Research output per year
Research output per year
I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Psychology at UEA, working with Prof Teodora Gliga on an ESRC funded project aiming to understand how access to language may shape conceptual and cognitive development in hearing and deaf infants. You can read more about the aims of this project here. This project is conducted alongside Dr Nadja Althaus, who is also at the School of Psychology at UEA, Dr Evelyne Mercure, from the School of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London and Prof Marie Smith, from Birkbeck College, University of London.
I conducted my PhD research at the Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science with the Tiny to Tots lab, under Dr Sarah Gerson, Dr Chiara Gambi , and Dr Ross Vanderwert. During my PhD, I explored infants’ early verb comprehension and associations between infants’ language acquisition and motor development. Across my research, I employ a range of techniques includingelectroencephalography/event-related potentials, eye-tracking, behavioural coding, and parent-report measures.
Research Positions
Research Assistant
School of Psychology, Cardiff University
October 2021-March 2022 (part-time)
I worked with Dr Chiara Gambi to collect data on a British Academy/Leverhulme Trust funded project exploring children's incorrect predictions when listening to complex syntactic structures. In this project, we collected data from 4 year old children using eye-tracking and standardised language measures.
Research Assistant
School of Psychology, Cardiff University
2017-2019
In this role, I assisted Drs Sarah Gerson, Ross Vanderwert and Travis Proulx in conducting their research projects that spanned different topics such as face and emotion processing, mimicry, coding skills in children, motionese (i.e., infant directed actions), action understanding, and cognitive dissonance/cognitive conflict. During this time, I collected data from infants and children of different ages (6 months to 7 years and adults) using a variety of techniques including eye-tracking, pupillometry, ERP and EEG, observation and parent-report measures. I oversaw the day-to-day organisation of the Tiny to Tots research lab and laboratories as well as creating and managing the Tiny to Tots Participant Panel, a database of local families interested in taking part in developmental research.
Education
PhD in Developmental Psychology
Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science
School of Psychology, Cardiff University
2019-2023
Neurocognitive Methods for Infant and Toddler Research
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Summer School, 2017
Cognitive Neuroscience MSc
School of Psychology, University of Sussex
2015-2016
Psychology BSc
School of Psychology, Aberystwyth University
2011-2014
Widening Access, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Outreach
As LGBTQ+, first-gen researcher, I think that making higher education and science more accessible is really important. Outside of my research, I volunteer in roles that aim to widen access to help underrepresented people enter higher education and improve equality, diversity and inclusion. I am also passionate about helping children and their caregivers to get involved in developmental science.
Widening Access
Social Mobility Mentor, Psychology Career Mentor 2021
The Social Mobility Foundation is a charity which supports social mobility for young people. SMF provides opportunities, and networks of support for 16-17 year olds who are unable to get them from their schools or families. In this role, I mentored a college student prior to their UCAS applications. As a mentor, I helped a student build knowledge about psychology and associated careers, support their university application, develop skills, and learn how to network.
https://www.socialmobility.org.uk/
Social Mobility Foundation Futures Day, Psychology Speaker 2021
Providing an introduction to psychology career pathways for Yr12 students from low-income households and without family history of going to university.
https://www.socialmobility.org.uk/
Nuffield Research Placement Co-Supervisor 2019
The Nuffield Foundation provides research placements for students from low-income households and without family history of going to university.
https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Athena Swan Gender Equality Steering Group Member 2018-2019
The Athena Swan Charter is a framework which is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research.
https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan-charter
Getting Kids and their Caregivers Involved in Science
Frontiers for Young Minds
I've previously published in Frontiers for Young Minds, an open access journal for kids and teens! Here, scientists summarise their published work for kids which is also reviewed by kids. You can check out the article I contributed to with my PhD supervisor, Sarah Gerson, and colleagues here: https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2019.00044
Stepping into the Minds of Children
In 2018, during my Research Assistant role, with colleagues at Cardiff University I organised an ESRC Festival of Social Science event targeted at parents to help them learn about the most up-to-date developmental science coming out of our research centre. We organised a range of educational stalls based of different research topics and research groups and parents were able to take part in our quiz to win prizes! Details about this event can be found here: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/events/view/stepping-inside-the-minds-of-children
Doctor of Philosophy, Developmental Psychology: Infant verb understanding and its links with motoric experiences, Cardiff University
Jan 2019 → Jun 2023
Award Date: 16 Jun 2023
Master of Science, Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Sussex
Award Date: 13 Oct 2016
Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Aberystwyth University
Award Date: 17 Jul 2014
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review