Ashleigh Bellard
Bio:
In 2017, I graduated with a Psychology (BSc) degree at Liverpool Hope University. For my third year dissertation, I investigated ‘Facial EMG and behavioural biases to dynamic facial expressions’, supervised by Dr Letizia Palumbo. In 2018, I completed a Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (MSc) degree also at Liverpool Hope University, where I conducted a project titled: ‘I feel what you feel: The role of the Premotor (PMC) in emotional anticipation, a TMS study’, supervised by Dr Letizia Palumbo and Dr Dan Clark (Co-Supervisor). In 2019, I obtained a research assistant position, working alongside Dr Valentina Cazzato on a project investigating self-body knowledge in young and middle-aged women (Task 1: Implicit self-recognition and Task 2: Body Distortion Technique), with the main aim of understanding body image perception in Middle-aged women.
At present, I am a 2nd year PhD student at Liverpool John Moores University, interested in investigating responses to affective touch in eating disorder populations compared to healthy controls. As part of my PhD, I am examining an impaired affective touch system in Anorexia Nervosa, with the aim of developing a non-invasive brain stimulation intervention for this impairment.
Research Area(s):
Director of Studies: Valentina Cazzato