Bio

 

In my current postdoctoral research, I’m working on frontotemporal and Alzheimer’s dementia using multimodal (structural, task fMRI, resting-state fMRI and MR spectroscopic) neuroimaging data. I’m also gaining some practical training in focused ultrasound brain stimulation, a highly innovative non-invasive brain stimulation technique. My research interests revolve around cognition in dementia and in the healthy adult brain, and I’m particularly interested in how individual bilingual experiences could affect brain functioning and structure in (late) adulthood (i.e., does bilingualism provide a cognitive/brain reserve). I do my best to carry out my work according to the field’s Open Scholarship standards for transparency and reproducibility, and I also investigate the application of Open Scholarship myself, as a proud member of the Framework for Open and Reproducible Research Training (FORRT) and the Feminist Wonder Lab.

My past PhD research investigated the individual differences in the bilingual cognition and language switching abilities. I graduated with an MSc in Evolution of Language and Cognition from the University of Edinburgh in 2017, and an MSc in Intercultural Communication from the University of Warwick in 2015. My MSc theses studied the learnability of evidentiality grammatical structures for bilinguals, and the cultural identity of bilingual speakers of endangered Mesoamerican languages. I gained my undergraduate degree in Psychology in 2010 from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria.

 

Research and teaching experience

 

  • May 2023 – currently: Postdoctoral Researcher, at the School of Psychology, University of Nottingham. I’m collecting and analysing multimodal (f)MRI/MRS, behavioural and neuropsychological data of frontotemporal and Alzheimer’s dementia patients and healthy older adults, in order to answer questions about the neural changes in dementia and their relationship to cognition. I’m also gaining some practical experience in focused ultrasound brain stimulation.
  • January 2022 – July 2023: Lecturer in Psychology at the Department of Education and Social Justice, University of Birmingham. I was the module lead for Quantitative Research Methods I, for Psychology of Education undergraduates. I also acted as a primary supervisor of MSc dissertations and mentored students.
  • June – September 2021: Research Assistant at the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham. I was collecting data on the project Ready or Not, on the social, emotional and cognitive development of reception-aged children, and their challenges in transitioning to the first school year.
  • April 2021 – April 2022: Research Assistant at the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham. I collected EEG data for the ESRC project The effects of individual differences in bilingual experience on cognitive control networks.
  • September 2018 – April 2022: Teaching Associate at the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham. My role was supporting the lead teaching staff on the postgraduate courses Current Research in Psychology, Foundations in Critical Thinking, and the undergraduate courses Language and Communication, Social and Differential Psychology, Social Psychology of the Person, Research Methods (I, II and IV), and Cognitive Psychology and Memory Loss (Medical School).
  • August 2019 – January 2020: Research Assistant at the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham. I collected data from bilinguals and monolinguals for a research project on audio-visual information integration during language perception.
  • June – November 2018: Language Consultant at What3Words. I was a consultant advising the team on Bulgarian language features and assisting the development of the location application for Bulgaria.
  • November 2017 – January 2021: Sleep Study Research Assistant, at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, the University of Oxford. I was responsible for collecting sleep polysomnography and tDCS data.
  • May – August 2017: Research Assistant, at the University of Edinburgh. I was responsible for recruiting and testing children on a fNIRS paradigm for a project examining reactive and proactive control markers.
  • February - June 2014: Psychology Intern in Cognitive Psychophysiology, Institute of Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.
  • December 2012 – February 2013: Psychology Intern in the Centre for Military Psychology and Psychological Assessment, and the Psychiatry Clinic of Military Medical Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria.

 

For a copy of my complete CV, please contact me.