Lab members
Find out more about our lab members.
Meet the team
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.
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:
Mollie Cooke
Postgraduate Researcher
Biography
I am a first-year PhD student at the University of Surrey, supervised by Dr Jo Moss and Professor Emily Farran and funded by The Cerebra Network. My research aims to better understand predictors of autism in children with rare genetic syndromes, with the goal being to contribute towards more accurate identification of autism within this population.
Prior to beginning my studentship at Surrey, I was a Research Assistant at University College London for two years, assisting on a longitudinal study investigating language development in minimally verbal/non-speaking children. I have a BSc in Psychology and MSc in Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences and previously worked within the charitable sector as an advice worker for parent-carers.
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:
Christine Jodie Tolentino
Placement Student
Biography
I am a BSc Psychology student at the University of Surrey, currently undertaking my placement year as a Research Assistant under Prof. Emily Farran in the CoGDeV lab. I am helping with the MathMIND project, which explores spatial and mathematical abilities in kids. I hope to gain relevant experience and develop practical skills for psychological research and use what I’ve learnt for my dissertation.
Ikram Ibraheem-Alabi
Placement Student
Biography
I am a BSc Psychology student at the University of Bath, currently completing my placement year as a Research Assistant in the CoGDeV Lab, working alongside Professor Emily Farran. During my placement, I will be involved in several projects exploring children’s spatial and mathematical abilities. I am looking forward to gaining valuable experience in this field and developing skills that will contribute to my future career in psychology.
Annabelle Collins
Placement Student
Biography
I am a BSc Psychology student at the University of Bath, currently undertaking my placement year as a Research Assistant at the CoGDeV lab. I will be working alongside Dr Debbie Gooch, assisting on various projects including research into the experiences of neurodivergent students in higher education. I’m looking forward to gaining practical research skills that will be useful in both my final-year and a future career in psychology.
Lab directors
Lab Director
Professor Emily Farran
Professor in Developmental Psychology
Biography
I am a Professor of Cognitive Development, at the University of Surrey, UK, where I direct the Cognition, Genes & Developmental Variability Lab. 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. The broad aim of my research is to characterise typical and atypical development of cognitive functions within the context of the developing brain. This includes a focus on the relationship between spatial thinking and Science and Mathematics achievement. I was awarded the 2024 Impact and Engagement award from the Developmental Psychology section of the British Psychological Society. My research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy, the Leverhulme Trust, the Nuffield Foundation, Wellcome, the Education Endowment Foundation, 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 postdoctoral roles on the Wellcome Language and Reading Project at the University of York (2009-2012) and on the Surrey Communication and Language in Education Study (SCALES: project manager 2012-2017) at Royal Holloway/University College London. I joined the University of Surrey as a Lecturer in Developmental Psychology in September 2017.
