Brasenose College is pleased to welcome a new tutor in Psychology, Professor Geoff Bird. He will also be taking up a position as Associate Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Department of Experimental Psychology.
His doctoral research, supervised by Professor Cecilia Heyes at UCL, was on the mechanisms by which people imitate the actions of others. After his PhD, he moved to the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (ICN) at UCL, where he worked with Professors Chris and Uta Frith on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
This work primarily utilised functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and investigated a number of processes in adults with ASD. He also looked at the development of theory of mind and social emotions across adolescence with Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, and studied the neural basis of empathy and fairness with Professor Tania Singer.
Following the ICN, he moved to the Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution (ELSE) as a Postdoctoral Fellow where he continued to work with Professor Heyes on studies of imitation and decision making in typically-developing adults and adults with ASD. After a few years at the Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck in October 2008, he moved to King's College London, where he continued to work on social cognition in typical individuals and those with ASD. While at King’s College, he developed a keen interest in interoception (our ability to perceive the internal state of our body) and alexithymia (a sub-clinical condition characterised by an inability to identify and describe one's own emotions).
Commenting on his arrival at Brasenose, Geoff said: “I’m very pleased to be at Brasenose and am looking forward to getting to know my new colleagues and all the students here.”
Read more about Psychology at Brasenose.