Professor Louise Brown Nicholls
Psychology
Personal statement
My research is focused on understanding human memory and attention, and how these cognitive abilities are affected by adult ageing. I am also interested in healthy ageing more generally, such as the role of emotion (especially anxiety) and lifestyle factors (such as cognitive engagement) in cognitive performance across the adult lifespan, and the impacts of cognitive ability in health-related behaviours (e.g., vaccine hesitancy).
My research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Chief Scientist Office, the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust, and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.
I am a member of the ESRC's Assessor College and Peer Review College, and serve on the editorial board of the I have previously served on the boards of Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio journal) and Frontiers in Psychology: Cognitive Science.
I am founding Director of the 吃瓜tv Ageing Network, comprising ~100 of 吃瓜tv's multidisciplinary ageing-related researchers and key external partners, and I lead the new . I am also a member of the planning group of the . My other external partners include Alzheimer Scotland, Generations Working Together, and U3A.
Qualifications/Experience
Following my BA(hons) in Psychology in 2001, I completed my MSc in Psychological Research Methods and a research assistant post, both at University of Stirling. I then gained my PhD in cognitive ageing at Glasgow Caledonian University in 2007. I benefited from significant experience as a postdoctoral fellow, first at Glasgow Caledonian University and then at The University of Edinburgh, where I worked on European Research Council and Leverhulme Trust-funded research projects. I then became a Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University in 2011, where I founded my Memory & Ageing Lab. Having originally studied at 吃瓜tv for my undergraduate degree, I was delighted to return for a Chancellor's Fellowship in 2014. I was promoted to full Professor in Spring 2024.
I have served on ethics committees at multiple institutions for approximately 10 years in total. I have carried out other core University administrative roles over the years, such as University Senate member, department Postgraduate Research Director, and department research committee member.
I am a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), the Psychonomic Society, and the Higher Education Academy. I am also a Chartered Psychologist with the BPS.聽
Prize And Awards
- Recipient
- 6/3/2024
- Recipient
- 5/2018
- Recipient
- 6/2015
- Recipient
- 2013
- Recipient
- 1/2011
Publications
- , Lukas Julia-Marie, Crawford Linzi, Jackson Lazaro
- European Society for Cognitive Psychology 2025 (2025)
- , , Allen Richard, von Bastian Claudia, Burke Melanie, , ,
- 24th Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (2025)
- ,
- Memory & Cognition Vol 53, pp. 1677-1695 (2025)
- , , Allen Richard, von Bastian Claudia, Burke Melanie, , ,
- Experimental Psychology Society Meeting: Dundee (2025)
- , Lukas Julia-Marie, Crawford Linzi, Jackson Lazaro
- European Cognitive Ageing Society (2025)
- , , Allen Richard, von Bastian Claudia, Burke Melanie, ,
- European Cognitive Aging Society 8th International Aging & Cognition Conference (2025)
Teaching
My teaching is focused in the areas of cognition and the psychology of ageing. I am the class leader of the honours topic "psychology and ageing", and I teach in this area in the level 3 Development class (social and cognitive ageing). I supervise undergraduate, masters, and PhD level research (see Research section for further information).聽
I have previously taught on the level 2 Social & Health class, and the level 3 Cognition class. I have also been the School Director of Postgraduate Research (2020-2023), having been Deputy Director for 6 years prior to that.
Research Interests
My core interest is in cognitive abilities across the adult lifespan, especially short-term ("working") memory and attention mechanisms, and processing and retaining visual information. A current area of focus is upon the ability to associate ("bind") visual information in working memory, and the ways in which this may be affected by ageing. I am also interested in how young and older adults can maintain and even improve their cognitive functioning, for example by using cognitive strategies or by considering health or lifestyle factors such as sleep or level of cognitive engagement. Some of my research on binding and cognitive strategies has been funded by research grants awarded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Another line of research concerns the impacts of emotion, particularly anxiety, on attention and working memory.
Please note, I am currently unavailable to take on new PhD researchers.
My lab group comprises the following researchers:
- Dr Gerard Campbell (postdoctoral researcher, lead supervisor; from April 2024). Topic: 'Strategy training to support healthy cognitive ageing: behavioural, neuroimaging, and real-world investigations' (ESRC-funded research project). With M. Parra Rodriguez, R. Allen (Leeds), M. Burke (Leeds), & C. von Bastian (Sheffield).
- Aimee Donaldson (undergraduate intern, supervisor; from Dec. 2024). Topic: young and older adults' strategies during visual working memory.
- (lead PhD supervisor; from Oct. 2023). Topic: 'sleep and brain health: the roles of sleep duration and daytime alertness in cognitive functioning across the adult lifespan' (ESRC- and Alzheimer Scotland-funded). With L. Fleming.
- (lead PhD supervisor; from Oct. 2023). Topic: 'a mixed-methods investigation of young and older adults鈥� strategies during age-sensitive visual working memory: co-developing a novel strategy training intervention' (ESRC-funded). With M. Parra Rodriguez.
- (lead PhD supervisor; from Oct. 2020). Topic: 'ageing and communication: Understanding the roles of cognition, speech production, and social participation' (ESRC-funded). With A. Kuschmann and A. Lowit.
- Vanshika Sharma (research assistant, co-supervisor; from Jan. 2025). Topic: 'assessing new digital tools to deliver exercise programmes in care home settings'. With C. Donnachie and M. Grealy.
Key lab Alumni:
- (PhD co-supervisor; 2018-2023). Topic: 鈥榠mplementation intentions, cognitive abilities and self-harm鈥� (ESRC-funded). With M. Elliott and S. Rasmussen. Went on to work with the Scottish Government.
- (lead PhD supervisor; 2017-2022). Topic: 鈥榠ntergenerational engagement interventions for enhanced cognition in older age鈥� (University-funded). Went on to work with the Scottish Government (data analysis) and now a researcher at University of Edinburgh.
- (lead PhD supervisor; 2017-2021). Topic: 鈥榯he impact of anxiety on visual attention and working memory鈥� (University-funded). Went on to an MRC-funded postdoctoral research position at King's College London.
- Jihad Diab (MSc dissertation supervisor; 2020-21). Went on to work as a research assistant with the Risk Management Authority.聽
- Dr Rebecca Wagstaff (PhD co-supervisor; 2015-21). Topic: 鈥榤echanisms of cognitive and language impairment in Parkinson's Disease鈥� (University funded). Went on to work as a Research Officer with the Risk Management Authority.
- (research assistant co-supervisor; 2020). Went on to complete a PhD in Health at Dalhousie University.
- (intern supervisor; 2019). Went on to study for a masters and then PhD at Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
- Catherine Smith (intern supervisor; 2018). Went on to study primary education at University of Glasgow.
- Martin Nemec (intern supervisor; 2018). Went on to study at postgraduate level at King's College London.
- Dr Brad English (intern supervisor; 2013). Went on to become a Clinical Psychologist (Nottingham NHS).
- (intern supervisor; 2012). Went on to become Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University.
- (postdoctoral researcher lead supervisor; 2011-12). Went on to become Senior Lecturer in Psychology at University of Dundee.
Professional Activities
- Speaker
- 9/2/2026
- Member
- 9/10/2025
- Speaker
- 20/5/2025
- Examiner
- 20/9/2024
- Speaker
- 10/9/2024
- Interviewee
- 9/2024
Projects
- Donnachie, Craig (Principal Investigator) Brown Nicholls, Louise (Co-investigator) Grealy, Madeleine (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 01-Jan-2025
- Spalding, David (Principal Investigator) Meeten, Frances (Co-investigator) Brown Nicholls, Louise (Co-investigator)
- 16-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2025
- Brown Nicholls, Louise (Principal Investigator)
- 16-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2025
- Brown Nicholls, Louise (Principal Investigator) Parra Rodriguez, Mario (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2027
- Brown Nicholls, Louise (Principal Investigator) Fleming, Leanne (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2027
- Hart, Rebecca (Post Grad Student) Brown Nicholls, Louise (Principal Investigator) Parra Rodriguez, Mario (Co-investigator)
- SGSSS ESRC student-led studentship awarded to R. Hart
- 01-Jan-2023 - 30-Jan-2026