معرفی
Professor Jane Aspell is a cognitive neuroscientist at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), serving as Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Director of Postgraduate Research, and REF Convenor for UoA 4 (Psychology, Psychiatry & Neuroscience). She leads the Self & Body Lab and co-leads the Body and Self Research Group, part of ARU’s Centre for Mind and Behaviour. Her research investigates multisensory bodily mechanisms underlying self-consciousness through behavioral, psychophysical, and EEG experiments.
- Education:
- MA(Oxon) Biological Sciences, University of Oxford (1998)
- PhD in Neuroscience, University of Newcastle (2003)
- Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (2013)
Her research explores how the brain integrates exteroceptive (visual, tactile) and interoceptive (e.g., cardiac) signals to form bodily self-consciousness. She investigates this in neurotypical individuals, those with autism, and chronic pain patients. Current projects include studying body image in autistic adults and interoception’s role in pain perception.
Her recent articles analyze topics like body image’s social impact, interoception in fibromyalgia, and mindfulness-body connections. She has been recognized with awards including the 2023 Best PhD Supervisory Team Award and 2021 Outstanding Research and Innovation Award (Established Researcher).
- Grants/Consultancy:
- Leverhulme Trust (£153,406, 2022)
- Versus Arthritis Pain Challenge Award (£190,345, 2020)
- Bial Foundation (€48,000, 2021)
She advises PhD students in embodied cognition and supervises research on topics like autism-body image intersections. Media engagements include BBC podcasts, New Scientist articles, and public lectures like Cambridge Festival Talks on out-of-body experiences and self-consciousness.
