Research Interests: My main area of research focuses on determining predictors of the development of bipolar disorder in a high-risk population. Areas of particular interest include the neural basis of executive functioning in populations at high-risk of developing bipolar disorder and in populations with fully established mood disorders. Within this broad area, my predominant interest is cognitive control of emotional processing. This interest merges into my clinical interest of investigating the neurobiology underlying emotion dysregulation which is characteristic of mood disorders. My primary research tool is structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging which is an ideal tool for understanding the neural mechanisms of human function and dysfunction. In collaboration with Queensland Institute of Medical Research (Brisbane), Neuroscience Research Australia (Sydney), and the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (Sydney), I am heavily involved in neuroimaging analysis techniques such as diffusion tensor imaging tractography, dynamic causal modelling, graph theory, and machine learning.

Education:

• B. Sc in applied psychology (University College Cork, Ireland, 2002)

• M.Sc in neuropharmacology (National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland, 2003)

• Diploma in statistics (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 2006)

• PhD in neuroscience (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 2008)