Teaching

I oversee tutorial teaching in Experimental Psychology for St. Catherine’s students reading for Experimental Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics, and Biomedical Sciences. I tutor students in my areas of specialty (developmental psychology, developmental cognitive neuroscience, attention) across all years and courses. In addition, I lecture Prelim students (1st Year undergraduates), Part 1 students (2nd Year undergraduates), Part 2 students (finalists) and MSc students in developmental psychology and the developmental cognitive neuroscience of attention and control. I supervise final year undergraduate students for their research projects and dissertations.

About me

I am originally from Milan, Italy, but after an International Baccalaureate at the United World College of Southern Africa (Swaziland), I decided not to settle for a while. I completed a BSc in Psychology at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, spending a year as a visiting student at Queen’s University in Canada. I then read for a PhD in developmental cognitive neuroscience at the Institute of Child Health, University College London.

After a brief visiting fellowship (now developed into an ongoing collaboration) at the Sackler Institute of Developmental Psychobiology, Cornell University and Weill Medical School (New York), I held a permanent appointment as a lecturer at the School of Psychology, University of Nottingham. I have been based at St Catherine’s since October 2006.

Research

My research focuses on the processes underlying the development of attentional control and those underlying attentional difficulties, from their neural correlates to their outcomes on emerging cognitive abilities. Addressing these questions involves combining the study of typical attentional control with research on neurodevelopmental disorders of attention that affect molecular pathways and neural circuits involved in attentional control development:

(1) disorders with a well-defined genetic aetiology (e.g., fragile X syndrome, Williams syndrome, Down syndrome, sex chromosomal trisomies); and

(2) complex behavioural syndromes of mixed aetiology (e.g., AD/HD). You can read more about my research group here.

Graduate supervision

I supervise DPhil students in attention, brain and cognitive development, and you can read more about our research themes here.  At the College level, I also mentor graduate students in Psychology and Biomedical sciences taught and research courses.

Departmental webpage