Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Centre for Reproductive Health
University of Edinburgh
I am a cognitive neuroscientist interested in how people understand complex narratives. My research focuses on the ways in which semantic and social cognition facilitate narrative comprehension, how this skill and the brain networks that support it change across development, and, in an emerging line of research, the role of individual differences in narrative cognition. In this latter work, I am applying precision neuroimaging techniques to characterise the topography of interlocking default networks within individuals to better understand the unique contributions these networks make to narrative processing. I am separately examining how differences in the perception of narrative content may drive differences in engagement of the default, social, and semantic brain networks.
My research is motivated by three fundamental themes:
(1) Investigating interactions across cognitive systems
(2) Studying cognition in context using naturalistic paradigms
(3) Examining development of cognitive systems that support real-world processing
To investigate these topics, I use behavioural and neuroimaging methods, most consistently functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Where possible and when the research question is well-suited for it, I use naturalistic stimuli, such as narratives and movies, to better approximate cognition as it occurs in day-to-day life.
I am currently working as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh working on the PREterm Neurodevelopment and COGnition (PRENCOG) study. My role in the study is to collect and analyse fMRI data at 5 years of age to study cognitive outcomes in school-aged children born preterm and at term. The overarching goal is to better understand the brain development of children born preterm in order to better support their positive growth and outcomes as they get older.
A representative overview of my research is provided below. For a complete list of publications, see my Google Scholar profile.
Semantic and Social Word and Event Content
The neural basis of naturalistic semantic and social cognition
Lexical-Semantic Content
The words that little by little revealed everything: Neural response to lexical-semantic content during narrative comprehension
Emotion Recognition
Brain mechanisms underlying reading the mind from eyes, voice, and actions
Differential recruitment of theory of mind brain network across three tasks: An independent component analysis
Sensory Processing in Autism
The impact of atypical sensory processing on social impairments in autism spectrum disorder
Media coverage discussing the research
I engage in open research practices such as pre-registration and sharing data, materials, and code, most often via Open Science Framework
I have given talks on open research practices and pre-registration and registered reports, and I currently serve as a Scientific Transparency Editor at Cortex.
I have also developed or contributed to the following open science tools:
My teaching and mentoring philosophy is informed by the Neurodiversity and Universal Design for Learning frameworks. As such, I recognise the need for inclusive practices such as incorporating diverse perspectives into course materials, actively soliciting student input and flexibly adapting to student needs, providing materials in accessible formats, evaluating learning and engagement through multiple means, and respecting the backgrounds of the students to enable everyone to take part.