About

My main teaching duties focus on psychobiological and neuropsychological approaches to psychology which I teach at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. I teach Psychobiology as a core module on the undergraduate Psychology degree. I also deliver two option modules for final year students based around my research interests. One on Addictive Behaviours and Neuropsychology. At masters level I teach on the MSc Applied Cognitive Neuroscience , MSc Developmental Psychology and MSc Psychology. I also supervise research students at undergraduate, master's and PhD level.

I have two main areas of research interest which focus on psychobiological approaches to reward and stress and the interaction between these two constructs. My main research focus is on Cognitive Impairment Associated with Dopamine Dysfunction. My second area of research interest is on: Stress & Immunological Dysfunction in Relation to Hair Loss: in particular the Alopecias. This research was the subject of a BBC Radio Four Programme, along with several local radio discussions and interviews. With my co-researcher I am also closely involved with Alopecia UK, a charity devoted to helping people with alopecia. I am a member of the Management Committee, the Advisory Panel and the Research Committee, and have written several leaflets for the charity to help sufferers.

I am a member of the British Psychological Society, and a Chartered Scientist. I am also a member of the UK Dermatologists Network.

Psychobiological and neuropsychological approaches to psychology, psychobiological approaches to reward and stress.

Teaching

Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics

College of Social Sciences and Arts

Psychology 

Psychology and Law BSc.

Research

I have two main areas of research interest which focus on psychobiological approaches to reward and stress and the interaction between these two constructs.

My main research focus is on

Cognitive Impairment Associated with Dopamine Dysfunction

Dopamine is the major substrate for the reward pathways in the brain and my research focuses on the ways that these pathways influence higher cognitive functioning and ultimately behaviour. This has led to me developing a model of this pathway based on attentional theory and testing this model using various research techniques and populations. So far, I, along with colleagues at the Open University, have built a robot that embodies the principles of the supervisory attentional system and tested the robot's behaviour after implementing the intact system and following systematic lesions to disrupt the pathways. Lesions resulted in abnormal behaviours by the robot that mirror some human conditions (eg Parkinson's disease).

To examine attentional function further, I have studied higher cognitive function in children with attentional difficulties, and normally developing adolescents. This research is conducted with colleagues at SHU& Sheffield University.

My interest in reward mechanisms has led me to examine behaviour relating to natural reinforcers (food and eating behaviour) and abnormal reinforcers (drugs and behaviours with abuse potential).

Stress and Immunological Dysfunction in Relation to Hair Loss: in particular the Alopecias

Alopecia results from autoimmune dysfunction. My interest in Alopecia as a research topic is that it is an example of the way in which stressful negative cognitions impact on physical health (Psychoneuroimmunology). Alopecia is also a disfiguring condition that has a significant psychological impact yet has largely been ignored by psychologists. My research - conducted with a colleague at the University of Nottingham - has shown that coping and social support for people with alopecia is critical to a successful outcome. Acceptance of acute hair loss is often impeded by an individual's sense of identity change and social phobia.

This research was the subject of a BBC Radio Four Programme, along with several local radio discussions and interviews.

With my co-researcher I am also closely involved with Alopecia UK, a charity devoted to helping people with alopecia. I am a member of the Management Committee, the Advisory Panel and the Research Committee, and have written several leaflets for the charity to help sufferers.

Publications

Other activities

Professional Activities

Invited speaker: Confencia Internacional Facultad Odontologia. Universidad de Chile May 2011: The State of Development of Health Psychology in the United Kingdom, sponsored by Santander Bank & Colegate.

Understanding Trauma. Nigel Hunt & Sue McHale. 2010. Highly commended in the International Medical Journalists Book Prize 2011. 

Consultancy

International Correspondence Schools Ltd: Writing study guides for distance learners

Research Methods and Statistics, 1 & 2, (Level 5). March 07
Clinical Psychology, (level 6) Feb 07
Cognitive Neuroscience, (level 5) Jan 05
Advisory panel member and committee member for Alopecia-UK. Alopecia-UK is a charity providing web-based support for alopecia sufferers. 2005-present.