Lab members
Find out more about our lab members.
Meet the team
Lab directors
Lab Director
Professor Emily Farran
Professor in Developmental Psychology
Biography
I completed my PhD at the University of Bristol in 2001. I then took on a lectureship position at the University of Reading. I then moved to the UCL Institute of Education in 2008, before joining the University of Surrey in 2018. My research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy, the Leverhulme Trust, the Nuffield Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, the Education Endowment Fund, the Waterloo Foundation, Autour des Williams, the Williams Syndrome Foundation, and Fondation Jerome Lejeune.
Lab Co-director
Dr Debbie Gooch
Lecturer in Developmental Psychology
Biography
I completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of York in 2004 followed by an MSc in Reading, Language and Cognition. Since completing my PhD at the University of York (2005-2009) I have held several postdoctoral and lecturing roles. Most recently I worked as postdoctoral project manager on the Surrey Communication and Language in Education Study (SCALES) at Royal Holloway/University College London. I joined the University of Surrey as a Lecturer in Developmental Psychology in September 2017.
Current lab members
Affiliate lab member
Dr Katie Gilligan-Lee
Lecturer in Developmental Psychology
Biography
Katie completed an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin (2012) followed by a MPhil in Psychology and Education at the University of Cambridge (2013). She obtained her PhD in Developmental Psychology from University College London (UCL) before joining the University of Surrey as a Lecturer in October 2018.
Emma Campbell
Postgraduate Researcher
Biography
I am in the final year of PhD studies at UCL Institute of Education, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. My studies are supervised by Professor Emily Farran and Dr Emma Sumner (formerly Professor Liz Pellicano) of the Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education.
I am interested in the proposed link between vision and motor control, and my current research investigates whether visual tracking abilities and the predictive control of eye movements are impaired in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), and whether this relates to their motor difficulties. Working with children aged 5-15, I am in the process of profiling typical and atypical development of oculomotor control as well as assessing motor skills across a range of domains (fine and gross motor, balance etc.). I am interested in how we can encourage children’s development of visuomotor skills for use in everyday life (at school, in the home). In particular, those with DCD struggle with skills that most children find easy (such as throwing and catching). Therefore, based on the findings of my first study, the next step in my PhD is to think about the root of these difficulties and how they can be overcome in everyday life.
My previous work in the lab has included a cross-sectional study looking at the development of mathematical ability in children with cerebral palsy.
Publications
(Critten, V., Campbell, E., Farran, E., & Messer, D. (2018). Visual perception, visual-spatial cognition and mathematics: Associations and predictions in children with cerebral palsy. Research in developmental disabilities, 80, 180-191).
Sarah McCarthy
Postgraduate Researcher
Biography
Sarah is a Postgraduate Researcher at the University of Surrey. Sarah is currently researching how spatial reasoning training can be used with children from low-income backgrounds to support their mathematics understanding. Prior to starting her PhD Sarah was a Research Assistant at Surrey, investigating the use and impact of the Spatial Reasoning Toolkit – a set of resources designed to support practitioners and families in developing children’s spatial reasoning. Sarah also works for the University of Roehampton, as the Co-Investigator for Applied Musicology projects. She is leading a project investigating the development of children's patterning skills in the auditory and visuo-spatial domains. Prior to working in the CoGDEV Lab, Sarah completed her MSc in Psychology (Conversion) at the University of Surrey. Sarah has over 20 years’ experience in marketing and communications gained in the Financial Services sector.
Contact information:
Jovana Durica
Postgraduate Researcher
Biography
Jovana is a Postgraduate Researcher at the University of Surrey. Her research is centred around exploring the relationship between anxiety and reading disorders in adolescents, as well investigating the risk and protective factors for developing anxiety for adolescents with reading difficulties. By gaining valuable insights into the aforementioned topics, Jovana hopes to in the future be able develop an anxiety intervention to help adolescents with reading disorders.
Jovana has been practicing as an educational psychologist for 5+ years and has had extensive experience with children and young people with special educational needs. As such, she is extremely passionate about her thesis topic as she has seen the effects of anxiety in adolescents with reading difficulties first hand, in practice.
Contact information:
Katie-Anne Costello
Research Assistant
Biography
Katie is a Research Assistant for Prof. Emily Farran. Katie is currently working on the “MATHeMatical Inclusion for NeuroDiversity (MathMIND)” project, investigating thinking skills and school environments contributing to strong numeracy for children with genetic syndromes. Prior to starting this role Katie was a Psychology undergraduate at the University of Surrey, where she worked as a placement student in the CoGDeV lab. During this time, she worked on projects investigating the relationship between spatial skills and mathematical ability in children, including: “BLOck Construction Skills for Mathematics (BLOCS)” and “SPAtial Cognition to Enhance mathematical learning (SPACE)”.
Contact information:
Rachel Baxter
Project Manager - Young minds for STEM futures
Biography
Rachel is a Project Manager working with Prof. Emily Farran to increase the awareness of the importance of spatial reasoning in educational practice and policy. She was the Project Officer for the SPAtial Cognition to Enhance mathematical learning (SPACE) programme which investigated the impact of block construction sessions, paired with teacher training, on children’s spatial skills and mathematics competence. Rachel also worked with Dr Anna Cook to evaluate the Autism Central Peer Education programme, commissioned by NHS England and run by a consortium of charities led by the National Autistic Society (NAS). Prior to joining the University of Surrey, Rachel ran projects and held operational and financial roles in the Financial Services Sector. She has a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, a Diploma in Design, Manufacturing and Management and has attained Six Sigma Blackbelt and Chartered Financial Analyst status.
Contact information:
Jenny Tan
Placement Student
Biography
I am currently completing my placement year as part of my BSc Psychology degree at the University of Surrey, working as a research assistant in the CoGDeV lab. I will be assisting with a number of projects and working on tasks at various stages of the research cycle, including data analysis, participant recruitment and writing up reports. This transferable, hands-on experience will be of value not just in my final year of university but also when it comes to job searching and furthering my career in the field of psychology.
Sophia Alexiou
Placement Student
Biography
I am an undergraduate psychology student from the University of Bath, currently undertaking my placement year in the CoGDeV lab as a research assistant. This is an exciting opportunity to gain practical experience in the field of psychology, and I am looking forward to exploring the different areas of research across the lab. This will expand my knowledge for the final year of my undergraduate degree and help explore my interests further for future career development.
Lizzie Sheridan
Placement Student
Biography
I am a BSc Psychology student at the University of Surrey, completing my professional training year as a research assistant working on multiple projects across the NDevR and CogDev labs, my main project is looking into the experiences of neurodiverse students at university. This is an amazing opportunity for me to apply knowledge to real world research and further my interest in this area of psychology.
Matthew Poole
Placement Student
Biography
I am an undergraduate student undertaking my placement year as a research assistant in the CoGDeV lab in the School of Psychology, University of Surrey. I will be working with Dr Debbie Gooch and other members of the research team on a number of exciting projects, mostly centred around understanding the association between neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g. Dyslexia, DCD and ADHD) and how these conditions impact mental health outcomes. This placement will be a great opportunity to learn about current research, develop my practical research skills and work as part of a research team.
