Shir
Genzer

Shir Genzer is a PhD student in the Psychology Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the supervision of Azrieli Early Career Faculty Alum Prof. Anat Perry.

Her research focuses on the mechanisms that enable us to understand others’ emotions and feelings, specifically, how different information channels (visual, auditory, and semantic) contribute to cognitive and affective empathy.

She combines behavioural, physiological, and EEG methods as well as advanced statistical methods (e.g., mixed model analysis, Bayesian modelling analysis) to analyze the empathy abilities of both neurotypical people, people with clinical conditions such as autism and ADHD, and stroke patients. Shir hopes to shed light not only on deficits but also on conditions that enhance the emotion recognition abilities of individuals from these clinical populations. By shifting the focus from difficulties to strengths, she hopes to facilitate the development of better intervention approaches and improve the daily social functioning of neurodiverse individuals.

Shir was born and raised in Bet Lehem Haglilit with three sisters: an identical twin and two younger sisters who are also identical twins. She received her BSc in psychobiology and the Amirim Natural Sciences Program from the Hebrew University, where she was an active member of the student union, working to improve the rights of students. In her free time, Shir volunteers with autistic children and enjoys dancing, reading, and spending time with her family and friends