Catherine Harmer
Director of PERL
I am an experimental psychologist who became fascinated by how antidepressants work both in terms of our brains but also our psychology. Our research looks at different treatments for depression, trying to find out what makes treatment effective, whether it is based on a medicine, a talking therapy, lifestyle change and more. By taking this approach we try to improve treatments of the future – making them more effective, faster or working for subgroups of patients that might not be helped by current treatments.
Susannah Murphy
Associate Professor
Using a translational experimental medicine approach, my research assesses novel treatment approaches in humans to understand their mechanisms and predict later treatment efficacy, particularly in psychiatric treatment development. I am currently characterizing the neuropsychological effects of novel antidepressant targets and work with pharmaceutical companies to deploy this approach in drug development.
Amy Gillespie
Postdoctoral Researcher
I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Psychopharmacology and Emotion Research Lab, interested in understanding the mechanisms of psychiatric problems and their treatments. My current project investigates the effect of a novel antidepressant on cognitive processing in patients with depression, and I also coordinate a large longitudinal online study investigating emotional cognition during the pandemic.
Erdem Pulcu
Postdoctoral Researcher
I have worked as a postdoctoral researcher in RIKEN Brain Sciences Institute and Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet) on computational models of decision-making and social interactive games. My current research focuses on investigating reinforcement learning and social interactive decision-making in patients with depression and healthy volunteers undergoing pharmacological manipulation.
Marieke Martens
NIHR Oxford Health BRC Postdoctoral Researcher
My work within the PERL focuses on understanding how the brain processes emotional information and how this is affected by neurotransmitters such as serotonin, noradrenaline, and dopamine. They also investigate how genetic factors impact brain functions relevant to psychiatric illness, particularly the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene’s influence on dopamine, memory, and emotional processing, and how stress alters these links.
Angharad de Cates
Guarantors of Brain Postdoctoral Researcher
My postdoctoral research includes investigating new agents that may work as antidepressants and improve cognition in humans, as well as factors that may increase the risk of future episodes of depression in those who have had depression in the past using imaging data of large datasets, including the UK Biobank. I also work in the studies within the group that look at agents that act on specific serotonin receptors (the 5HT4 receptor) and lead the PROGRESS study team.
Riccardo De Giorgi
Clinical Lecturer
As a Clinical Lecturer and ST4-6 at the University of Oxford, I am interested in neuropsychopharmacology and evidence-based treatment for mood disorders, with a focus on treatment-resistant depression. My current research investigates the repurposing of drugs with anti-inflammatory potential for treating depression, using early markers of antidepressant response and immunophenotypic peripheral blood markers to validate their potential in further clinical trials.
Alexander Smith
DPhil Student
I’m a DPhil student interested in reward processing in the context of psychopharmacology and experimental medicine. I am currently working on the REPAC study: The REward Processing and Citalopram Study.
Chloe Wigg
DPhil Student
My research focuses on investigating the potential effects of ketamine, a medication, on motivation and anhedonia in individuals who are taking an antidepressant but still experiencing symptoms of depression. Through my DPhil thesis, I strive to advance our knowledge in this important area and make a positive impact on the lives of those with depression. Feel free to contact me via email or twitter for more information about my research.
Michael Colwell
DPhil Student
It’s a pleasure to be a member of PERL, where I am working on projects aimed at better understanding how chemicals in our brain (neurotransmitters) influence important aspects of our lives, such as our ability to remember information or process emotions. If you’d like to know more, I would be more than happy to receive any emails.
Brennan Delattre
DPhil Student
My research interests mainly sit at the intersection of social psychology and intervention science. With the SOMA study, I am presently investigating the potential benefits of cooperative, social movement-based activities (such as salsa dance!) for individuals with low mood, depression, and loneliness. We hope to translate this research to various applications within the NHS mental healthcare systems. Feel free to reach out to me on my LinkedIn or Twitter if you would like to learn more.
Andreea Raslescu
DPhil Student
At PERL, I am studying how antidepressants affect learning under different environmental conditions and whether positive reinforcement from an enriched environment could be important for their function. They are comparing the cognitive effects of SSRI administration alone and in combination with behavioural activation therapy to monitor and adjust an individual’s daily activities to maximize environmental reinforcement.
Wendy Howard
BRC Scientific Administrator
I help support experimental medicine studies and carry out associated administration and project management. I very much enjoy being part of this dynamic group of researchers’ and being involved in projects that aim to better the lives of people struggling with mental health issues. I also sit on a number of Departmental People & Culture groups that are working towards achieving a more inclusive and diverse place of work.
Ella Williams
DPhil Student
My research focuses on pharmacological agents which have been proposed to have rapid-acting antidepressant effects. In particular, I am interested in discovering how these compounds impact various aspects of emotion and cognition, so that we might then better understand the potential mechanisms of action relevant to depression treatment. My current project is designed to assess how nitrous oxide impacts a number of psychological processes, including memory and emotional perception. Through my DPhil explorations, I hope to help inform the development of novel strategies for the treatment of depression, which may also be effective for individuals who have previously shown treatment-resistance.
Dr. Eva Periche-Tomas
Post-Doctoral Researcher
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I am a psychologist specialising in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. As a clinician, I have always been fascinated by the mechanistic drivers behind the efficacy of psychological and pharmacological treatments, with a special interest in exploring the role of inflammation and its impact on depression treatment outcomes. At PERL, I am involved in a multi-site study focused on understanding the brain mechanisms associated with motivation and apathy. Using an experimental medicine approach, I am examining the behavioural impacts and neural correlates of SSRIs manipulation in goal-orientated behaviour through an effort-based decision-making task.
Grace Warner
Research Assistant
I contribute to the Glutamate Emotion Memory Study (GEMS) study, investigating the therapeutic effects of ketamine on autobiographical memory, emotional processing and decision-making for treatment-resistant depression. My responsibilities flexibly encompass the protocol, including participant recruitment, screening, and facilitating research visits. I am passionate about mental health research, particularly neural and cognitive changes associated with mood disorders and their treatments. Prior to this role, I completed a Masters in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of Manchester investigating neural correlates of emotion processing in depression and independently-administered online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Anutra Guru
Research Assistant
I am currently working on the PROGRESS Study, which aims to investigate if Prucalopride, a drug used to treat constipation, can improve emotion processing and cognition in healthy participants who have recovered from depression. I am interested in understanding the mechanisms of depression and finding alternative treatments, particularly in instances of treatment-resistance. I completed my undergraduate degree in psychology at the National University of Singapore and worked as a research assistant there for a year, before pursuing a Master’s degree in Psychiatric Research at King’s College London.
Esther Teo
Research Assistant
I am currently working on a project aiming to innovate treatments and assessments for adolescents with depression. I had studied for an undergraduate degree in neuroscience at UCL, before completing a research masters with a greater focus on personality disorders at Yale University. I have always been interested in people’s experience with mental health and the way the brain works, therefore my previous role was a criminal justice recovery caseworker at a mental health charity for women in prisons.
Sylvana Vilca-Melendez
DPhil Student
I am a DPhil student in the Clinical Psychpharmacology group and I’m very passionate about functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS). My research aims to use fMRS to investigate glutamate neurotransmission in psychiatric conditions. fMRS is still a developing technique and so my role has been trying to establish a functional task that will lead to reliable glutamate changes and then combine this technique with a drug study. If you are interested in finding out more please feel free to contact me via email or linkedin.
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Psychopharmacology and Emotion Research Laboratory 