Three new Royal Society Fellows from Psychology

Three cognitive neuroscientists are among the 90 exceptional researchers to be elected as 2024 Fellows of the Royal Society. Each of the three researchers have revealed fascinating insights into the minds of teenagers, patients with brain injuries and those who have experienced strokes.

Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group at the University of Cambridge, is one of the new fellows. She has explored the adolescent brain, including the development of decision-making and social cognition, as well as mental health in teenagers.

Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging, Adrian Owen OBE (University of Western Ontario), also director of the Azrieli program in Brain, Mind, and Consciousness funded by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), is another newly-elected fellow. He has used neuroimaging in patients with brain injuries and is best known for his 2006 finding that some patients thought to be in a vegetative state are consciously aware.

The third new fellow is Professor Heidi Johansen Berg (University of Oxford) who directs the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging and heads the centre's Plasticity Group. Her research explores the way brains change following damage, learning and experience and is exploring stroke rehabilitation and the impact of exercise on brain ageing.