Group Director

Professor Martin R Yeomans 

Martin joined the University of Sussex in 1989, where he is currently Professor of Experimental Psychology and Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange. He has established a strong research group exploring various aspects of human eating and drinking, with over £3 million in grant income at Sussex to date. He currently supervises 3 DPhil students, and most of his 20 previous DPhil students have gone on to research careers in academia or industry. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications and around 20 book chapters and co-edited a recent book on Flavor, Satiety and Food Intake.  

Martin has a long history of engagement with the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries internationally, with consultancy and contract work with many international companies.

An important outcome of his research has been the development of bespoke software (the Sussex Ingestion Pattern Monitor: SIPM) which facilitates experimental studies of appetite control, flavour evaluation etc.  For details please go to the SIPM website. 

Address: PEVENSEY 1 1C04, School of Psychology, University of Sussex.
Email: martin@sussex.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1273 678617. Internal: 8617

Co-investigator

Dr Rhiannon Armitage 

Rhiannon first joined SIBG as an RA on a Leverhulme-funded research grant in 2018, and then progressed onto a PhD studentship (2020 - 2024) further understanding individual differences in sweet liking and their implications for obesity, funded through a Leverhulme Doctoral Centre at Sussex.  She then moved to a combination of a follow-on postdoctoral post through the same Leverhulme centre and a 3-month role as postdoctoral researcher on a UKRI AKTP award looking at the use of Smart Glasses to measure eating.  She is now working as a postdoc on a project looking at the effects of a 4-day working week on a wide range of health measures, but retains a key role as a researcher in SIBG as well.

PhD Students

Tatum Sevenoaks

Tatum joined the group in September 2022 as a PhD student funded by a SoCoBio DTP scholarship. She was award her MSc in Neuroscience from the University of Cape Town and BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology from Newcastle University. Her research focuses on the effects of habitual caffeine use and acute caffeine abstinence on mood, cognitive performance and brain activity. 

Address: BEED GA12, School of Psychology, University of Sussex.
Email: T.Sevenoaks@sussex.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0) 7384 506522.

 

 

Meera Vinu

Meera joined the group in September 2024 on PhD stduentship funded by the School of Psychology at Sussex.  She had just completed a Masters at Kings Colleged, London, having previously completed her undergraduate Psychology degree at Sussex.

Email: mv306@sussex.ac.uk

Esther Amayo

Esther completed a 4-month rotation for her PhD at Sussex between November 2022 and February 2023, before moving to University of Aberystwyth where she is completing the rest of her PhD.  She retains close links with Sussex, is publishing her Sussex rotation study and is planning a follow-up study to run shortly

Email: eaa18@aber.ac.uk

Placement Student

Olivia Whitworth

 

Oliviajoined the group in September 2024 as a placement student. She is currently doing her undergraduate degree in Psychologyt the University of Sussex.

 Address: School of Psychology, University of Sussex.
 Email: gam39@sussex.ac.uk

 

 

 

Honorary Members

Dr. Chi Thanh Vi

Chi was a Research Fellow in SIBG from 2018-2022 and remains a key collaborator. More information. 

Address :
Email: C.Vi@sussex.ac.uk

Vasiliki Iatridi

Vasiliki was a PhD from 2017-2021. She is currently lecturer in Nutrition at Oxford Brookes University, but remains a key collaborator on a number of ongoing projects. (more information)

Email: viatridi@brookes.ac.uk

 

 

Una Masic

Research Psychologist, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

Keri McCrickerd

Experimental Psychologist based in the Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences

Keri_McCrickerd@sics.a-star.edu.sg

 

Previous Members

Helena Blackmore

Helena was a PhD in SIBG from 2018 - 2022., funded by a  Fonds Baillet Latour scholarship. Her research focused on expectations and how these can be manipulated to improve consumer experience and promote acceptance of low and non-alcoholic beer.

Email: Helena.Blackmore@sussex.ac.uk

 

Jenny Morris 

Jenny started her PhD in Psychology at Sussex in 2016. She also received her BSc in Psychology at Sussex and worked as a research assistant during this time on a project investigating how reward influences intrusive thoughts. Her research involves cognitive psychology and behavioural methods to test the mechanisms of distraction induced over-eating. This includes the effect of distraction, specifically perceptual load, on awareness of food cues, intake, flavour and satiety.

Address: 4B9, Pevensey 2, School of Psychology, University of Sussex.
Email: jm560@sussex.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0) 1273 678916. Internal: 8916.

Peter Hovard

PhD Student 

Aaron Brace

PhD Student

Tomo Ridley-Siegert

PhD Student