Profile
Emma Sullivan
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About Me:
Hi everyone! My name is Emma and I am a Research Associate at the University of York. I have recently completed my PhD. In my spare time, I love to bake, and go to the gym!
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Hi everyone! My name is Emma and I am a Research Associate at the Department of Psychology at the University of York. In my spare time, I love to bake, particularly biscoff brownies! I also go to the gym regularly and lift weights to make me feel strong!
I am from Rotherham, South Yorkshire. I have lived in York, Oxford and London so have experienced many places in the UK and worked at several different universities. I did my undergraduate degree in Psychology at York and now I am back in York doing my PhD.
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My pronouns are:
She/her
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My Work:
I am a Research Associate at the University of York researching how sleep influences our emotions and mental health. I have recently completed my PhD where I used virtual reality to see how anxious people are in a scary environment when they are sleep-deprived. I also teach undergraduate students in Psychology.
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I research the role of sleep in how we process and deal with our emotions on a day-to-day basis. I do this by getting participants to sleep in the sleep lab or stay awake all night under my watchful eye. I then immerse them in a virtual reality emotional experience to see how their responses differ depending on whether they have had a full night of sleep or stayed awake all night. I love using many different methods in my project and applying it to real-life situations.
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My Typical Day:
I wake up and go to the gym at around 7:00am. I then come back and shower before either heading to the department or working from home. Throughout the day, I do work on my PhD studies and have various meetings. I go home at around 6pm.
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I wake up and go to the gym at around 7:00am. I then come back and shower before either heading to the department or working from home. I then either work on designing my studies or writing up a paper for my previous studies. I also have lots of meetings about various things, such as discussing progress on my data analysis, new ideas I have for studies, and discussing a paper on sleep with the lab journal group. Some days, I spend some time in the lab collecting data or analysing data. I go home at around 6pm.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would love to organise a workshop with students all about mental health and wellbeing, with a particular emphasise on sleep and how it is studied.
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Education:
2020-2024 Postgraduate degree: PhD Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, University of York
2017-2018 Postgraduate degree: MSc Psychological Research, University of Oxford
2013-2016 Undergraduate degree: BSc Psychology, University of York
2011-2013 A-Levels: Wickersley School and Sports College
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Qualifications:
2020-Present Postgraduate degree: PhD Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, University of York
2017-2018 Postgraduate degree: MSc Psychological Research, University of Oxford
- MSc project: “Night night, Sleep Spindle Tight”: Elucidating the Role of Sleep Spindles in Learning and Memory in 3-month-old Infants (67).
2013-2016 Undergraduate degree: 1st Class BSc Hons Psychology, University of York
- BSc project: Investigating the Role of Sleep in the Emotional Regulation of Faces: A Behavioural and Psychophysiological Investigation (75).
2011-2013 4 A-Levels (A*-A): Wickersley School and Sports College
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Work History:
Research Associate: University of York, Department of Psychology
September 2023- September 2027- Working on projects that are continuing the work I did in my PhD. Also working on some new work, including looking at how sleep and social media are related. As well as looking at how cognitive functions may change the relationship between early sleep and later mental health outcomes.
Research Assistant (Part time, Paid): University College London, Institute of Education, Department of Psychology and Human Development
September 2019- February 2022I am currently working as a Research Assistant on the sleep focus autistic project within the Sleep Education and Research lab (SERL). This project aims to examine autistic adults’ sleep in relation to their mental health and deliver an autism specific sleep intervention to potentially improve sleep outcomes in these individuals. My role involves:
- Design and dissemination of an online survey to gather information about autistic adults’ sleep and how it relates to health.
- Scoring, analysing and writing up findings from the online survey.
- Conducting and analysis an additional survey to gather information on the effects of COVID-19 on autistic adults’ sleep and how it relates to health.
- Collecting and analysing sleep diary and salivary cortisol from a seven-night period.
- Assisting with the design, implementation and analysis of online focus groups designed to gather personal accounts of sleep in this autistic population.
- Subject recruitment and retention.
- Coordinating the clinical trials arm of the project including screening participants for the autism specific sleep intervention.
- Managing the lab website and social media platforms.
- Analysing a dataset from Cerebra which characterises sleep in a child intellectual developmental disability sample.
- Trained in Polysomnography (Jan 2020) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (Feb 2020).
Therapeutic Services Administrator (Casual, Paid): Treat my Sleep
June 2019-September 2020
I was previously working as a Therapeutic Services Administrator for Treat my Sleep, one of the leading services in the UK for the treatment and support of individuals, families and organisations experiencing sleep issues. This role involves:
- Design a sleep diary in both paper format to be used in excel to be used by patients
- Inputting standardised questionnaires on the website to be completed by patients
- Design forms to aid patient flow during treatment (for example, designing an end of therapy form)
- Managing social media platforms and posting regular content (Facebook and Instagram)
Research Assistant (Paid time, Paid): Kings College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience Department of Forensic of Neurodevelopmental Sciences
October 2018-October 2020
I previously worked on the Brain Imaging in Babies study (BIBS). This project aims to examine brain development from fetal, through to early childhood in children with a high and low vulnerability to neurodevelopmental disorders (autism and ADHD). My main role was to follow up the cognitive and behavioural testing of toddlers and using diagnostic instruments for autism and ADHD: Autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS) and autism diagnostic interview (ADI). I also was involved in writing reports of assessment for parents and if needed, for referral to clinical services and liaising/communicating with clinical services where needed.
Sleep Research Study Assistant (Paid time, Paid): University of Oxford, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute
May 2018-October 2018During this post, I helped to conduct human experimental and clinical studies on sleep and disorders of sleep. My main responsibility was to provide cover/assistance for overnight sleep research studies. I received training in all relevant procedures, e.g. polysomnography measures and cognitive tasks and adhered to a pre-defined protocol when conducting this research.
Research Assistant (Full time, Paid): University of Sheffield, Department of Psychology
February 2017-October 2017Before commencing my masters, I undertook a position within the Cognitive Development Research Group. I worked on several projects including: examining the relationship between pre-schoolers’ cognitive skills, maths skills and socioeconomic status and testing the effectiveness of a short executive function training intervention in pre-schoolers from diverse backgrounds.
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Current Job:
Research Associate: University of York, Department of Psychology
September 2023- September 2027Working on projects that are continuing the work I did in my PhD. Also working on some new work, including looking at how sleep and social media are related. As well as looking at how cognitive functions may change the relationship between early sleep and later mental health outcomes.
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Employer:
I am employed by the University of York.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Enthusiast, friendly, conscientious
What did you want to be after you left school?
I knew I wanted to go into Psychology research although I did float the idea of being a forensic scientist for a while.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Only once because I was trying to mediate an argument between the two people sitting on either side of me!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I'd probably be a personal trainer.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
The 1975 and Fred Again.
What's your favourite food?
Oh chocolate all the way. Particularly Reese's peanut butter cups.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
I wish for happiness, health and sucess.
Tell us a joke.
What music does cheese listen to? R n Bree (sorry).
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