Lab Members
Méadhbh B. Brosnan
Principal Investigator
Méadhbh is an Assistant Professor and Ad Astra Fellow at the University College Dublin School of Psychology and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University in Melbourne. Prior to joining UCD, she trained at a range of institutions including Maastricht University, Netherlands (Research MSc), Trinity College Dublin (PhD), Monash University, Melbourne (Postdoctoral Research Fellow), and the University of Oxford (Marie Skłodowska–Curie Fellow). Link to Méadhbh’s Google Scholar
Sarah M. Moran
PhD Candidate (Cognitive Neuroscience)
Sarah holds an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and a Master’s degree in Behavioural Neuroscience. The main focus of her PhD is the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie cognitive resilience, and she is currently investigating the role of alpha-band activity in attentional orienting. Sarah’s research interests also include perceptual decision-making, cognitive decline and impairment resulting from healthy ageing, neurodegenerative diseases, or brain injury, and how neurotechnology may be used to inform new recovery strategies.
Sorcha Denihan
MSc Candidate (Behavioural Neuroscience)
Sorcha previously graduated with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and is currently completing her Master’s degree in Behavioural Neuroscience. Her research project is examining frontal theta as a possible mechanism that modulates response speed.
Claire Flynn
Research Assistant
Claire holds a postgraduate degree in Behavioural Neuroscience from UCD and an undergraduate degree in Psychology with Neuroscience. She has a keen interest in all things brain and behaviour. She is focused on understanding the role of neural processes in making us who we are and is fascinated by how our behaviour/cognition can change through experience, new environments, or following unfortunate cases of brain damage. Claire is currently working as a research assistant with Méadhbh, continuing from her Master’s thesis which investigated cognitive reserve and how engaging with enriched environments can offer protection from cognitive decline following brain deterioration. In particular, Claire is looking at how motivation and lifestyle relate to cognition.
Lab Alumni
Dr Jake E. Toth
Jake holds an undergraduate degree in Mechatronic and Robotic Engineering and a Master’s degree in Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience. He recently earned his PhD from the Automatic Control and Systems Engineering Department, University of Sheffield, UK, where he was co-supervised by Méadhbh and Mahnaz Arvaneh. His doctoral work included developing an accessible approach for standardized transcranial electrical stimulation dosing and an investigation into the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on vigilant attention. Jake is currently a postdoctoral research fellow in the biomedical ultrasonics, biotherapy and biopharmaceuticals laboratory (BUBBL) group at the University of Oxford.
Dr Daniel J. Pearce
Daniel completed his PhD in clinical neuropsychology at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Australia, where he was co-supervised by Méadhbh and Mark Bellgrove. His research thesis explored the electrophysiological signatures underlying contralesional response speed deficits following stroke in an international collaborative project between Monash, Queensland Brain Institute, University of Oxford, and Trinity College Dublin. Daniel is now a psychologist and neuropsychology registrar, working with people of all ages.
Co-Supervised with Dr Kia Nobre at the Brain & Cognition Lab, University of Oxford
Merethe Blandhol
Merethe completed her Master’s of Science in Psychological Research at the University of Oxford. She is currently a PhD candidate in Medicine and Health Sciences at Olso University Hospital.
Xiaotong (Nancy) Ding
Xiaotong completed her Master’s degree in Clinical and Therapeutic Neuroscience.
Itzel Aguilar Gonzalez
Itzel holds a Master’s degree in Clinical and Therapeutic Neuroscience from the University of Oxford. She is currently a DPhil candidate in the Translational Neuroscience and Dementia Group at the University of Oxford.
Christos Kyriakidis
Christos graduated from the University of Oxford with a Master’s degree in Clinical and Therapeutic Neuroscience.
Collaborators
Anna C. (Kia) Nobre
Fellowship Mentor (2020 – 2022) – University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Mark Bellgrove
Postdoc Supervisor (2017 – 2020) – Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Ian Robertson
PhD Supervisor (2014 – 2017) – Global Brain Health Institute, Dublin, Ireland
Paul Dockree
PhD Supervisor (2014 – 2017) – Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Dublin, Ireland
Simon Kelly
EEG & Perceptual Decision-Making – School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland.
Redmond O’Connell
EEG and Perceptual Decision-Making – Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Dublin, Ireland
Mahnaz Arvaneh
EEG, tDCS, and Connectivity Methods – University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Elaine Corbett
EEG & Perceptual Decision-Making – School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland.
Masud Husain
Resilience and Dementia – University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Jason Mattingley
Stroke and EEG – Queensland Brain Institute, Brisbane, Australia
Dejan Draschkow
Virtual Reality – University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Alex Fornito
Connectivity and MRI Methods – Monash Brain Imaging Centre, Melbourne, Australia
Jessica Bramham
Neuropsychology – Univeristy College Dublin, Ireland