Sonja Perkovic receives DKK 2,874,201 from the Independent Research Fund Denmark
Assistant professor Sonja Perkovic from the Department of Management has received a grant from the Independent Research Fund Denmark under the Inge Lehmann programme for her project on endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
We are exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals on a daily basis through food and other products that affect the hormones in our body. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals contribute to an increased risk of several disorders, for instance reduced fertility, overweight and cancer. Despite this fact, many laypeople underestimate the risk of endocrine-disrupting chemicals compared to experts. But why is that?
In the project: Using cognitive biases to increase risk perceptions of endocrine-disrupting chemicals: ReBIAS", assistant professor Sonja Perkovic will set out to investigate whether this is due to cognitive biases (systematic errors in our decision-making processes). In collaboration with experts within social science and health science, the project will identify which cognitive biases make us overestimate or underestimate the risk of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The aim is to balance the effect of one type of cognitive bias with another cognitive bias to align people’s risk perceptions in this field more closely with that of experts. Sonja Perkovic expects the project to help improve our risk perception and risk behaviour in relation to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and thus improve our overall health.
About the Inge Lehmann programme
The Inge Lehmann programme is part of the political agreement on the allocation of research reserve funds in 2022.
The programme is open to all fields of study and to both men and women. But based on dispensation under section 3 of the Gender Equality Act, the Independent Research Fund Denmark will generally choose female rather than male applicants in cases where both are equally qualified. However, this is done in a way that includes an objective assessment which takes into account all special criteria concerning the applicants, regardless of gender.
The 2022 agreement on the allocation of research reserve funds has resulted in DKK 80 million for the Inge Lehmann programme. Minus the cost of administering the funds, there are DKK 78.8 million left for funding. 221 researchers have applied for funding and 28 applicants have received a grant. The rate of success is 13 per cent if you measure the number of applications and 14 per cent measured in terms of the amount of funding.
Read more about the Independent Research Fund Denmark