Jacqueline Scholl (PI) studied Natural Sciences (Psychology and Physiology) at the University of Cambridge (2007-2010) before moving to Oxford for an MSc (2010-2011) and a DPhil (2011-2016). In her DPhil, she investigated the neural and pharmacological mechanisms of learning and decision-making using functional MRI, MRI spectroscopy and drug manipulations, in the PERL team, supervised by Catherine Harmer . Since then she has held an MRC Skills Development Fellowship (2016-2022, sponsor: Matthew Rushworth ) in which she has examined the neural mechanisms of attributional styles in depression. She has also held a BBSRC Discovery Fellowship (2021-2022) to understand how the brain uses emotions to prioritize behaviours. In April 2022, she moved to the Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre (France) to take up a staff scientist position funded by the Institut national de la santé et de lar recherche médicale (INSERM, National Institute of Health and Medical Research).

Lisa Spiering  (PhD student, co-supervised with Matthew Rushworth, Oxford ). I am a DPhil student at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University. My research focusses on the neural circuits that allow humans to learn and make decisions, and how these mechanisms go awry when people suffer from psychological illness. In particular, I study people’s perception of themselves and their environment and how these are negatively biased in depression. To this end, I am using behavioural studies and neuroimaging in combination with computational modelling, such as reinforcement and Bayesian learning models. My DPhil is funded by the Oxford-Radcliffe Medical Sciences Graduate School Scholarship and I am supervised by Matthew Rushworth and Jacqueline Scholl. Prior to my DPhil, I completed a Master of Science degree in Neuroscience (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany), and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany).

Anastasios Dadiotis (PhD student, main supervisor: Guillaume Sescousse, CRNL, Lyon).  Anastasios is a PhD student in Neuroscience at University Lyon 1, focusing on gambling addiction and emotions using fMRI, structural MRI, and Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). He holds a Master's in Stress Science and a Bachelor's in Psychology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, where he investigated problematic use of social media using behavioral modelling and psychometrics.

Tim Palmer  (PhD student, main supervisor: Elsa Fouragnan, Plymouth). Tim is a PhD student at the University Of Plymouth. During his masters he studied the neural mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders such as psychosis. Before becoming a student again, Tim spent time as a psychology teacher before returning to the Southwest to work for the RNLI as a lifeguard supervisor.  His PhD research is focussed on understanding the neural mechanisms linked to unusual experiences related to meditation, sometimes similar to psychotic-like experiences, which can both be challenging and insightful. Of particular interest, are the alterations to embodiment and sensory processing.

Tristan White (PhD student, co-supervisor: Nils Kolling, SBRI, Lyon). After studying biology, political sciences, and the psychology of public opinion regarding climate change, I worked in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, studying primate behaviour in the wild. I then completed my Masters in Neuroscience in Marseille, studying molecular and cellular neurobiology, electrophysiology, and specialising in behavioural, cognitive and computational neuroscience. My 1st year thesis was on spatio-temporal representation and cognition, working on rodent hippocampal place cells and macaque superior colliculus electrophysiology. For my 1st placement I worked for 2 months in A. Meguerditchian’s lab on Olive Baboon MRI data, investigating the ties between behavioural and neuroanatomical asymmetries. Then as part of my 2nd placement, and later as a research assistant, I worked in E. Fouragnan’s Lab, investigating the functional and neurochemical effects of transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) in humans. During this time, I also completed a short form degree in Data Science in Marseille, using the acquired machine learning data analysis techniques for the TUS project.

As part of my PhD, supervised by N. Kolling and J. Scholl, I am looking into the effects of interindividual differences and emotions on sequential decision making, via behavioural modelling, webcam-based emotion recognition, fMRI, and TUS.

Noémie Goeuriot (PhD student, main supervisor: Nils Kolling, SBRI, Lyon.

Laurie Dinet (MSc [M2] student). I am in Neuroscience’s Master at the Université Claude-Bernard Lyon1. The project of my internship aims at understanding the behavioral, neural, and computational mechanisms underlying how the probabilistic attribution of outcomes (rewards or failures) to possible causes (oneself or external factors) is affected in depression.

Hailey Trier (PhD 2019-2023, co-supervised with Matthew Rushworth, Oxford University). In her PhD, Hailey investigated the neural and computational mechanisms of flexibly switching attention between threat and reward, and the impact of emotions and individual differences on this adaptive decision-making process. Hailey has now moved to an industry position.