Michael Colwell

I am a DPhil student and member of the Psychopharmacology & Emotion Research Laboratory, supervised by Prof Catherine Harmer and Dr Susannah Murphy. I am working on projects to try to understand the impact of cognitive impairment in psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, and investigating potential therapeutic approaches for this difficulty. In my first year, I have been working alongside the PERL team to investigate a promising drug which has been licensed to treat a rare form of epilepsy known as Dravet Syndrome. We are interested in how the unique properties of this drug influence human cognition, the system which underpins our ability to remember, think, and learn. Alongside cognition impairment and potential drug treatment effects, my interests include pharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of affective disorders.

I currently have ongoing commitments as student representative for the DPhil/MRes courses offered in the department, as well as supervision and facilitation of undergraduate tutorials across the Departments of Psychiatry and Experimental Psychology.

Prior to my DPhil role, I spent several years working in mental health services across the NHS, in both acute and community adult mental health teams. During this period, I spent time contributing to neuropsychology research in the Department of Experimental Psychology. I have previously completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a research masters in Neuroscience/Biomedical Sciences.