Senior Lecturer
College of Education, Psychology and Social Work
I am a cognitive neuroscientist focused on understanding the factors that shape positive social interactions involving neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals (e.g., autism, schizophrenia) as well as artificial agents (e.g., virtual avatars, robots). My broader goal is to improve the lives of all neurodiverse people by informing how we can optimise social communication in various contexts by fully understanding the perceptual (bottom-up) and psychological/cognitive (top-down) factors that shape social perception, attention and action.
A second stream of my research is exploring the potential application of social robots as an assistive technology in education settings. A particular focus of this research is to examine how the social capabilities of robots can promote positive experiences during children’s reading and language acquisition – particularly for those who experience social anxiety. Relating to this research stream, I am collaborating across several projects examining the relationship between literacy difficulties and emotional health outcomes in children and adults.
B. Psych. (Hons 1)
PhD (Human Cognition and Brain Sciences)
AWARDS
GRANTS
Deputy Course Coordinator (Undergraduate Psychology: Outreach & Student Partnership)
Director, HAVIC Lab for Human, Artificial & Virtual Interactive Cognition
I teach Cognitive Psychology - the science of understanding how our minds work. I showcase emerging research in my teaching to show how experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience methods can inform how the brain makes sense of the world around us and to explore ways in which we can improve cognitive outcomes in various contexts.