Project Title: Investigating electrophysiological signatures in early symptom emergence of ASD and ADHD” 

Mary’s project is part of the BASIS STAARS study (http://staars.org), a prospective longitudinal study which follows infant siblings with and without a family history of ASD and/or ADHD. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), her PhD aims to 1) investigate the association between language development and early attention to properties of speech, and 2) explore underlying electrophysiological markers of language development, and how these may be associated with attentional, social and communication outcomes

 

Prior to starting her PhD, Mary completed a year-long research placement on the BASIS STAARS study at King’s College London (KCL). She has previously been actively involved as a research assistant with Dr Caroline Catmur, indirectly investigating mirror neuron activity in adults using electrophysiological methods.  

As a Graduate Teaching Assistant, Mary has led EEG demonstrations and delivered talks on Psychological Skills. She has also supervised undergraduate Psychology students research projects. 

Mary is passionate about raising student’s aspirations; during the last 5 years, she has mentored young people through Widening Participation programmes at both the University of Surrey and KCL.  

Mary gained her BSc in Psychology at the University of Surrey, and her MSc in Genes, Environment and Development in Psychology and Psychiatry at KCL.