Michael Colwell

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Psychopharmacology & Emotion Research Laboratory within the Department of Psychiatry. My work focuses on understanding how neurochemical signals shape mood, emotion, and cognition in everyday life. Specifically, I investigate the mechanisms by which brain chemistry—including serotonin—influences affective processing, with the goal of informing the prevention and treatment of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety.

My research interests span cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, and computational modelling, including drift diffusion modelling, machine decoding, and reinforcement learning approaches. Most recently, my work on serotonin and how it influences how people learn and respond to negative information was published in Nature Communications, and featured on the University front page. 

I completed my DPhil (PhD) in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, where I remain based. Prior to my academic training, I worked for several years in NHS mental health services across both acute and community adult teams, gaining clinical experience that continues to inform my scientific perspective. During this time, I also contributed to neuropsychological research in the Department of Experimental Psychology.

If you're interested in learning more about my work or exploring opportunities for collaboration, please feel free to get in touch.