Monash Child and Adult Development Laboratory

Professor Kim Cornish, Director, kim.cornish@monash.edu

• Link to Professor Cornish's profile
  

Doctor Darren Hocking, Research Fellow, darren.hocking@monash.edu

• Link to Doctor Hocking's profile

Tamara May, PhD candidate, tamara.may@monash.edu

• Link to Tamara's profile

Claudine Kraan, PhD Candidate, claudine.kraan@monash.edu

• Link to Claudine's profile

Fay Fletcher, PhD Candidate, fefle1@student.monash.edu

Fay gained her undergraduate qualification in Psychology in 2011 from Newcastle University in the UK, passing her Bachelor of Science with a 1st Class Honours. She has always had an interest in developmental psychology and her undergraduate project fuelled this enthusiasm by underaking research on preschool children, investigating the link between Theory of Mind and narrative skill. This project allowed her to gain extensive experience in working with, and testing, young children using a range of assessment batteries.

She chose to further her career in the area of neurodevelopmental disorders by joining the dynamic team at Monash CADLAB. She is currently working as a PhD student as part of the ARC Sleep study, investigating the extent to which sleep disturbance effects overall academic performance in typically developing children and children with High Functioning Autism and Asperger's syndrome. In particular, she will focus on the extent to which anxiety can exacerbate the detrimental effect of sleep disturbance on the developing child.

"Although there has been a recent surge in sleep-related research, there is still a lot more research to be done before we fully understand the mechanisms of sleep and how it relates to a number of other factors; and this is something I am excited to be a part of."

Project: ARC Sleep study 

Hannah Kirk, PhD Candidate, hekir2@student.monash.edu

Hannah is currently undertaking a PhD that focuses on the cognitive sugnatures within the Fragile X profile. After gaining her Bachelor of Science (Psychology) with 1st Class Honours  from Newcastle University, UK, she decided to further her interest in developmental disorders by working as a research assistant at Newcastle University, working with individuals with Williams syndrome under the supervision of Dr Deborah Riby. This project investigated the evaluation of trust from unfamiliar faces in typical and atypical development, with findings subsequently presented at the British Psychological Societies Developmental Conference in 2011.

Hannah's current project focuses on the specific cognitive signatures within Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), with particular reference to social cognition. The study involves the use of a variety of measures, including eye-tracking and motor equipment, alongside conventional behavioural and cognitive scales, to gain a broader understanding of the unique social behaviours displayed by individuals with FXS. The use of various techniques offers the potential to link specific social behaviours to pre-established cognitive areas.

"Working within the field of developmental disorders has allowed me to amalgamate my fervour for research as well as the enjoyment gained from working with children. It is an area that remains paramount to increasing our knowledge of behaviour via the investigation of both typical and atypical populations."

Project: FXS

Mistral Foster-Owens, DPsych Candidate, mistral.foster-owens@monash.edu

Mistral completed her undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Psychology) at Deakin University in 2010. Her 4th year research study examined the relationship between working memory, attention, formally-measured academic achievement, and teacher-judged school performancein a non-clinical sample of children. Mistral's specific interest was whether teachers' reports of academic achievement (based on school reports) were significantly related to formal measures of academic achievement, working memory performance and performance on formal tests of attention.

Mistral's current research is focused on better understanding the profile, and impact of, sleep disturbance in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Specifically, whether sleep disturbance impacts on children's levels of inattention and arousal, and the inter-relationship between sleep disturbance, inattention and academic achievement.

Project: ARC Sleep study

Daniel Thomas, Lab Manager, daniel.thomas@monash.edu

Dan completed his Honours degreee in Behavioural Neuroscience (Psychology) in 2011, after working on the WS Motor project with Dr Darren Hocking and Prof Kim Cornish. During this time, he developed a passion for working with both children and adults with neurodevelopmental conditions, which led to him returning to the lab in 2012 as Lab Manager and a Research Assistant for both the ARC Sleep study and the WS Motor study. Dan hopes to continue in this role throughout the next 2 years, preparing him for a PhD in this field.

Project: ARC Sleep study

Project: WS Motor study

Fiona Lynch, Honours student, falyn1@student.monash.edu

Fiona completed her Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) in 2010 at Monash University. Throughout her time studying, she has volunteered with Riding for the Disabled, helping children with disabilities learn to ride horses. She has now moved her focus, commencing work as a direct support professional for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

"My interest in the current research project stems from my desire to work with children and determine ways to help their everyday lives, particularly in their schooling. I hope the research we are completing will be a step towards improving the lives of Australian children."

Project: ARC Sleep study

Jelena Stojic, Honours student, jsto18@student.monash.edu

Jelena finished her Bachelor of Psychology at Monash in 2011. She chose to take part in a project looking at sleep because it has always been one of the areas of psychology that most interested her, even when she studied psychology in high school.

"Throughout my degree, I also found myself taking an interest in areas like cognitive and developmental psychology, so I'm pleased that this project somewhat overlaps all these areas."

Project: ARC Sleep study

Michal Fisher, Honours student, mlfis1@student.monash.edu

Michal finished her Bachelor of Psychology and Management/Marketing at Monash University in 2011. During this time, she worked as part of a Special Education team in a secondary school, assisting adolescents with learning difficulties and special needs. She has also worked as a councillor on a camp created to integrate children with disabilities such as Autism and Down syndrome and typically developing children.

"I am really interested in Autism and Asperger's disorders and am looking forward to working in a project that assists these individuals."

Project: ARC Sleep study

Christine Garnham, Honours student, cjgar2@student.monash.edu

Although she always wanted to work with children, Chrissie first became interested in Developmental Psychology after the creche where she volunteered asked her to commit to caring for a young boy with Down syndrome fortnightly. Over the next few years she had the pleasure of watching him grow and develop mentally as well as physically. It was this experience that encouraged her to undertake a Bachelor\ of Behavioural Neuroscience (Psychology) at Monash University, which she completed in 2011. Sine graduating, she has had the opportunity to volunteer at Bayside Special Development School, working with children with a wide range of developmental disorders. This year, she has been accepted into Monash University's Psychology Honours program, where she will be conducting research on typical motor-cognitive development under the supervision of Professor Kim Cornish and Doctor Darren Hocking.

"I am particularly looking forward to the opportunity of examinig typical development from a neuropsychological perspective and the prospect of contributing to research that may one day improve the lives of children diagnosed with developmental disorders."

Project: WS Motor Study