Ricky Chmitorz (2023 – present)

PhD student at the Department of Psychology, University of Essex. Ricky will be using fNIRS hyperscanning in families, including neurodiverse children and children with adverse early life experiences. His research will be made possible through a close collaboration with The Synapse Centre for Neurodevelopment, which operates from the Research and Development Department at the UK National Health Service (NHS) East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT).

Antonella Arrieta (2023 – present)

PhD student in association with the Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Universidad de la República de Uruguay, Montevideo (Prof Ana Silva). Antonella is investigating the synchronisation of biological rhythms in the mother-child and father-father dyad with a special focus on circadian rhythms and the sleep-wake cycle. One part of her project will also involve the use of fNIRS hyperscanning to assess interpersonal neural synchronisation in families from an attachment perspective.

Angelika Bracher (2023 – present)

PhD student in association with the University of Leipzig (Dr Lars White) and the International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity (IMPRS). Angelika is investigating brain activation in parents when they see emotional expressions of their own versus an unknown child, also in relation to individual differences in parental attachment & caregiving as well as child parental representations. These data were obtained as part of the D- and M-CARE Studies.

Inês Rodrigues (2022 – present)

PhD student in association with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra and Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), Portugal (Dr Teresa Sousa and Prof Miguel Castelo Branco). Inês is investigating inter-brain synchrony & coupling using fNIRS hyperscanning in parent-child dyads during various emotional tasks, also linked to interindividual differences including attachment.

Anil Karabulut (2021 – present)

PhD student in association with the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy (Prof Luca Cecchetti). Anil is investigating the links between interindividual differences in attachment and structural brain scans as part of the D- and M-CARE Studies. He will soon also start using fNIRS hyperscanning in families from an attachment perspective as part of the new TRIO Study.

Dorukhan Acil (2020 – present)

PhD student in association with the University of Leipzig (Dr Lars White) and the International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity (IMPRS). Dorukhan is investigating brain activity in parents playing an interactive ball-tossing game with their children, also linked to interindividual differences in attachment, as part of the D- and M-CARE Studies.

Mathilde Gallistl (2019 – present)

PhD student in association with the University of Leipzig and the International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity (IMPRS; Prof Veronika Engert). Mathilde is investigating bio-behavioural synchrony in romantic couples under stress, also in association with interindividual differences in attachment, as part of the ARC study.

Charlotte Schulz (2017 – present)

PhD student in association with the University of Leipzig (Dr Lars White) and the International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity (IMPRS). Charlotte is investigating the functional and structural brain correlates of early adversity in adolescents, particularly focusing on a dissociation of physical versus emotional maltreatment/abuse and neglect.

Guyan Sloane (2023 – present)

Guyan is a PGT / PhD student at Essex and is helping us setting up the new TRIO Study to assess bio-behavioural and interpersonal neural synchrony in families including mothers, fathers and their children.

Several PGT / MSc Students (changes every academic year)

Several PGT Students are working in association with the SoNeAt Lab every year to complete their Year 4 MSc Dissertation Projects. Topics vary but are mostly related to attachment and other measures of personality and attitudes.

Several UG / BSc Students (changes every academic year)

Several UG / BSc Students are working in association with the SoNeAt Lab every year to complete their Year 3 BSc Dissertation Projects. Topics vary but are mostly related to attachment and other measures of personality and attitudes.