NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
I have always been a keen observer of behaviour. My first published research project as an undergraduate was in animal behaviour, studying the tide-dependent activity patterns of shorebirds on Lundy Island, England. Even though I moved away from birds in my research, I applied the same patience and a keen eye for detail to research observations of human behaviour.
My research focuses on how we perceive the visual world and how we interact with it through complex movements. In some of my neuroscientific studies, my research group has also examined what happens to visual and motor processes in those living with psychiatric and neurological disease, and in high-performance athletes.
Research lab
In my research laboratory at UBC, we use world-class equipment consisting of ultra-fast display technology, auditory stimulation, eye tracking, and motion capture to study human vision, multisensory integration (the combination of seeing and hearing), eye and hand movements in healthy adults, athletes, and patients with sensorimotor deficits.
Earlier in my career, I was interested in human visual attention and the relationship between attention and consciousness. Over the years, my research has touched on almost all areas of human perception, attention, thinking, feeling, decision-making, and action.
At UBC, I teach an undergraduate psychology class on cognitive processes (PSYC 309) and an undergraduate research capstone class in Neuroscience (NSCI 400).
I was previously the Director of the UBC Graduate Program in Neuroscience (until 2023) and Associate Dean, Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, in the Faculty of Medicine (until 2024).
I have written two psychology textbooks in German; my introductory textbook on cognitive psychology is now in its 4th edition and available in local German bookstores or here.
Over the course of my academic career, I have won awards for my research, including the Women in Cognitive Science Canada (WiCS) Mentorship Award, a UBC Killam Research Fellowship, and a Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers. I am an alumni of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation.
