Ella did her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Aberdeen and then came to UCL for her MSc in Social Cognition. During both degrees, she had a heavy focus on studying memory, emotion and mood, with projects investigating the influence of sad mood on prospective memory and how the emotion of disgust was implicated in the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also been trained by the European Federation of Psychology Students Associations’ (EFPSA) Junior Researcher Programme, where she worked on a project developing an innovative self-help mobile application, incorporating behavioural activation and schema therapy principles to treat depressive symptoms, whilst investigating potential users’ attitudes towards mobile mental health applications. Over the course of her studies, she has also interned at Buchan Community Farm, delivering therapeutic programmes to people with learning difficulties and mental illnesses, and volunteered with charities such as Nightline Association (offering confidential emotional peer support to fellow students) and Psycare (providing welfare and harm reduction services at music festivals).

Ella’s research interests are centred around the intervention theme, both therapeutic as well as pharmacological. She is fascinated by novel pharmacological treatments for mental illness and how these might facilitate therapeutic outcomes, such as psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, the implementation of digital mental health interventions and different therapy modalities, particularly mindfulness-based interventions. She is passionate about effective science communication and the translation of research into policy and practice, as these are crucial in securing the practical impact and influence of science.

In her spare time, she co-hosts a psychology, neuroscience and mental health focused podcast called Babes & Brains, records shows for independent radio stations and likes to go on outdoorsy adventures by bike, train or both.

Email: ella.tuominen.19@ucl.ac.uk

Twitter: EllaWTuominen

Podcast: bit.ly/babesandbrains