Affiliation: University College London, UK
Keywords: Neuroscience, Neuroimaging
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Full profile:
I did my undergraduate studies (BSc Neuroscience) at Cardiff University (not Exeter as IRIS likes to believe…) and subsequently decided to stay there also to do my PhD in the lab of Frank Sengpiel. Subsequently, I did a brief postdoc project at the University of Birmingham, where I moved into human neuroimaging and cognitive neuroscience. In 2008 I moved to University College London to join the lab of Geraint Rees at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging (the “FIL”) and the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (ICN) as postdoctoral research fellow. In 2012, I was awarded generous funding in the form of an ERC Starting Grant to support my research. I moved to the department of Cognitive Perceptual & Brain Sciences (CPB) and the Birkbeck-UCL Centre for Neuroimaging (BUCNI) to set up an independent lab there.
Research Summary
My current research revolves around the study of individual differences in brain architecture and perceptual function. I am also interested in the question what kind of information processing in the brain depends on whether this information reaches conscious awareness. In the longer term, I hope to make a contribution to our understanding of qualia and what in the brain makes us who we are. My work mainly employs functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioural, psychophysical measurements. However, I have also been known to use magnetoencephalography (MEG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and other neurophysiological techniques. The methods are merely the tools; what matters most are the biological questions motivating our research. Therefore the choice of methodology is driven first and foremost by whatever technique is best suited to address the particular question we are addressing at the time.