Cosima Pfannschmidt studied Economics (B.Sc.) and Sociology (M.A.) at Ludwig-Maximilians-University München, as well as Buddhist and South Asian Studies. From 2022-2024 she worked in the German Bundestag as parliamentary assistant. During her studies she worked at Max-Planck-Institut for Tax Law and Public Finance and Technische Universität München as student assistant.

Since May 2024, she is research assistant at the Berlin branch of FZI and part of the House of Participation (HoP). She coordinates the research project TWON – Twin of Online Social Networks, which is funded by the European Commission. She has a particular interest in societal polarization, the influence of online social networks on democratic debates and the role of AI in the spread of disinformation.