Tobias Constien, PhD Student and Lab Member

Tobias is a PhD candidate with the School of Psychology at UCD under the supervision of Assoc. Prof Michelle Downes. He is a trained dramatherapist (Nürtingen-Geislingen University) and a graduate from the Psychology Conversion Course at Trinity College Dublin and the Master of Psychological Science at UCD.

Tobias is interested in the multifaceted benefits of play and imagination to children’s development and health, which has brought him from his work in dramatherapy to Psychology and ultimately to the UCD Babylab. His PhD is titled the TEDDY project, and is focused on the association of children’s pretend play and their cognitive development, specifically executive functions, in the toddlerhood period. 

Alice Bazzurro, PhD Student and Psychologist

Alice is a PhD candidate in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Genoa, currently at UCD as a visiting PhD student.

Her research interests focus on executive functions and self-regulation skills, particularly in relation to neurodevelopmental disorders during school age. Alice is especially interested in integrating technology for assessment and intervention, both in-person and remotely. She is excited to join the BabyLab team and work on a project examining executive functioning in children, both with and without ADHD, using eye-tracking technologies.

Thea Coroliuc, MSc Student and Lab Assistant

Thea is an MSc student in Behavioural Neuroscience with the School of Psychology at UCD, under the supervision of Assoc. Prof Michelle Downes. She previously completed a BSc in Psychology at UCD, where she developed an interest in neuropsychology.

Thea is interested in neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically ADHD in children and its impact on cognitive, emotional, and behavioural development. Aspiring to pursue doctoral studies in clinical psychology, Thea would like to specialise in working with children in the field of neuropsychology. 

Thea will be working on an upcoming Babylab project examining screen-use, technoference, and executive function in toddlers.

Ella Byrne, MSc Student and Lab Assistant

Ella is a master’s student in the MSc Behavioural Neuroscience at University College Dublin. She completed her undergraduate studies at the South East Technological University Waterford.

Ella has a keen interest in developmental and child psychology and aspires to work with children in the future.

Ella will be working on an upcoming Babylab project examining fantastical cartoons and executive function in toddlers, using eye-tracking technology.

Dr Áine Ní Choisdealbha, Lab Member

Áine is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow at University College Dublin. Áine undertook her PhD in Psychology at Lancaster University, using behavioural and neuroscience methods to study infants’ social and motor development. She has held postdoctoral positions at the Centre for Neuroscience in Education (University of Cambridge) and the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (University of Washington), as well as at the ESRI. Her main research interest is in how motor development helps infants to interact with the social and physical worlds around them.

Áine’s work at UCD is part of the Perception and Motor Cognition Group. She is currently investigating how motor processes in the baby’s brain help them to learn about what other people are doing, and how these processes change as infants grow older and learn new motor skills. You can find out more here!