Charlotte Rebecca Pennington

Dr Charlotte Rebecca Pennington is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Aston University, Birmingham, and Programme Director of the Single Honours Psychology programme. She is affiliated with the School of Psychology within the College of Health and Life Sciences, and is a member of the Applied Health Research Group, the Aston Research Centre for Health in Ageing, and the Aston Institute of Health & Neurodevelopment. She is also Aston’s Local Network Lead for the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) and an active member of FORRT.

Education:

• PhD in Psychology – Edge Hill University (2016)
• PG Cert – Edge Hill University (2015)
• BSc in Psychology – Edge Hill University (2013)
• Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) – Aston University (2023)

Research Interests:
Dr Pennington is an experimental social psychologist whose work explores how complex social environments affect health and wellbeing. Her research is divided into two key areas: the psychological mechanisms underlying addictive behaviours—especially alcohol consumption—and the development and alteration of social cognition through health and disease. She is also a leading advocate for open science and reproducibility in psychological research.

Scientific Awards & Recognition:

• Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
• Vice Chancellor’s Early Career Research Award, University of the West of England

PhD Supervision & Student Engagement:

Dr Pennington is currently supervising three PhD students: Evelyn Murray (primary supervisor), Michelle Oxtoby, and Yanli Wan (associate supervisors). She is actively accepting PhD applications in her areas of expertise.

Grants & Funding:

• 2025–2027: £122,000 – Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard Award (PI)
• 2022–2023: £19,750 – Research England: Enhancing Research Culture (PI)
• 2022–2023: £97,000 – Experimental Psychology Society (EPS) (PI)
• 2022–2023: £2,600 – Society for the Teaching of Psychology (Co-PI)
• 2019–2020: £60,000 – NHS Health Education England (Co-PI)
• 2018–2019: £15,000 – Vice Chancellor’s Early Career Research Award, UWE (PI)

Editorial & Professional Roles:

She serves as an Action Editor for Addiction Research & Theory and Peer Community In Registered Reports, and sits on the Higher Education Advisory Board for McGraw-Hill Education. She is also the author of A Student's Guide to Open Science: How the Replication Crisis can Reform Psychology.