About
I am a lecturer at the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading, where I am part of the Centre for Autism. My research focuses on the development of visual perception and decision-making through childhood, and how these processes are altered in neurodevelopmental conditions like autism and dyslexia.
Current research
I am currently using a combination of psychophysics, electroencephalography (EEG) and computational modelling to understand better how autistic and dyslexic children process sensory information. I hope that my research will lead to a better understanding of the sensory reactivity differences experienced by autistic individuals, which may help to develop education and intervention programmes. I hold a Wellcome Trust grant in which I am collaborating with Dr Louisa Thomas at University of Reading, Professor Gaia Scerif at the Attention, Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) lab in Oxford, Dr Nathan J Evans at University of Queensland, Professor Anthony Norcia at the Stanford Vision and Neuro-Development Lab (SVNDL) and Professor Eric-Jan Wagenmakers at the University of Amsterdam.
Education
I completed a BA in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford (2007-2010). Next I completed an MRes (2010-2011) and PhD in Psychology (2011-2014) at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE), UCL Institute of Education, London, supervised by Professor Liz Pellicano and Professor Tony Charman, in which I focused on visual motion processing in children with and without autism.
Previous academic positions
Alongside my PhD, I worked as a Research Officer at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE), UCL Institute of Education, London, with Professor Liz Pellicano on a Medical Research Council grant testing Bayesian models of autistic perception (2013-2014). Following my PhD, I held the Scott Family Junior Research Fellowship in Autism and Related Disorders at University College, Oxford (2014-2017) working alongside the Oxford Study for Children's Communication Impairments (OSCCI) group headed by Professor Dorothy Bishop. I held a stipendiary lectureship in Experimental Psychology at Pembroke College, Oxford (2015-2016) and two short-term visiting scholarships at Stanford University, USA (2016, 2017). Most recently I was a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford and a Supernumerary Fellow at University College, Oxford.
Awards
In 2022 I was awarded the British Psychological Society (BPS) Developmental Psychology Section Neil O'Connor Award. I was awarded the Applied Vision Association (AVA) David Marr Medal and the Experimental Psychology Society (EPS) Prize Lecture in 2021, and received the Reproducible Autism Science Award at Autistica's Discover conference in 2019. In 2018 I was recognised as an Association for Psychological Science (APS) Rising Star. In 2016 I was awarded the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Distinguished Dissertation Award for my PhD thesis. I won the Gibbs' Prize for best undergraduate dissertation in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford (2010), and an Exhibition Scholarship at St Hugh's College, University of Oxford (2008).
Teaching and service
This year I am teaching on the Development across the Lifespan Masters Conversion module and convening the Vision in Typical and Atypical Development final-year undergraduate module at University of Reading. I am also an academic tutor and a placement and PhD supervisor. I have previously supervised undergraduate and Masters research projects and dissertations and conducted undergraduate admissions interviews. I have given tutorials, seminars and lectures at undergraduate and graduate level, covering topics in research methods and statistics, introductory psychology, perception and developmental psychology. I have served on the review panels for Autistica, the International Society for Autism Research and Vision Sciences Society. I have organised public events including an autism film screening and half-term activities for children and am currently working on a Wellcome Trust funded engagement project to inform about sensory processing differences in autistic people (Sensory Street).
Current research
I am currently using a combination of psychophysics, electroencephalography (EEG) and computational modelling to understand better how autistic and dyslexic children process sensory information. I hope that my research will lead to a better understanding of the sensory reactivity differences experienced by autistic individuals, which may help to develop education and intervention programmes. I hold a Wellcome Trust grant in which I am collaborating with Dr Louisa Thomas at University of Reading, Professor Gaia Scerif at the Attention, Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) lab in Oxford, Dr Nathan J Evans at University of Queensland, Professor Anthony Norcia at the Stanford Vision and Neuro-Development Lab (SVNDL) and Professor Eric-Jan Wagenmakers at the University of Amsterdam.
Education
I completed a BA in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford (2007-2010). Next I completed an MRes (2010-2011) and PhD in Psychology (2011-2014) at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE), UCL Institute of Education, London, supervised by Professor Liz Pellicano and Professor Tony Charman, in which I focused on visual motion processing in children with and without autism.
Previous academic positions
Alongside my PhD, I worked as a Research Officer at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE), UCL Institute of Education, London, with Professor Liz Pellicano on a Medical Research Council grant testing Bayesian models of autistic perception (2013-2014). Following my PhD, I held the Scott Family Junior Research Fellowship in Autism and Related Disorders at University College, Oxford (2014-2017) working alongside the Oxford Study for Children's Communication Impairments (OSCCI) group headed by Professor Dorothy Bishop. I held a stipendiary lectureship in Experimental Psychology at Pembroke College, Oxford (2015-2016) and two short-term visiting scholarships at Stanford University, USA (2016, 2017). Most recently I was a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford and a Supernumerary Fellow at University College, Oxford.
Awards
In 2022 I was awarded the British Psychological Society (BPS) Developmental Psychology Section Neil O'Connor Award. I was awarded the Applied Vision Association (AVA) David Marr Medal and the Experimental Psychology Society (EPS) Prize Lecture in 2021, and received the Reproducible Autism Science Award at Autistica's Discover conference in 2019. In 2018 I was recognised as an Association for Psychological Science (APS) Rising Star. In 2016 I was awarded the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Distinguished Dissertation Award for my PhD thesis. I won the Gibbs' Prize for best undergraduate dissertation in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford (2010), and an Exhibition Scholarship at St Hugh's College, University of Oxford (2008).
Teaching and service
This year I am teaching on the Development across the Lifespan Masters Conversion module and convening the Vision in Typical and Atypical Development final-year undergraduate module at University of Reading. I am also an academic tutor and a placement and PhD supervisor. I have previously supervised undergraduate and Masters research projects and dissertations and conducted undergraduate admissions interviews. I have given tutorials, seminars and lectures at undergraduate and graduate level, covering topics in research methods and statistics, introductory psychology, perception and developmental psychology. I have served on the review panels for Autistica, the International Society for Autism Research and Vision Sciences Society. I have organised public events including an autism film screening and half-term activities for children and am currently working on a Wellcome Trust funded engagement project to inform about sensory processing differences in autistic people (Sensory Street).