Dr Rachael Elward

I am the Course Leader for Psychology - BSc (Hons). I specialise in the cognitive neuroscience of learning and memory. My research uses a range of neuroscience techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), eye-tracking, and cognitive science. These methods enable me to investigate the brain areas involved in memory-related processing, the time-course of these processes during memory tasks, and the ontogeny of episodic memory across development.

I am an elected member of the Memory Disorders Research Society (MDRS), a committee member of the British Neuropsychological Society (BNS), and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Neuropsychologia.

My research involves understanding how the brain’s memory systems are structured, how they develop, and how they function across the lifespan. I work with individuals with a rare memory disorder known as developmental amnesia, caused by early injury to the hippocampus—a brain region crucial for memory. This research not only informs strategies to support children with memory disorders in education but also provides valuable insights into the organisation of the memory system.

As co-lead of the Brain, Mind and Behaviour Research Group, I work to advance interdisciplinary research in cognitive neuroscience and psychology.

My work focuses on three main areas:

1. Learning in children with memory disorders, with the aim of improving the educational support offered to children with developmental amnesia.
2. Memory precision across development, including how early hippocampal injury impacts spatial, episodic, and semantic memory.
3. Neural correlates of memory, using techniques such as MRI, EEG, fNIRS, and eye-tracking to study how the brain supports memory and how these processes can fail.

Collaborations

I hold an honorary lectureship at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, where I collaborate on neuropsychology research.

I work with researchers at the University of Cambridge on projects investigating the neural basis of memory and its development.

I collaborate with international groups, including the Centre for Vital Longevity in Dallas, Texas, focusing on memory declines associated with ageing.

Public Engagement & Outreach

My science communication articles, published in The Conversation, have been republished by Wired.com and Scientific American.

I contributed to a Wellcome Trust-funded public engagement theatre production (The Jude Starbeam Project) and ran theatre workshops for primary school children on the topic of brain injury.

I have been interviewed by Parents.com on children’s memory abilities and infantile amnesia. 

Course Director
Member of the Race Equlity Charter Working Group

I teach developmental psychology and cognitive psychology.

I am module leader for 'Lifespan Development' an advanced module which focuses on cognitive, social and emotional development over the lifespan.

I support students in learning to use neuroscientific tools such as eye-tracking and EEG.

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.