduate, master's and doctoral programmes. Since 2009, she has coordinated the course Developmental and Educational Optimization within the Psychology Degree. She has also been involved for more than three decades in coordinating the Practicum of the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology. In addition, she chaired the Teaching and Academic Affairs Committee for almost a decade, playing an active role in the planning, monitoring and continuous improvement of teaching programmes and degree courses. Her teaching activities are complemented by participation in educational innovation projects aimed at improving learning processes, academic and social adjustment, and the overall university experience of students.