Research outlines from potential supervisors

Below are research outlines from PhD supervisors who are particularly interested in recruiting a PhD student for entry in September 2026. Entry in January 2027 or May 2027 might also be possible. You are advised to contact a potential supervisor by email to introduce yourself, and discuss your research ideas, before submitting an application. Please consider writing a research proposal around the listed project or topic area. You are also welcome to contact academics who have not listed their research outlines below.

  • If a supervisor you are interested in working with does *not* have an entry below, you are still welcome to contact them to ask if they are interested in your research proposal. All academic staff are listed on our subject groups webpage.
  • Supervisors are listed alphabetically by Surname. 
  • Unless stated that ‘This studentship has guaranteed funding’, an entry below does NOT mean that the supervisor is guaranteed to be able to offer a fully funded PhD studentship. These individual studentships will be advertised on our Prospectus very soon and each will have its own closing date.
  • Applicants are otherwise encouraged to apply for a Psychology Doctoral Research Studentship (UK and International/ UK BAME); closing date Thursday 11 December 2025, which are advertised on our Prospectus.

 

  • Dr Sam Berens. Modelling individual differences in learning, conceptual understanding and generalisation
    Why do we learn some types of information more easily than others? Why do people differ in how quickly they grasp new concepts and solve unfamiliar problems? The ability to rapidly learn new information, identify hidden patterns, and generalise knowledge to new situations are key features of general intelligence. Despite their importance, we still understand little about how these abilities develop and why they vary so widely among individuals. Neural network models offer a powerful framework for investigating the brain systems that support learning, conceptual knowledge, and generalisation. However, these models have not yet been applied to explain the differences in learning and problem-solving abilities observable across various contexts and individuals.

    In this PhD project, you will develop models of learning to account for these differences. You will then test the predictions of these models using a range of techniques, including behavioural data analysis and functional neuroimaging (fMRI).

    Contact Dr Sam Berens to discuss this project prior to submitting an application.

    Subject area: Cognitive neuroscience of learning and memory

    Keywords: Learning, Conceptual knowledge, Generalisation, Modelling, Individual differences

  • Prof Chris Bird. Why do you and I remember things differently?

    Have you wondered why some people can remember an event in vivid detail while others only remember the gist of what happened?To answer these sorts of questions, my research group studies memory "in the wild", using videos, games and stories to investigate how the brain processes lifelike situations. In this PhD, you will be able to use a combination of fMRI data, memory test scores and questionnaire data to investigate why different individuals remember events in different ways. This project is a collaboration between Sussex and the University of Cambridge and Boston College (USA).

    For more information, see our project website The Episodic Memory Group or contact Prof Chris Bird to discuss this project prior to submitting an application.

  • Dr Daniel Campbell-Meiklejohn. How social factors shape human motivation and decision-making

    Our work in the Social Motivation Lab is at the intersection of social psychology and neuroscience. We are looking for motivated candidates with a strong interest in how social factors shape human motivation and decision-making.

     Potential Topics: Your project will broadly relate to social motivation, including areas like:

    • Empathy and altruism
    • Emotion regulation
    • Anxiety
    • Social conflict and inequality
    • Social influence and communication
    • Information seeking and avoidance.

    Methods & Training: You will receive full training in all necessary methods.  Projects in the lab incorporate a range of cutting-edge techniques, such as:

    • Behavioural experiments
    • Computational modelling
    • Biological measures (fMRI, psychophysiology)
    • Face processing and analysis.

    We are particularly interested in projects with strong potential for social or clinical impact.  Our lab has an excellent track record: all previous PhD graduates have moved on to exciting research positions.

    Collaborative, co-supervisory, and interdisciplinary arrangements are also possible across the University of Sussex, The Brighton and Sussex Medical School, or The Institute for Developmental Studies.

    Please contact Dan by email daniel.cm@sussex.ac.uk to discuss your application. 

  • Prof Andy Field. A PhD hosted by the Centre for Open Science and Research Reform

    The Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME) estimate that around 60,000 of social science students will experience a significant Mathematics component within their degree, with a further 150,000 experiencing some mathematics. According to a recent Higher Education Academy (HEA) survey of UK universities, in psychology alone, 100% of students experience quantitative methods/statistics modules with 79% of programmes having an approach to psychology that is mainly quantitative. In addition to its ubiquity in non-STEM degree programmes, statistics is a useful life skill: the increasing citation of statistics by journalists and politicians makes critical thinking about statistics a key transferable skill.

    Within the context of game-based learning there is little research that explores how the principles of good games specifically influence statistical learning. Does it help to have a narrative that the student finds personally relevant/engaging? How do intrinsic and extrinsic motivation interact? Will lowering the consequences of failure increase confidence and improve engagement? This project aims to take a principled approach to designing, implementing and evaluating a game-based learning environment for teaching statistical concepts that are core to first year level non-STEM degree programmes.

    I will also consider supervising other projects in the area of open science, application of statistical methods, and statistics education.

    If you are interested in doing a PhD in this area please contact Prof Andy Field to discuss this project prior to submitting an application.

  • Dr Matthias Gobel. The Social Psychology of Economic Inequality

    Economic inequality, the growing gap between those who have more and those who have less, is one of the key challenges of our time. It increases competitiveness, reduces wellbeing, and polarises our society. In everyday life, we are exposed to economic inequality in various ways (e.g., a housing estate opposite a multi-million-pound family home, a smart-dressed businessman passing a homeless person, going out with friends and not being able to afford the cocktail). This PhD research project provides an exciting opportunity to join a larger lab group (we have regular lab meetings, and ongoing research collaborations across four continents) that investigates economic inequality and socio-hierarchical differences in psychology. The different research projects in our lab try to understand when and where people experience economic inequality, how it makes them feel and what we can do about them.

    Interested candidates are encouraged to email Dr Gobel with their CV and an idea for a research proposal. He will then set-up an introductory meeting on Zoom to discuss shared research interests.

  • Prof Jessica Horst. Understanding how children learn and remember words

    The WORD Lab at the University of Sussex is open to PhD applications this year. My research investigates early child language acquisition, especially word learning, using a variety of methods from traditional word learning tasks to touchscreens to shared storybook reading. We are interested in both the environmental aspects of language development that hinder or facilitate word learning as well as the underlying attentional and cognitive processes that allow children to grow their vocabularies. Most studies focus on typically developing children with implications for children with speech and language delays or developmental language disorder. All WORD Lab PhD students have completed on time and immediately progressed to fulltime employment in academia or another setting of their choice.

    Relevant publications:
    https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13342
    https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2047
    https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.1824

    Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Prof Jessica Horst at jessica@sussex.ac.uk to discuss possible topics in this area and their proposal prior to submitting an application.

  • Dr Theodoros Karapanagiotidis. Exploring Brain Function & Ongoing Experience

    My lab's research focuses on the neural mechanisms supporting ongoing conscious experience, as well as the functional hierarchy of the human brain, information flow, neural trait-state interactions, and their associations with behaviour and dispositional traits. Some key questions include, for example: How do thoughts relate to brain functioning and well-being? How do neural signals propagate across the brain, and how might this be associated with different cognitive functions? How do neural priors and dynamics relate to behaviour, task performance, and learning? We address these questions using multiple neuroimaging modalities (i.e., structural, functional, and diffusion MRI, TMS, and E/MEG) and analysis techniques (i.e., machine learning algorithms). 

    Projects typically involve acquiring data from cohorts of neurotypical adults and include multiple elements, such as behavioural testing, neuroimaging, programming, and methods development. Additionally, we have a keen interest in conducting studies on clinical populations with mental health disorders, aiming to translate theoretical and computational findings into clinical practice, which, with the use of Artificial Intelligence, has the potential to improve the quality of life for patients. 

    Dr Karapanagiotidis would also be very happy to discuss any ideas that align with the above objectives, if you are interested please get in touch at t.karapanagiotidis@sussex.ac.uk prior to submitting an application.

  • Dr Eisuke Koya. Changes in food desirability and the impact of food cues

    Stimuli or ‘cues’ associated with food, such as fast-food signs and advertisements powerfully control our behavioural and emotional responses. For example, encountering the ‘Golden Arches’ may make one crave for a hamburger and seek it out. However, our responses to food cues are also controlled by the desirability of food. Thus, we may react less to the Golden Arches after consuming several hamburgers and feel sated, i.e. when the rewarding value of food is devalued. Recently, we found that mice react less to sucrose cues following its excessive consumption (Sieburg et al., 2019), as observed by reduced sucrose seeking behaviour. This reduction was also associated with reduced neuronal activity in the nucleus accumbens, a brain structure that is important for reward. But which brain areas might coordinate these changes in nucleus accumbens activity and the diminished reactivity to food cues? The aim of this project is to reveal the wider brain circuitry linked to the nucleus accumbens that interprets changes in the desirability of food and the resulting decreased impact of food cues. A combination of techniques such as immunohistochemistry and state-of-the-art in vivo neuroscience methods, such as fibre photometry and optogenetics will be used here to reveal these mechanisms. 

    Reference: Sieburg MC, Ziminski JJ, Margetts-Smith G, Reeve HM, Brebner LS, Crombag HS, Koya E. Reward Devaluation Attenuates Cue-Evoked Sucrose Seeking and Is Associated with the Elimination of Excitability Differences between Ensemble and Non-ensemble Neurons in the Nucleus Accumbens. eNeuro. 2019 Dec 10;6(6):ENEURO.0338-19.2019. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0338-19.2019. 

    Note: This is a neuroscience-based, animal project that would require more than the standard £900/year RTSG consumables cost for operation.

  • Dr Kathryn Lester.  School Absenteeism and Emotionally-Based School Avoidance

    The aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic has created a perfect storm for children’s school attendance, with growing circumstantial evidence for a rise in emotionally-based school avoidance (EBSA). While absence rates have increased and show no signs of returning to pre-pandemic levels, accessing psychosocial interventions for EBSA has become increasingly difficult due to access bottlenecks in specialist mental health care settings. We have developed and piloted ISAAC (Intervention for School Anxiety and Absenteeism in Children), a brief, blended parent-led intervention designed to improve attendance and reduce anxiety about attending school.

    The successful student would have the opportunity to develop and refine ISAAC. Possible research avenues include: a systematic review of existing interventions and/or patterns of absenteeism, developing intervention content targeted at high-risk groups (e.g. families with children with SEND, children from low-income families, children experiencing the transition to secondary school); exploring peer-led coaching models, developing related content for children and school staff.

    Relevant publications:

    https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12562
    https://doi.org/10.1177/13591045231222648
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-024-01755-6
    https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjment-2023-300944

    This project would suit a student interested in:

    • applied developmental, educational and clinical psychology research
    • adult and/or child mental health
    • intervention development

    The student should :

    • have experience of/willingness to use mixed methods/participatory approaches
    • have strong academic writing, organisational and interpersonal skills

    If you are interested in doing a PhD in this area please contact Kathryn Lester  at k.lester@sussex.ac.uk to discuss your research proposal prior to submitting an application.

  • Dr Liat Levita. The adolescent brain - adaptive versus maladaptive trajectories

    Dr Liat Levita's profile

    Are you interested in how the adolescent brain adapts during this critical developmental period? This PhD in neuroscience and psychology offers the opportunity to join the Developmental Adolescent Neuroscience Lab at Sussex, where we study how neural and behavioural changes in adolescence can lead to functional or dysfunctional developmental trajectories—shaping outcomes that range from resilience and positive adaptation to vulnerability.

    Our research combines EEG, MRI, MRS, psychophysiology, behavioural testing, and computational modelling to investigate individual differences and developmental trajectories, revealing the neural and behavioural mechanisms that shape adaptive and maladaptive pathways.

    Key research themes include:

    • Fear learning and extinction: How adolescents learn safety and threat cues, and their links to anxiety risk
    • Cortical plasticity: Using MRS and fMRI to examine neural function and adaptation in typical and neurodivergent adolescents and assess the impact of early-life or current adversity on brain plasticity
    • Longitudinal development: Multi-level analysis of brain, genetic, and physiological data to predict developmental outcomes.

    Additional projects: Community-based neuroimaging, metabolic psychiatry, and big-data modelling to identify biomarkers and inform personalised strategies.

    Why Choose Sussex?

    • Top-ranked for Psychology and Neuroscience research in the UK
    • Access to state-of-the-art imaging facilities and interdisciplinary expertise
    • A vibrant research community within Sussex Neuroscience Centre of Excellence, School of Psychology and Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
    • Located in Brighton – a dynamic, creative city by the sea

    How to Apply

    Ideal applicants will have a strong academic background in psychology and/or neuroscience, along with research experience in areas such as brain imaging, computational modelling, and/or programming.

    Before applying, please contact Dr Liat Levita (L.Levita@sussex.ac.uk) with:

    • A brief outline of your research interests
    • Your CV
    • Relevant experience

    This initial step will allow us to discuss potential PhD projects and work together to shape a proposal that reflects your interests while aligning with the lab’s research goals.

  • Dr Dominique Makowski. Can we influence our experience of reality? A PhD at the Reality Bending Lab.  

    The Reality Bending Lab studies reality perception, fake news, illusions, fiction, deception, neuroaesthetics, interoception, altered states of consciousness, self-control and more, by recording signals from the body (ECG, EDA…) and the brain (EEG). We apply computational modelling techniques, and we also develop open-source tools and software to improve neuropsychological science.  

    Examples of research projects: Reality Bending Lab - Research Projects

    Skills that you will learn during the PhD typically include:

    • Neuroimaging and Physiology: EEG and bodily signals recording and analysis (heart, respiration, ...)
    • Computational modelling and cutting-edge data science
    • Programming (Python, R, Julia) and reproducible research

    More details and info at: PhD in Psychology / Neuroscience

    Get in touch (D.Makowski@sussex.ac.uk) if you're interested.

  • Dr Faith Matcham. The use of digital technologies to improve the measurement and management of health.

    I am a Health Psychologist and digital mental health researcher, interested in mental/physical comorbidity, and how we might use technology to improve how we measure and manage health. 

    I work on a range of projects covering the use of different technologies applied to different clinical populations. I conduct observational (using wearable devices and smartphone sensors to measure change over time and predict outcomes) and interventional (using digital technologies to deliver evidence-based therapeutic content) research.  I welcome applicants with their own idea which aligns with my existing work, and will supervise quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods proposals.

    For applicants interested in alcohol use and addictive behaviours, I also have an opportunity to collaborate with an industry partner, using app-collected psychometrics to predict response to a digital alcohol reduction intervention. 

    Selected publications:

    • The relationship between wearable-derived sleep features and relapse in Major Depressive Disorder. Doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.07.136.
    • The association between persistent cognitive difficulties and depression and functional outcomes in people with Major Depressive Disorder. Doi: 10.1017/S0033291722003671.
    • Qualitative exploration of the psychological and social factors associated with loneliness in later life. Doi:  10.1080/17482631.2024.2398259.
    • What impacts the acceptability of wearable devices to detect opioid overdose in people who use(d) opioids: A qualitative study. Doi: 10.1111/dar.13737.

    If you are interested in doing a PhD in this area please contact Dr Matcham  at F.Matcham@sussex.ac.uk to discuss this project prior to submitting an application.

  • Dr Alexa Morcom. Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory and Ageing

    I’m keen to recruit PhD students with an interest in memory and cognitive and brain ageing (see profile and publications).

    Here are three project ideas:

    Goal-driven memory retrieval in youth and/or ageing. How do people select which memories to retrieve, and shape retrieval to meet their needs? Mental control and external cues are critical [1] but the balance may shift in later life [see 2]. You will use advanced EEG and/or fMRI brain imaging methods to test memory theories and/or age effects.

    Mnemonic discrimination in ageing. Memory for details is reduced in older age and with early Alzheimer’s pathology. This project uses our new database of 600 confusable pairs of object images and memory and similarity rating data to test different models, e.g. whether older people are biased to pattern completion rather than pattern separation [3].

    Decline and compensation in the ageing brain. Functional imaging shows striking activity increases as well as decreases in older compared to young adults. It remains controversial if/when these results reveal compensation that benefits performance [e.g. 4,5]. This data analysis project combines our novel multivariate Bayesian approach with complementary approach/es to create stronger tests of the competing theories of neurocognitive ageing.

    If you are interested in doing a PhD in this area please contact Dr Alexa Morcom at a.m.morcom@sussex.ac.uk to discuss this project prior to submitting an application.

  • Dr Raquel Nogueira-Arjona.  Transforming Mental Health and Substance Use Support in Young Adults: A Co-Production and Co-Implementation Framework.  

    Are you interested in understanding the challenges young adults face during the transition to university? This project aims to examine how mental health, substance use and academic success interact in young adults, and to develop evidence-based, inclusive support strategies using digital technologies and a community-centred approach. Working closely with students, staff and wider stakeholders, this initiative will develop a co-production and co-implementation framework that places lived experience at the heart of innovative, practical solutions to improve wellbeing and outcomes in higher education. 

    Interoceptive Processes in Addiction and Comorbid Conditions: From Transdiagnostic Mechanisms to Evidence-Based Interventions. How do people feel their bodies in addiction, and how does that shape craving, relapse and recovery? How can we use this knowledge to help prevent and manage addictive problems? This PhD project will investigate interoceptive processes (how we sense and interpret internal bodily signals) in addiction and commonly co-occurring conditions (e.g. psychosis, trauma, anxiety), using VR and other digital experimental tasks (e.g. computer-based paradigms). The ultimate goal is to use this knowledge to refine novel, personalised interventions for addiction, making this an ideal project for a student who enjoys linking mechanistic research with treatment development. 

    These positions will be based at the REALab, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of experts in mental health, neuropsychology, developmental psychology and addiction. 

    What we’re looking for 

    • A strong academic background, ideally in psychology or a related field, and an interest in applying to the SEDARC scheme or alternative funding schemes. 
    • Excitement about building strong research skills (quantitative, qualitative and/or experimental methods) in an interdisciplinary, supportive lab, with opportunities for publications, conference presentations and career development in academia, clinical research or service innovation. 
    • A passion for mental health, addiction and/or young adult transitions, and a desire for your research to drive real-world change through co-production and treatment/support development. 
    • We are particularly interested in supporting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students who approach these projects from an equality, diversity and inclusion perspective. 

    If you are interested in one of these projects and would like to discuss a research proposal, please email Dr Raquel Nogueira-Arjona at R.Nogueira-Arjona@sussex.ac.uk, including a CV and a short paragraph outlining your research interests and how they relate to the project. You are welcome to connect on REALab LinkedIn.

  • Prof Anna Rabinovich. Social psychology of cooperation around shared environmental resources and sustainability

    My research focuses on attitude and behaviour change, primarily in the area of environmental sustainability and cooperation. I approach this challenge from the perspective of group processes and communication, often as part of interdisciplinary collaborations. For example, I’ve been conducting projects on: 

    I welcome PhD students who are interested in sustainability, cooperation, group processes, attitude and behaviour change, social influence, understanding and perception of science, and communication. If you have an idea for a PhD project in any of these areas, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, and I’ll be happy to work with you on shaping the project. A.Rabinovich@sussex.ac.uk  

  • Dr Pablo Romero-Sanchiz.  Biopsychosocial mechanisms of PTSD and addictions

    Trauma exposure and addictions have a well-established connection, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Our research team has explored the role of cue exposure and attention bias using a combination of experimental designs and diverse methodologies such as fMRI, psychophysiology equipment (BIOPAC MP160), observational tools (Noldus Observer XT) or face-recognition software (Noldus Face Reader) to assess how addictions and trauma are linked at different levels. We aim to improve interventions targeting those mechanisms using virtual reality and machine learning.

    Our lab is also interested in exploring other mechanisms linking trauma and/or substance use with other disorders or variables. Please feel free to contact the team if you want to discuss the suitability of your idea for this proposal.

    Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Dr Pablo Romero-Sanchiz: p.romero-sanchiz@sussex.ac.uk

    Website

    LinkedIn

    Relevant publications:

    • Ethier-Gagnon, M. A., DeGrace, S., Romero-Sanchiz, P., Helmick, C. A., Tibbo, P. G., Crocker, C. E., Good, K., Rudnick, A., Cosman, T., Barrett, S. P., & Stewart, S. H. (2025). Trauma and cannabis cue–induced reward circuit functional connectivity in cannabis users with trauma histories. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 50(4), E237–E247. https://doi.org/10.1503/jpn.250064
    • Snooks, T., Tibbo, P. G., Romero-Sanchiz, P., DeGrace, S., & Stewart, S. H. (2025). Cannabis use regimens in trauma-exposed individuals: Associations with cannabis use quantity and frequency. Addictive Behaviors, 161, 108203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108203
    • DeGrace, S., Romero-Sanchiz, P., […]. & Stewart, S. H. (2023). Do trauma cue exposure and/or PTSD symptom severity intensify selective approach bias toward cannabis cues in regular cannabis users with trauma histories? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 104387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2023.104387Links to an external site.
    • Romero-Sanchiz, P., […], & Stewart, S. H. (2021). Craving and emotional responses to trauma and cannabis cues in trauma-exposed cannabis users: Influence of PTSD symptom severity. Addictive Behaviors, 125, 107126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107126Links to an external site.
  • Prof Julia Simner. Neurodiversity in the 5 senses: Special populations with sensory differences

    Julia Simner is a psychology professor who works with special (rare) populations who experience the 5 senses in remarkable ways. The sensory differences she studies include: synaesthesia (a type of ‘mering of the senses’), misophonia (unusual aversion to everyday sounds like chewing, and tapping), sensory sensitivities (over- or under-responding to the senses), aphantasia (absence of visual mental imagery, so a 'blind mind's eye'), dysikonesia (absence of multisensory imagery), and subgroups within autism (notably, savantism and objectophilia). These ostensibly disparate groups are united by the fact they have differences in their 5 senses, accompanied by altered brain structure and function. In her research she asks 3 broad questions: How do we process the sensory world? How do special brains do this in special ways (i.e., people with sensory differences)? And how might we support adults and children with sensory differences?  

    I am open to co-supervision arrangements with other Sussex faculty, such as Jamie Ward, Sophie Forster, Giulia Poerio etc. My research pages give more information on misophonia (www.misophonia-hub.org) and synaesthesia (www.syntoolkit.org). 

  • Dr Alice Skelton.  Seeing and Sensing the World: Early Development of Visual Experience and Nature Connectedness

    The Nature and Development Lab, part of the Sussex Baby Lab, welcomes PhD applications aligned with either of two ongoing research themes. The first focuses on how perception and cognition are shaped by the environment in the early years. For example, projects may use head-camera datasets to predict how infants’ everyday visual environments influence perceptual and cognitive outcomes (e.g., sensitivity to natural scene statistics), or use light sensor data to examine how environmental lighting patterns relate to perceptual processing or visual learning (e.g., Barrionuevo & Diaz-Barrancas, 2025; Dekker & Maimon-Mor, 2025). The second theme explores early nature connectedness, building on evidence that a bias for nature emerges gradually across development (e.g., Meidenbauer et al., 2019). It asks what “connectedness” looks like before children can self-report, how experiences across different environments, visual and beyond, support the development of nature connectedness, as well as what impact connectedness has on children’s experiences both within and outside of those environments. This includes considering the broader developmental consequences of nature connectedness for more broadly.  If your research interests overlap with these themes or explore related questions about how young children perceive and interact with their environments, you are encouraged to get in touch to discuss potential directions.

    References
    Barrionuevo, P. A., & Diaz-Barrancas, F. (2025). Melanopsin-mediated image statistics from natural and human-made environments. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 29965.
    Dekker, T. M., & Maimon-Mor, R. O. (2025). How infants look shapes what they learn. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(20), e2505492122.
    Meidenbauer, K. L., Stenfors, C. U., Young, J., Layden, E. A., Schertz, K. E., Kardan, O., ... & Berman, M. G. (2019). The gradual development of the preference for natural environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 65, 101328.

  • Dr Ediz Sohoglu. Predictive brain mechanisms supporting speech perception

    Research in my group is focussed on revealing the neural basis of auditory perception. Auditory neuroscience is a fascinating area of research, not least because the two sensory signals that mark us out as a human species – speech and music – are perceived primarily through the auditory system.

    Much of my research is motivated by the influential idea of predictive coding. That is, rather than passively processing auditory input, the brain actively generates predictions for what it might hear next. While there is broad consensus that prediction (of some kind) supports perception, the underlying neural mechanisms remain unknown.

    I am interested in supervising PhD projects addressing this issue in the context of speech processing. I have expertise in EEG and our facilities include a 128-channel system with active electrodes. I am also an advocate of modern (multivariate) analysis methods to reveal neural processes that traditional methods cannot detect. This opens new avenues for investigation with possible questions like: How are predictions and sensory input combined in auditory cortex? What is the relationship between prediction and other cognitive processes such as attention? How are predictions updated over time to support longer-term perceptual learning?

    You can read more about our work at our lab website. Please get in touch with me by email initially (E.Sohoglu@sussex.ac.uk) to discuss your application.

  • Dr. Ellen J Thompson.  Mental Health and Well-being Across the COVID-19 Pandemic: An investigation of social, environmental and psychological factors

    The COVID-19 pandemic, resulting from the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), triggered differing responses from governments around the world as they sought to safeguard their populations. In the United Kingdom (UK), a national lockdown was instigated, with regulations requiring all citizens to stay at home from 23 March 2020. Although the negative impacts of social isolation and loneliness on health and well-being are well documented (1,2), less is known about the demographic, social, environmental, and psychological factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of mental health and well-being.

    For this project, I am seeking a PhD candidate interested in leveraging existing data from a large adult twin registry (TwinsUK) (3) to explore the risk and protective factors associated with the development and persistence of mental health and well-being across the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants interested in developing a proposal on this topic are encouraged to contact Dr Ellen Thompson (e.thompson@sussex.ac.uk).

    Supervisors and training:
    This is an exciting opportunity to join a multidisciplinary project spanning psychology, epidemiology, and behavioural genetics. We welcome applicants who are interested in developing their own ideas within this area. The PhD will include interdisciplinary training in developmental psychopathology, epidemiology, and the analysis of genetically sensitive, large-scale longitudinal data sets.

    References
    1. Pierce M, Hope H, Ford T, Hatch S, Hotopf M, John A, et al. Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK population. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(10):883–92. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30308-4
    2. Anderson CG, Latham R, Zerbi C El, Strang L, Hall VM, Knowles G, et al. Impacts of social isolation among disadvantaged and vulnerable groups during public health crises Authors. 2020;(June).
    3. Verdi S, Abbasian G, Bowyer RCE, Lachance G, Yarand D, Christofidou P, et al. TwinsUK: The UK Adult Twin Registry Update. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2019;22(6):1–7.

    Recommended reading

    Holmes, E. A., O'Connor, R. C., Perry, V. H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., ... & Bullmore, E. (2020). Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. The lancet psychiatry, 7(6), 547-560. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32304649/

  • Dr. Özden Melis Uluğ. The Conflict and Collective Action Lab

    The Conflict and Collective Action Lab run by Dr. Özden Melis Uluğ is open to PhD applications this year. You are welcome to discuss and propose empirical projects relating to (1) conflict analysis and resolution (e.g., how can conflict narratives be used as interventions?; how can victimhood narratives be facilitators of and barriers to conflict resolution?) and (2) collective action and allyship (e.g., what motivates costly allyship?). I also supervise gender-related projects (e.g., feminists’ actions to challenge gender inequality) as long as your proposed topic aligns with the two research lines outlined above. At our lab, you will have the opportunity to learn about qualitative methods, quantitative methods and mixed methods. You will also have the opportunity to collaborate with other PhD students and co-supervise undergraduate dissertations with me. Please contact me by email initially to discuss your application.