The Cusack Lab
We study the development of infants in their first year of life. We are based at the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, and collaborate with maternity hospitals in Dublin and other centres across Ireland. Our expertise and backgrounds range from physics to psychology and neonatology to neuroscience. We use many methods to study infant development, including online tasks and MRI.
Principal Investigator
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Rhodri Cusack, MA (Hons) Cantab, PhD
The Thomas Mitchell Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience School of Psychology Principal Investigator at SFI INFANT Centre Trinity College Dublin |
Rhodri with son, Calin
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The Team
Lab manager
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Màiri Gardner
Màiri has a broad education in science, research and education from Edinburgh University, University College of Cork, and Oxford University, followed by a number of years of teaching experience of the International Baccalaureate at the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy. She has returned to Ireland and is currently working for two research groups in Trinity College Dublin: the FOUNDCOG Project at the Cusack Lab in the TCIN and the Thermodynamics and Energetics of Quantum Systems Group in the School of Physics. |
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Postdocs
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Lorijn Zaadnoordijk
Lorijn completed a bachelor’s degree in language and cognition and a master’s degree in cognitive neuroscience before starting her PhD project at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. In her PhD project, she investigated how a sense of agency develops in early infancy. She used theories and methods from (developmental) cognitive psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence and philosophy of mind to answer how one could study subjective experiences in preverbal infants and how the capacities underlying the sense of agency emerge in the first months of life. |
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Anna Truzzi
Studied developmental psychology at the University of Trento (Italy). My research focused on the mechanisms underlying the emergence of cognition and social behaviors. Specifically, I investigated the contribution of both individual’s predispositions and external environmental factors in shaping individuals’ behavioral and physiological responses in infancy and adulthood. |
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Graduate Students
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Chiara Caldinelli (PhD candidate)
Chiara received her bachelor’s in cognitive science and master’s in neuroscience from the University of Padua, Italy, and then became a qualified psychologist with the aim to bridge neuroscience and developmental psychology. She is interested in how higher cognitive functions develop and how early experience can shape the way we look at the world. Chiara is also the president of the Dublin University Neuroscience Society, the social coordinator of the OHBM Student/Postdoc Special Interest Group, and an associate editor at the Journal of European Psychology Students. |
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Anna Kravchenko (PhD candidate)
Studied mathematics and computer science at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia.
Anna is interested in Bayesian modelling and its applications to psychology, especially concept learning, developmental theories and models of selective attention.
Studied mathematics and computer science at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia.
Anna is interested in Bayesian modelling and its applications to psychology, especially concept learning, developmental theories and models of selective attention.
Laura Cabral (PhD candidate, Psychology, Western University)
Laura is interested in the development of the ventral visual stream, particularly how early visual experience and innate factors interact to shape brain development, both on a region and network level. Additionally, Laura uses computational methods from machine learning to investigate brain maturity. She hopes that the methods she's working with will lead to earlier identification of perinatal brain injury, mental health disorders, and other brain diseases.
Outside of the lab, Laura is the VP Finance for the Society of Graduate Students at Western University and chairs a committee on graduate student mental health. She is involved with various science policy organizations, such as The Science and Policy Exchange (based in Montreal), and has participated in the Science Outside the Lab- North Science Policy Professional Development Program. When she's not working, she enjoys hiking and film photography.
Laura is interested in the development of the ventral visual stream, particularly how early visual experience and innate factors interact to shape brain development, both on a region and network level. Additionally, Laura uses computational methods from machine learning to investigate brain maturity. She hopes that the methods she's working with will lead to earlier identification of perinatal brain injury, mental health disorders, and other brain diseases.
Outside of the lab, Laura is the VP Finance for the Society of Graduate Students at Western University and chairs a committee on graduate student mental health. She is involved with various science policy organizations, such as The Science and Policy Exchange (based in Montreal), and has participated in the Science Outside the Lab- North Science Policy Professional Development Program. When she's not working, she enjoys hiking and film photography.
Undergraduate Students
Clíona O'Doherty (Research Assistant)
Clíona has just completed her B.A. in Neuroscience from Trinity College Dublin. Having undertaken her final year thesis in the Cusack Lab she is now continuing to research the exciting possibilities of using artificial intelligence to model the brain's complex cognitive processes. Her interests are focussed on deep learning as a tool in neuroscience research, specifically at the crossroads between computer and biological vision.
Clíona has just completed her B.A. in Neuroscience from Trinity College Dublin. Having undertaken her final year thesis in the Cusack Lab she is now continuing to research the exciting possibilities of using artificial intelligence to model the brain's complex cognitive processes. Her interests are focussed on deep learning as a tool in neuroscience research, specifically at the crossroads between computer and biological vision.
Oscar Markey (Final Year Psychology Student)
Oscar is a final year undergraduate student of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin. He has an ongoing Final Year Project in the lab regarding the effectiveness of cartoons in holding infants' attention. He has a keen interest in the developing mind and hopes to increase his expertise in this subject in the future.
Oscar is a final year undergraduate student of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin. He has an ongoing Final Year Project in the lab regarding the effectiveness of cartoons in holding infants' attention. He has a keen interest in the developing mind and hopes to increase his expertise in this subject in the future.
Brenda Finlay (Summer Intern)
Brenda has just completed her B.Sc. in Human Health and Disease. She has interests in human brain development, developmental disorders and neurodegenerative disease. She is interested in the use of neuroimaging to understand the development of normal functional connections and cognition in the brain, and how this is corrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Brenda has just completed her B.Sc. in Human Health and Disease. She has interests in human brain development, developmental disorders and neurodegenerative disease. She is interested in the use of neuroimaging to understand the development of normal functional connections and cognition in the brain, and how this is corrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Aoife Daly (Final Year Psychology Student)
Aoife is a final year undergraduate psychology student at Trinity College Dublin. She is currently working on her Final Year Project examining whether an online testing paradigm can effectively be used in lieu of eye-tracking. She has an interest in the development of the human brain, specifically in how cognitive processes develop in preterm infants.
Aoife is a final year undergraduate psychology student at Trinity College Dublin. She is currently working on her Final Year Project examining whether an online testing paradigm can effectively be used in lieu of eye-tracking. She has an interest in the development of the human brain, specifically in how cognitive processes develop in preterm infants.
Former Members
Postdocs (Cognitive Neuroscience)
Annika Linke (Western University)
Bobby Stojanoski (Western University)
Conor Wild (Western University)
Daniel Mitchell (University of Cambridge)
Alejandro Vicente-Grabovetsky (University of Cambridge)
Jason Taylor (CamCAN, Cambridge)
Postdocs (Neuroimaging methods)
Marta Correia (University of Cambridge)
Ciara Greene (University of Cambridge)
Stefan Hetzer (University of Cambridge)
Daniel Beauregard (University of Cambridge)
Postdocs (Clinical imaging)
Jeff Crukley (Western University)
Jingyun Chen (Western University, with Mark Daley)
Hester Duffy (Western University)
Charlotte Herzmann (Western University)
Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza (Western University)
Programmer
Aya Myhr (Western University)
Research Assistants
Anna Birbeck (Trinity College Dublin)
Deborah Ness (Trinity College Dublin)
Michelle Tran (Western University)
Graduate Students
Patrick Gatutsi (MSc, Neuroscience, Western University)
Jordynne Ropat (MSc Neuroscience, Western University)
Jacob Matthews (MSc Medical Biophysics, Western University)
Michelle Tran (MSc Neuroscience, Western University)
Annika Linke (PhD University of Cambridge)
Daniel Mitchell (PhD University of Cambridge)
Michele Veldsman (PhD University of Cambridge, with Daniel Mitchell)
Alejandro Vicente-Grabovetsky (PhD University of Cambridge)
Co-Supervised Graduate Students
Sarah Thompson (PhD University of Cambridge, with Bob Carlyon)
Karolina Moutsopoulou (PhD University of Cambridge, with Tom Manly)
Chris Dodds (PhD University of Cambridge, with Tom Manly)
Polly Peers (PhD University of Cambridge, with John Duncan)
Mark Stokes (PhD University of Cambridge, with John Duncan)
Michelle Tran (Western University, Canada)
Honours students
Anna Birbeck (Psychology, Trinity College Dublin)
Madison Laurel Beaty (Neuroscience, Western University)
Laura Cabral (Psychology, Western University)
Vivek John (Physiology and Pharmacology, Western)
Ronak Patel (Neuroscience, Western University)
Kristen Turner (Western University, Canada)
Angela Westgate (Psychology, Western University)
Mason Kadem (Psychology, Western University)
Kristen Turner (Psychology, Western University)
Joanna Ryan (Psychology, Trinity College Dublin)
Lab Volunteers and Summer Interns
Marcus Lo (Western University)
Roni Shanoada (Western University)
Claire Chambers (visting from École Normale Supérieure, Paris)
Lauren Forrest (Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, Canada)
Marcus Lo (Western University, Canada)
Andrew Nicholson (Western University, Canada)
Kim Ramos (visiting from Seton Hall University, NJ)
Oliver Shipston-Sharman (visiting Research Elective from Edinburgh University)
Annika Linke (Western University)
Bobby Stojanoski (Western University)
Conor Wild (Western University)
Daniel Mitchell (University of Cambridge)
Alejandro Vicente-Grabovetsky (University of Cambridge)
Jason Taylor (CamCAN, Cambridge)
Postdocs (Neuroimaging methods)
Marta Correia (University of Cambridge)
Ciara Greene (University of Cambridge)
Stefan Hetzer (University of Cambridge)
Daniel Beauregard (University of Cambridge)
Postdocs (Clinical imaging)
Jeff Crukley (Western University)
Jingyun Chen (Western University, with Mark Daley)
Hester Duffy (Western University)
Charlotte Herzmann (Western University)
Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza (Western University)
Programmer
Aya Myhr (Western University)
Research Assistants
Anna Birbeck (Trinity College Dublin)
Deborah Ness (Trinity College Dublin)
Michelle Tran (Western University)
Graduate Students
Patrick Gatutsi (MSc, Neuroscience, Western University)
Jordynne Ropat (MSc Neuroscience, Western University)
Jacob Matthews (MSc Medical Biophysics, Western University)
Michelle Tran (MSc Neuroscience, Western University)
Annika Linke (PhD University of Cambridge)
Daniel Mitchell (PhD University of Cambridge)
Michele Veldsman (PhD University of Cambridge, with Daniel Mitchell)
Alejandro Vicente-Grabovetsky (PhD University of Cambridge)
Co-Supervised Graduate Students
Sarah Thompson (PhD University of Cambridge, with Bob Carlyon)
Karolina Moutsopoulou (PhD University of Cambridge, with Tom Manly)
Chris Dodds (PhD University of Cambridge, with Tom Manly)
Polly Peers (PhD University of Cambridge, with John Duncan)
Mark Stokes (PhD University of Cambridge, with John Duncan)
Michelle Tran (Western University, Canada)
Honours students
Anna Birbeck (Psychology, Trinity College Dublin)
Madison Laurel Beaty (Neuroscience, Western University)
Laura Cabral (Psychology, Western University)
Vivek John (Physiology and Pharmacology, Western)
Ronak Patel (Neuroscience, Western University)
Kristen Turner (Western University, Canada)
Angela Westgate (Psychology, Western University)
Mason Kadem (Psychology, Western University)
Kristen Turner (Psychology, Western University)
Joanna Ryan (Psychology, Trinity College Dublin)
Lab Volunteers and Summer Interns
Marcus Lo (Western University)
Roni Shanoada (Western University)
Claire Chambers (visting from École Normale Supérieure, Paris)
Lauren Forrest (Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, Canada)
Marcus Lo (Western University, Canada)
Andrew Nicholson (Western University, Canada)
Kim Ramos (visiting from Seton Hall University, NJ)
Oliver Shipston-Sharman (visiting Research Elective from Edinburgh University)