Project Fearless

Biography

I read for my PhD at Birkbeck College, University of London and went on to receive postdoctoral training at University College London, King's College London, the National Institutes of Health, USA and the University of Oxford.

Since 2016, I am an associate professor in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Surrey, and head of the Social Brain & Development (SBD) Lab.

As a developmental cognitive neuroscientist, I use a combination of behavioural tests and brain-imaging techniques to understand how improving cognitive abilities and changes in brain function and structure shape the emerging social brain network.

I am also investigating the role of the microbiome gut-brain axis on behaviour and brain function in development, together with the Brain NUtrition Gut Microbiome group, a multidisciplinary research group at the University of Surrey.

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Biography

Nicola is a research fellow in psychology using neuroimaging methods to investigate how brain function influences mental health, cognition, and behaviour in children and young people. At present, her research at the University of Surrey focuses on examining how bacteria in the gut can be shaped to improve psychological well-being and behaviour.

She obtained her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Surrey, where her research involved the development and application of mobile EEG in "naturalistic" experiments. Following this, she conducted neuroimaging studies with children and adolescents, using neurochemical analysis and neurofeedback techniques to deepen our understanding of emotional development.

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