Senior Lab Members
Assoc Prof Michelle Downes
Assoc Prof Michelle Downes is an Associate Professor and Ad Astra Fellow at UCD School of Psychology. She is Director of the UCD Babylab and Director (rotating) of the Neuropsychology Lab. Prior to joining UCD in 2016 she worked as a research associate at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, where she also obtained a PhD in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. Her PhD investigated the development and assessment of executive functions in typically developing children as well as preschool children with sickle cell disease using electroencephalography, eye-tracking, and behavioural methods. She completed an Msc in Paediatric Neuropsychology at UCL (with distinction) and holds a 1.1 BA (Hons) degree in Psychology from the National University of Ireland, Galway. She completed a neuropsychology research internship at the Brain Tumour Clinic at Children’s Hospital Boston in 2010.
She is particularly interested in the development of executive functions and early learning skills in young children. Her research also focuses on the impact of disease-related and environmental factors, such as sleep and family function, on brain and behaviour development in children. She investigates brain and cognitive development in typically developing children and paediatric patient populations (including children with epilepsy, sleep issues, sickle cell disease, ADHD, Tourette’s Syndrome, and children born pre-term).
Research interests key words: executive functions, attention, learning, infancy, toddler, preschool, educational neuroscience, developmental cognitive neuroscience, sleep
Prof Jessica Bramham is a Professor in Clinical Neuropsychology and Deputy Head of the UCD School of Psychology. As an undergraduate, she studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, then completed a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology followed by a PhD in Neuropsychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. Jessica worked as a clinical psychologist in the Neuropsychiatry Department at the Maudsley Hospital and co-ordinated the UK National Adult ADHD Service. She became a Clinical Lecturer at King's College London in 2004.
Jessica was appointed at UCD in January 2008. Her main research area is adulthood ADHD and its co-morbidities. She teaches neuropsychology at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Dr Flavia Santos is an Ad Astra Fellow and Assistant Professor at the UCD School of Psychology. She obtained a PhD in Science at the Federal University of São Paulo and accomplished a PhD exchange at Durham University, UK. Her PhD investigated working memory neuroplasticity in children with cerebral palsy using MRI and neuropsychology. Dr Santos completed a residency in Child Neurology at AACD and a Specialization in Paediatric Psychology at the Federal University of São Paulo. Before joining UCD, she worked as an Associate Professor at the University of Murcia in Spain. She also founded and directed for nine years the Laboratory of Neuropsychology at UNESP, São Paulo State University (2004-2013). In Brazil, she edited three bestselling books in Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation and authored the book Developmental Dyscalculia, published by Pearson in 2017.
Beyond instilled research in memory (prospective, emotional, and working memories), she is interested in numerical cognition and mathematics anxiety. Her research is focused on enhancing mathematics learning using computer-assisted instruction and musical training in children with developmental dyscalculia and pre-schoolers. She aims to unveil the mechanisms of mathematics learning and the neurophysiological responses related to interventions.
PhD Students
Sophie Leonard
Sophie Leonard is a PhD candidate studying under the supervision of Dr Flavia Santos. Her research investigates the development of numerical cognition and spatial reasoning in children with and without developmental dyscalculia. Sophie also completed her Undergraduate and Masters degrees in UCD, during which time she conducted research in the areas of social cognition, perception, embodiment and perspective-taking.
Christina Seery
Christina Seery is an MLitt/PhD student under the supervision of Professor Jessica Bramham, in collaboration with the HSE’s National Clinical Programme for ADHD in Adults and ADHD-Ireland. Her research explores digital health psychoeducation-based interventions for adults with ADHD and she will be developing and evaluating a smartphone app and workshop series.
Christina graduated with a first-class honours BA (Hons) in Psychology from University College Dublin, during which she compared mental health attitudes between categorical and formulation approaches to mental health. She has worked on a variety of projects as a research assistant in differing topics, including the emotional burden of peer mentoring, psychological interventions in clinical supervision and the stigmatising effects of psychiatric diagnoses.
Christine Boyd
Christine Boyd is a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Jessica Bramham (School of Psychology) and Professor Aisling Mulligan (School of Medicine). Her research is funded by the HSE and aims to establish the efficacy and acceptability of the new National Clinical Programme for Adults with ADHD being rolled out across the country.
Christine completed an MSc in Psychological Science in Queen’s University Belfast in 2018 and has since worked as a research assistant in various fields including empathetic technology, positive psychology, and student satisfaction research. Alongside this she has spent time working as an assistant psychologist in an educational setting and is interested in the applied clinical aspects of psychology.
Clara Stein
Clara Stein (she/her) is an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholar. Her PhD research investigates the impact of cognitive reserve on cognitive functioning in people with multiple sclerosis. This research is supervised by Professor Jessica Bramham and Dr Fiadhnait O’Keeffe, and conducted in collaboration with St. Vincent’s University Hospital.
Clara’s PhD builds on her MSc Behavioural Neuroscience research (first class honours, UCD School of Psychology), which investigated the role of estimated premorbid cognitive functioning in differences between self-reported cognitive difficulties and cognitive assessment in people with multiple sclerosis.
In addition to conducting research on brain and cognitive functioning, Clara enjoys communicating science to general audiences via articles, blog posts, social media, and volunteering with science outreach organisations.
Abigail O’Connell
Abby is a PhD candidate with the School of Psychology at UCD under the supervision of Dr Michelle Downes. She is a graduate of the BSc Psychology from UCD and the MSc in Clinical Neuroscience from the University of Galway.
Her Masters' dissertation focused on the cognitive abilities of patients with schizophrenia, with a major focus on the influence of childhood trauma, parental bonding, and inflammatory biomarkers. Abby is interested in research in developmental neuropsychology and working with young children. This interest has progressed from her undergraduate studies to now, having represented the University of Galway's School of Neuroscience at primary school workshops, to joining the UCD BabyLab.
Abby is very excited to begin her PhD work, as part of the ECHO project, investigating the neurocognitive development of infants exposed to E-cigarettes.
Undergraduate Students
Isabel Williams
Isabel Williams is a current final year student of the UCD BSc in Psychology, and wrote our blog post on "how systematic reviews help us to advance research in neuropsychology". Her final year research project is investigating how language ability, emotion regulation and gender contribute to empathy development in toddlers.
Research Assistants
Olivia Wynne
Olivia is a recent graduate of the BSc Applied Psychology course at IADT and is currently a student on the Masters of Psychological Science program at UCD.
Olivia is interested in Developmental Psychology and is especially interested in investigating the factors which encourage engagement in young children. This interest developed during Olivia’s time as a volunteer at the Children’s Unit in the National Rehabilitation Hospital and during her time coaching and encouraging young children to develop through sport.
Olivia is delighted to join the team as a Research Assistant on a project exploring parents’ experience of inattention in the first years of formal education.
Maisie Flynn
Maisie is a student on the Masters of Psychological Science at UCD. Maisie has worked as an Assistant Psychologist in an education setting and as a primary-level teacher.
Maisie is has a particular interest in the relationship between psychology and education and how the two can work together to enhance the experience of learners and teachers.
Maisie is currently working on a research project that aims to explore teachers’ perspectives of mind-wandering or inattention in the early classroom setting.
Former Lab Members
Former Postdoctoral Researchers
Nabil Hasshim
Nabil Hasshim’s research background is in psycholinguistics and executive function development. He conducted research at the Psycholinguistics Lab at the National University of Singapore where he did his Bachelor’s degree, and at the Applied Cognitive Development Lab at the National Institute of Education in Singapore as a research assistant.
Prior to joining UCD, Nabil was based at Bournemouth University where he completed his PhD at the Cognitive Control Lab, followed by a postdoctoral position at the Centre for Face Processing Disorders. Nabil’s PhD examined the measurement of inhibition using behavioural and eye-tracking methods. His broader research interests include: quantitative psychology, experimental methods, cognitive development, visual word recognition, executive functions, and attention.
Former PhD Students
Lisa Keenan
Lisa Keenan completed her PhD under the supervision of Dr Michelle Downes and Prof Jessica Bramham. Her research, which was funded by the Irish Research Council, explored sleep and executive function in children with Tourette syndrome.
Lisa obtained a first class honours BA (Hons) in Psychology from Maynooth University in 2017, where she conducted research piloting a novel neuropsychological tool to assess learning and memory. In 2018, she graduated with a first class honours Master’s in Psychological Science from UCD. Her Master’s research focused on primary school teachers’ experiences with executive dysfunction and neuropsychological reports in classroom settings.
Twitter: @lisa_keenan1
Clara Sherlock
Clara Sherlock completed her PhD under the supervision of Dr Michelle Downes (UCD), Dr Christine Linehan (UCD) and Dr Cathy Madigan (TSCUH). Her research was funded by the Temple Street Foundation, and aimed to establish rates and trends in neuropsychological assessment and treatment of Irish children with epilepsy.
Clara completed a BEd in Education and Psychology in 2016, researching teachers’ attitudes towards children with ASD in her final year. She then spent two years teaching children in special education settings. Clara recently graduated with distinction from the MSc in Paediatric Neuropsychology programme in University College London, during which time she investigated behavioural and neuroimaging differences between boys and girls with ADHD and DCD.
Twitter: @Clara_Sherlock_
Jennifer Keating
Jennifer Keating completed her PhD under the supervision of Dr Michelle Downes and Prof Jessica Bramham. Her research focused on sensory processing in infants and children with a family history of ADHD, and its links to temperament and attention development.
Jennifer had previously graduated with first class honours from the BA in Psychology programme at UCD, during which time she investigated perspective taking and theory of mind in the general population and the effect of autism tendencies and psychosis proneness.
Twitter: @jenkeatss
Rebecca Gaffney
Rebecca Gaffney completed a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in UCD. Rebecca investigated potential early markers of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with infants who are at risk of developing ADHD.
Within this study she examined the relationship between language development, early adaptive behaviours and social/emotional development in infants two years of age and younger whose parents or siblings have ADHD compared to age matched controls.
Former MSc Students
Maria Dinca
Maria Dinca completed her MSc Behavioural Neuroscience under the supervision of Dr Michelle Downes. Her research explored sleep patterns in children with ADHD and children with Tourette syndrome.
Maria had previously graduated with first class honours from the BSc Psychology programme at University College Dublin, during which she completed a summer internship in the lab in 2019 through the UCD COSSL Student as Partners Development Award with Dr Michelle Downes exploring early markers of sleep and attention development. Her undergraduate research project focused on the area of divided attention and executive functions.
Twitter: @Maria_Dinca_
Ruth Gallagher
Ruth Gallagher completed her MSc Behavioural Neuroscience under the supervision of Prof. Jessica Bramham. Her Master’s thesis investigated the effects of impulsivity and ADHD on a newly developed gamified version of the Stop-Signal task in children.
Ruth graduated with a BA (International) from University College Dublin in 2020, having studied for a year at l’Université Catholique de l’Ouest, Angers. Her undergraduate thesis examined accent-based prejudices towards those who speak English as a foreign language. Ruth has also worked as a data assistant with the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal project on children, carried out by the ESRI and Trinity College Dublin.
Former Research Assistants
Sarah Conroy
Sarah Conroy holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from National University Ireland, Galway (NUIG) and an MSc in Applied Psychology from Trinity College Dublin (TCD). She worked as a research intern at Goldsmiths University London, where she assisted in the Neuropsychology lab with the running of various EEG experiments. She also interned at the Birkbeck University Babylab, where she was part of the research team investigating the early development of siblings with Autism, ADHD and typical development.
At the UCD Neuropsychology Lab, Sarah worked on our project investigating attention development in ADHD.
Emma Cullen
Emma Cullen graduated from the Master’s in Psychological Science at UCD in 2017. As a Research Assistant at the UCD Neuropsychology Lab, Emma worked on a project on executive functioning in preschool-aged children, under the supervision of Dr Michelle Downes.
Her role included individually assessing four to six-year- old children’s executive functioning using measures such as the Preschool Executive Task Assessment (PETA), an ecologically valid measure of executive functioning, and the NEPSY. As part of this research, Emma was assisting in the development of a B version of the PETA, which will be used in phase two of the project.
Former MPsychSc Students
Amy McGrane
Amy McGrane completed the MPsychSc under the supervision of Dr Michelle Downes. She conducted research looking at practical tools to investigate early executive function in primary school children.
Amy had previously graduated from Maynooth University in 2018 with a BA (International Hons) Psychology degree. During this time, she conducted research in the behavioural lab, investigating the generalisation of fear and avoidance. After graduating, she spent a year working as an Applied Behavioural Analysis tutor in a specialized service for children with Autism, before starting the MPsychSc in 2019.
Twitter: @McGraneAmy
Michelle Nevin
Michelle Nevin was an MPsychSc student in UCD. She graduated with a BA in Psychology from UCD in 2017. Her final year thesis explored whether facial attractiveness can be used as a heuristic for facial trustworthiness.
Her Master’s research project, supervised by Dr Michelle Downes, explored whether certain sleeping disorders and parasomnias are more prevalent in children at high risk of ADHD.
Former Research Interns
Anna Collins
Anna Collins, a former BSc Psychology Student at UCD, completed an internship in 2019 with Dr Michelle Downes through the UCD COSSL Student as Partners Development Award exploring early cognitive development.
Başak Özkara
Başak Özkara completed a summer internship with Dr Michelle Downes in 2018 as part of the ERASMUS programme whilst a MSc Neurosciences student at the University of Bremen. During this internship, she explored sleep actigraphy in infants.
Kathy Trinh
Kathy Trinh was an undergraduate Cognitive Science student pursing her BA degree at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, USA. Her interests lie in the interdisciplinary patterns between sciences and the medical field.
She contributed to the Neuropsychology & Babylab for the summer as an intern in 2017.
Tom Herrnsdorf
Tom Herrnsdorf was an undergraduate psychology student and originally from Germany. His home university was the Freie Universität in Berlin but he decided to study in UCD for a semester.
As a research intern, Tom was thrilled to become part of the Neuropsychology team in the Babylab in 2017. He helped set up the new lab with neuropsychological assessment tools and get a closer insight of research processes.
