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Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator
Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore PhD FBA FMedSci FRS
Professor Blakemore is the Chair of Psychology in the Social Sciences (2000) at the University of Cambridge, where she leads the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group and serves as Deputy Head of Department for Research. Her group's research focuses on the development of the social brain in adolescence, with a particular emphasis on mental health, social cognition, peer influence and sensitivity to social context. Their research integrates behavioural science, neuroimaging and developmental methods, and has made contributions to both theory and policy in adolescent mental health, public health and education.
Professor Blakemore studied Experimental Psychology at Oxford University (1993-1996) and did a PhD (1996-2000) at the UCL Functional Imaging Lab with Professors Chris Frith and Daniel Wolpert, investigating the self processing in schizophrenia. She took up a Wellcome Trust International Research Fellowship to work in Lyon, France, on social cognition in schizophrenia. This was followed by a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship and a Royal Society University Research Fellowship at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. She was a Group Leader at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience until 2019, when she took up a Chair in Psychology at Cambridge.
Professor Blakemore develops and teaches undergraduate courses, supervises final-year and doctoral research students, and contributes to curriculum development and student wellbeing initiatives. She previously co-directed the Wellcome PhD Programme in Neuroscience at UCL and has trained a generation of researchers, many of whom now hold academic posts internationally and other science-related positions in private and public sectors. She has served on advisory boards and scientific panels, including at the Royal Society, Academy of Medical Sciences, The Times Education Commission, the UK Department for Education and the Singapore Ministry of Education and National Research Foundation.
Professor Blakemore co-authored The Learning Brain: Lessons for Education. with Professor Dame Uta Frith. She was interviewed on the BBC Radio 4 programme The Life Scientific. Other public engagement activities include a play, Brainstorm, written and performed by teenagers and shown at the National Theatre in London, and a TED talk at TEDGlobal 2012. Her first solo book, Inventing Ourselves: the secret life of the teenage brain, was published in 2018 and was awarded the Royal Society Book Prize 2018, the British Psychological Society Book Prize 2020 and the Hay Festival Book of the Year 2018.
Professor Blakemore has been awarded national and international prizes for her research, including the British Psychological Society Doctoral Award, the British Psychological Society Spearman Medal for early career research, the Swedish Neuropsychology Society Award, the Young Mind & Brain Prize, the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award, the Klaus J. Jacobs Prize, the British Psychological Society Presidents' Award, the International Union of Psychological Science Quadrennial Major Advancement in Psychological Science Prize, the British Cofnitive Neuroscience Society Mid-Career Award and the Flux Society Huttenlocher Award. She is a High Table Fellow at Newnham College and Gonville and Caius and a Bye-Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. She was elected an Honorary Fellow of St John's College Oxford, and a Fellow of the British Academy, the American Association of Psychological Science, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society.
Professor Blakemore's publications can be found on Google Scholar.
Email: sjblakemore@psychol.cam.ac.uk
X: @sjblakemore
Bluesky: @sjblakemore.bsky.social
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
Dr Sara De Felice
Sara is interested in the mechanisms that support learning in social interaction, especially when learning from and with others. She has completed her PhD at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (ICN) at UCL, under the supervision of Professor Antonia Hamilton, where she used fNIRS hyperscanning to study brain synchrony between teacher and learner as a possible neural marker of learning. Sara is particularly interested in conducting real-world neuroscience and using multimodal paradigms.
Sara joined the Blakemore lab to extend her work to adolescence, a sensitive period for development of the social brain network and when forming social relationships is particularly important. From September 2026, Sara will start a project on the correlational and causal mechanisms of inter-brain synchrony at the IIT in Rome, supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellowship.
Her research has been recognised by a number of awards, including the BPS prize for psychology dissertation, the UCL Frackowiak Award, the fNIRS society Woman Excellence Award, the UCL Jon Driver Prize and the Frith Prize for outstanding PhD work in neuroscience. Sara is a ROKOS Fellow of the Queen's College at Cambridge University.
Sara’s publication record can be found here.
Email: sd2035@cam.ac.uk
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/saradefelice/home
Dr Lucia Hernandez Pena
Lucia is part of a new longitudinal project, funded by a Wellcome Discovery Award, in collaboration with Cardiff University and Radboud University, investigating microstructure brain development and its relation to cognition and mental health in typically developing and neurodiverse (22q11.2 deletion syndrome) adolescents.
Lucia has a background in Psychology (BSc, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain) and Neuroscience (MSc, Complutense University of Madrid). For her main PhD project at the RWTH Aachen University (Germany), Lucia used fMRI hyperscanning to investigate neural correlates of real-time social interactions between young adult siblings. During her PhD, she also conducted research on perspective-taking in violent interactions (Ruhr University Bochum), neural responses to reward processing in adolescents with callous-unemotional traits (University of Pennsylvania) and developmental risk trajectories during adolescence associated with conspiracy mentality and violent attitudes (University of Cambridge, Institute of Criminology). Lucia's research interests are developmental psychology and the neural mechanisms underlying social cognition, including empathy, theory of mind, perspective-taking, decision-making, aggression and risk-taking behaviour.
Lucia's publication record can be found on Google Scholar.
Email: lhp36@cam.ac.uk
PhD students
PhD students
Emily Towner
Emily is a PhD Student and Gates Cambridge Scholar at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore. Her research focuses on learning during adolescence and the relationship between early stress, learning, and mental health. Before beginning her PhD, Emily was a lab manager and research associate in the Brain and Body Lab in the Psychology Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 2019, she graduated from UCLA with a Master’s Degree in Social Science, where she completed a research project examining the interaction between early and current life stress on adolescent mental health and well-being. Emily also completed a postbaccalaureate program in psychology at Columbia University in 2018 where she studied memory and cognition.
Email: et467@cam.ac.uk
Sophie Fielmann
Sophie is a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, interested in cross-cultural cognitive development during adolescence. Her research focuses on how social cognitive abilities such as perspective-taking, susceptibility to peer influence, and emotion recognition develop in adolescents across cultures, particularly those in non-Western countries. In taking up this inclusive approach, her aim is to further our understanding of adolescence from a global perspective. Before joining Prof Blakemore’s group, Sophie completed a BSc in Psychology (Medical School Hamburg, Germany), an MPhil in Management (Cambridge Judge Business School), and an MSc in Cognitive Neurosciences (UCL).
Email: slf56@cam.ac.uk
Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer
Blanca is a final year PhD student in Psychology and a Gates Cambridge Scholar under the MRC Doctoral Training Programme. In a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and the University of the Basque Country, Blanca's interdisciplinary research aims to understand the role of peer and friendship groups, family support and neighbourhood cohesion in mental health during adolescence. Blanca has a background in psychology and social sciences (Psychology Major in BSc Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics, University of Amsterdam, 2018) and in cognitive neuroscience (MRes in Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 2019). In 2019 and until the start of her PhD, Blanca was working for the Blakemore lab as a research assistant.
Email: bp451@cam.ac.uk
Kirsten Thomas
Kirsten is a second year PhD student working across the Department of Psychology and the MRC Epidemiology Unit. She is broadly interested in understanding the social and cognitive factors around diet choices and eating behaviours in adolescents. Before beginning her PhD, she was working within the Blakemore lab as a research assistant, investigating the impact of social isolation in adolescents, particularly focused on peer influences. Kirsten's background is in Psychology (BSc Psychology, University of Sheffield) and Cognitive Neuroscience (MRes Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL). She is funded by the ESRC and the Gonville Research Studentship.
Email: kt502@cam.ac.uk
Research Assistant
Research Assistant
Affiliated Lab Members and Collaborators
Affiliated Lab Members and Collaborators
Professor Larysa Zasiekina
Professor Larysa Zasiekina is a clinical psychologist and a leading expert in the areas of PTSD and cultural aspects of memory of trauma. Her focus is on the psychological inter-generational impact of genocide in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, including studies of survivors of the Holocaust and Holodomor (man-made famine in Soviet Union targeting ethnic Ukrainians) and their children. Larysa Zasiekina has published extensively on language of trauma in high-impact journals in her field and spearheads international partnerships with scholars of genocide in universities of Canada, Israel, US, Switzerland, and the UK. Zasiekina’s clinical perspective and experience in clinical psycholinguistics are central to the current project “Exposure to Continuous Traumatic Stress (CTS) and Its Consequences among at Risk Adolescents and Young Adults in Ukraine”.
Email: lz464@cam.ac.uk
Dr Gabriele Chierchia
Dr Gabriele Chierchia’s research focuses on the neural and cognitive bases of decision making. Throughout his PhD (with Prof Coricelli at the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences of Trento) his post-doctoral research (with Prof. Tania Singer at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences), and Dr Chierchia ’s work takes a multi-disciplinary approach to decision making, by integrating insights and methodologies from behavioural economics and cognitive/affective neuroscience. With Prof. Blakemore, at University of Cambridge, Dr Chierchia investigates how decision making and learning change during adolescence. Dr. Chierchia is now a lecturer at the University of Pavia (Italy), where he teaches research methods and social development.
Blakemore Lab members, past and present, at the Blakemore Lab Alumni Workshop, June 2024
The Blakemore Lab retreat - past and present members, July 2022
The Blakemore Lab at the Flux conference in Paris, September 2022
The Blakemore Lab Christmas Party, December 2019
The Blakemore Lab Christmas Party, December 2018
The Blakemore Lab Christmas Party, December 2017
The Blakemore Lab at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, January 2012
The Blakemore Lab Alumni Network
Dr Giacomo Bignardi, Postdoctoral Research Associate 2022-2025. Currently at King's College London.
Dr Susanne Schweizer, Sir Henry Wellcome fellow. Currently at UNSW, Australia.
Stan de Visser, Masters student 2024. Currently Research Assistant at SYNC Lab, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Alex Griffin, Research Assistant 2022-2024. Currently PhD candidate at KCL, London, UK.
Dr Livia Tomova, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, 2020-2024. Currently lecturer at Cardiff University.
Dr Jovita Leung, PhD student, 2018-2023. Currently working at Behavioural Insights Team, London, UK.
Dr Madeleine Moses-Payne, PhD student 2019-2023. Currently postdoc at UCL, UK.
Dr Lydia Speyer, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow 2021-2023. Currently lecturer at Lancaster University, UK.
Dr Saz Ahmed, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow 2018-2022. Currently Research Manager in the Mental Health team at Wellcome, UK.
Dr Jack Andrews, PhD Student 2016-2021. Currently Wellcome Research Fellow at Oxford University, UK.
Dr Jessica Bone, PhD Student 2016-2020. Currently Research Fellow in statistics and epidemiology at UCL, UK.
Cait Griffin, Research Assistant 2016-2019. Currently working as a UX Researcher at Elsevier, UK.
Dr Lucy Foulkes, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow 2015-2018. Currently Research Fellow at Oxford University, UK.
Maximilian Scheuplein, MSc student 2017-2018. Currently PhD candidate at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands.
Dr Annie Gaule, MRC-DTP PhD rotation 2017. Currently postdoc in the Developmental Risk and Resilience Unit at UCL, UK.
Dr Emma Kilford, PhD Student 2014-2018. Currently research fellow at the UCL Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology.
Dr Lisa Knoll, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow 2012-2017. Currently working as the director for data science for CASAFARI, Portugal.
Dr Delia Fuhrmann, PhD student 2013-2017. Currently lecturer at King's College London, UK. Delia was awarded the British Neuroscience Association Graduate Prize 2018 for her PhD research.
Dr Stefano Palminteri, Marie Curie Research Fellow 2015-2017. Currently Professor at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France.
Dr Hugo Fleming, Summer Intern 2016. Currently postdoc in the Mental Health Neuroscience Group at the University of Cambridge MRC-CBU, UK.
Ashok Sakhardande, Research Assistant 2013-2016.
Dr Emily Garrett, Research Assistant, 2013-2016. Currently working as doctor in the NHS.
Dr Caroline Casey, Wellcome PhD project rotation 2015. Currently Senior Observational Research Manager at Adelphi Real World, UK.
Dr Hauke Hillebrandt, PhD student 2009-2014. Currently working as CEO of Let's Fund, UK.
Dr Anne-Lise Goddings, MRC Clinical Research PhD student 2011-2015. Currently working as a paediatrician in the NHS and a NIHR Clinical Lecturer at the ICH, UCL, UK. Anne-Lise was awarded the 2016 British Psychology Society Doctoral Award for her PhD research.
Dr Kate Mills, UCL-NIMH PhD student 2011-2015. Currently assistant professor at the University of Oregon, USA. Kate was awarded the British Neuroscience Association Graduate Prize 2015 for her PhD research.
Dr Laura Wolf, Wellcome Trust PhD student 2010-2015. Currently working as consultant in Germany.
Dr Lara Menzies, Academic Clinical Fellow 2013-2014. Currently working as a clinical geneticist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, UK.
Dr Elina Jacobs, Wellcome PhD rotation student 2014. Currently working as a postdoc at the Ryu Lab in Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.
Dr Lucía Magis-Weinberg, MSc student 2012-2013. Currently working as an assistant professor at the University of Washington, USA.
Professor Iroise Dumontheil, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow 2007-2012. Currently Professor in Melbourne, Australia. Iroise was awarded the BPS Spearman Medal 2015 for early career research.
Dr Alex Moscicki, MSc student 2011-2012. Winner of the Tim Shallice Prize for MSc project. Currently Psychiatrist in the USA.
Dr Sarah Jensen, Masters student 2011-2012. Currently research scientist at Boston College, USA.
Dr Narges Bazargani, research assistant, 2010-2012. Currently medical writer for Ipsen, UK.
Dr Kathrin Cohen Kadosh, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow 2010-2012, currently Associate Professor at the University of Surrey, UK.
Dr Guillaume Barbalat, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow 2000-2012, currently consultant psychologist in Lyon, France.
Dr Jennifer Cook, Wellcome PhD student 2008-2011. Currently Professor at the University of Birmingham, UK. Jen was awarded the Experimental Psychology Society Frith Prize 2012 for her PhD research.
Dr Marion Rouault, Intern student 2010. Currently working as a research team lead at the Paris Brain Institute, France.
Dr Leonora Weil, Paediatric Clinician researcher, 2010-2011. Currently working in public health, UK.
Dr Eduard Klapwijk, Intern student from Leiden University, 2010. Currently research data steward and researcher at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Dr Stephanie Burnett Heyes, Wellcome PhD student 2005-2009. Currently assistant professor at the University of Birmingham, UK. Stephanie was awarded the British Neuroscience Association Graduate Prize 2010 for her PhD research.
Dr Catherine Sebastian, BBSRC PhD student 2006-2009. Currently Head of Evidence for Mental Health at Wellcome, UK. Cat was awarded the BPS Doctoral Award 2010 for her PhD research.
Dr Rachael Houlton, Wellcome PhD project rotation 2009.
Dr Rachel Swain, Wellcome summer student 2008.
Dr Ana Seara Cardoso, Intern student 2008. Currently postdoc at the University of Minho, Portugal.
Dr Ben de Haas, Intern student 2009. Currently PI of the Indivisual project at JLU, Giessen, Germany.
Dr Bano Hassan, MSc student 2008. Currently clinical psychologist, UK.
Dr Stephanie Thompson, BBSRC PhD student 2004-2007. Currently Consultant Psychologist, UK.
Isobel Pastor-Bristow, Wellcome summer student 2004. Currently working in the Civil Service, UK
Dr Susana Calo, Intern student 2004. Currently visiting research fellow at King College London, UK.
Dr Teresa Tavassoli, Intern student 2004. Currently associate professor at the University of Reading, UK.
Dr Niall Boyce, Medical Elective student 2004. Currently Head of Field Building for Mental Health at Wellcome, UK.
Dr Hanneke den Ouden, Erasmus Intern student 2004. Currently Professor at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, the Netherlands.
Dr Suparna Choudhury, MRC PhD student 2003-2006. Currently assistant professor at McGill University, Canada.
Dr Emily Jacobs, Intern student 2003. Currently Professor at UCSB, USA.
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