For this episode, Psyching Up Psychology, The Gateway is proud to welcome Emily Towner, a 3rd year PhD Student in Psychology at the University of Cambridge and a Gates-Cambridge Scholar. Emily studies adolescence and the brain — and is interested in learning, mental health, and understanding the impacts of stress and social interactions during development.

She is currently training in the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab led by Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore. Her Ph.D. research focuses on social isolation in adolescents - where she is investigating the effects of isolation and loneliness on fear learning and mental health. Through the use of high-definition magnetic resonance imaging she is also exploring structural associations between the brain and one's response to social isolation. In addition, she hopes to examine whether virtual social interactions (such as the use of smartphones and social media) might mitigate or exacerbate the effects of social isolation.

Please check out all of Emily’s work:

https://www.emilytowner.com/