October 2020 News Bulletin

Announcements

• The start of Michaelmas term is upon us! It’s great to see all of our returning students again, and a hearty welcome to our new first years and post-graduate students. For those who don’t know, this is the department’s bi-weekly newsletter! It’s a place to share accomplishments, opportunities, and a bit of banter. Keep an eye out for it in your inbox, and feel free to email the editor (Dr Andrew Marcinko) if you have something you’d like to include.
  
  
• Durham University’s Women in STEM Society is offering a brand-new Student Support Scheme and is definitely worth getting involved with! Check out their Facebook page here.
  
  
• The Learn with Us Summer Camp, started by Year 2 student Giammarco Di Gregorio, was recently featured in The Northern Echo!
  
  
• Let’s give a warm welcome to our new staff members who have started this summer! Keep an eye out for their profiles in upcoming newsletters.

Photo of the week

Some teaching may be going virtual, but that won’t stop Durham lecturers from going all out! Here’s Dr Paddy Ross’s battle station.

Staff Profile of the Week:
Dr Colin Lever

Colin is an Associate Professor and a member of both the Cognitive Neuroscience Group and the Learning and Memory Processes Centre His research focuses on temporal coding and memory states, boundary vector cells, and the functional associations of hippocampal theta

What is your favourite food?

Vegetable madras, Tarka Dall, Spinach Bhaji. I also like Thai and Malaysian food (having lived in Malaysia until I was 20).

When was the most trouble you were ever in as a kid?

With a friend, throwing loads of sticks onto a road near school (when the cars weren't there), so that the cars would have to stop. I was 10. We did this a few times. We were eventually caught and got whacked with a slipper by the Head teacher.

If you could meet any historical figure, who would it be?

It was Thomas Cromwell, because of Mantel's amazing Wolf Hall books. Now it's Brodmann, the german neuroanatomist, under-rated at the time: I'd go back to tell him before his early-ish death 'don't worry, your work will endure for centuries'.

What music are you listening to this month?

Olafur Arnalds, Max Richter, Steve Reich, Joni Mitchell, and because of my kids: Ariane Grande Who's had the most positive impact on your life? My wife and children.

Who are your heroes?

Rita Levi-Montalcini. John Berryman. Jane Austen

What advice would you give a Durham undergraduate?

Social: Help friends. Mental: Make a habit of uncomfortable exploring. Cooking: Add burnt garlic.

News and opportunities

• Year 2 student Jude Hanlon was featured in a Scholar Spotlight article about his research on transgender identity narratives, gender stereotyping, and wellbeing.
  
  
• Heads up! The Academic Development for Students Team is still offering one-to-one academic writing consultations via Microsoft Teams.
  
  
• Here’s a great opportunity to attend some free virtual lectures on longitudinal research offered by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies Ireland. 
  
  
• Here’s a fully Funded PhD Studentship Opportunity from the National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria (ARC).
  
  
• Congrats to Prof Marko Nardini and Dr Ulrik Beierholm for being accepted to represent the department on to the executive board for the Biophysical Sciences Institute!
  
  
• Well done Prof Debbie Riby for being invited to be a member of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Panel, and also for receiving a €23,422.87 grant to further her research on Williams Syndrome!
  
  
• Autumn is a good look for the Psych Department courtyard, don’t you think?! 

Psychology Joke of the Week…

What’s a psychology researcher’s favourite chewing gum flavour…?

Exspearmint! (This is definitely the worst one yet :|)

Accomplished something awesome? Want your event included in the next newsletter? Know any great psychology jokes? Email the editor: Andrew.J.Marcinko@Durham.ac.uk