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I am an Education-Focused (EF) Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology.

Teaching

• Program Director: Graduate Certificate of Child Development and Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Advanced)
• Convenor: Physiological Psychology (PSYC3051), Introductory Psychology (PSYC5112), Evaluating Evidence (PSYC5111), Wellbeing and Resilience (PSYC5116)
• Lecturer: Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses in introductory psychology, research methods and statistics, behavioural neuroscience, cognitive psychology, physiological psychology, and child and adolescent wellbeing
• Academic course/program development: Graduate Certificate in Child Development, Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Advanced), Physiological Psychology (PSYC3051)

Research

My research background is historically in the field of behavioural neuroscience, investigating the neurochemical mechanisms that underpin fundamental learning processes. In particular, I was interested in dopamine’s function in learning associations and driving incentive motivation. This research integrates manipulations of neural function (e.g. central and systemic pharmacological inactivation, DREADDs, optogenetics) and behavioural assays designed to probe the underlying structure of learning and behaviour. Since transitioning to an education-focused position, my research interests have shifted to the Science of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) domain, and encompass an exploration of the varied cognitive and psychological factors that impact student engagement and performance. My active projects in this area focus on outcome correlates in online vs. face-to-face teaching, and fostering student engagement in online courses.