This research explores how autoimmune disease affects identity in young adults. Interviews with 25 New Zealanders revealed that diagnosis reshapes identity, relationships with the body, and perceptions of disability. The findings suggest that supporting identity—not just treating disease—could improve health behaviours, wellbeing, and long-term outcomes for people with autoimmune conditions.

This research explores whether altering bodily sensations can change emotional experiences. By manipulating perceived heartbeat, blinking, and muscle tension through wearable devices and virtual reality, it demonstrates that emotions can be reshaped without changing physiology, opening new possibilities for treating trauma, anxiety, eating disorders, and other mental health conditions

This research investigates cognitive diversity in software engineering. Through eye-tracking and think-aloud studies, it shows that engineers approach problems differently, while existing software tools often favour particular thinking styles. Designing more inclusive tools could improve performance, broaden participation in decision-making, and reduce unintended bias in the technologies we build.

This research investigates how loneliness affects brain function across adulthood. Using brain imaging, it identifies age-related differences in activity within the caudate, a region involved in social reward processing. The findings suggest loneliness alters how people perceive social interactions, supporting the development of personalized, age-appropriate interventions to reduce chronic loneliness.

This oral history research explores silence as a meaningful form of communication rather than an absence of speech. Through documentary interviews with family members, the project examines how silence can express fear, shame, power, and agency, challenging dominant assumptions about listening and revealing how discomfort often prevents deeper understanding and connection.

This research examines how alcohol affects the severity and outcomes of suicide attempts among military service members and veterans. By analyzing documented attempts and personal narratives, the study reveals that alcohol often increases impulsivity and lethality, while occasionally interrupting attempts unintentionally, highlighting the need for alcohol-aware suicide prevention strategies.

Career paths and life patterns are often transmitted across generations not through explicit instruction but through embodied habits and daily behaviors. Analyzing a play about intergenerational military service, this research shows how subconscious routines shape identity, highlighting how recognizing these patterns allows individuals to consciously break cycles or build new legacies.

This talk explores emotional resistance to AI through a personal storytelling project. It argues that AI adoption is an adaptive challenge tied to identity, not just technology. Using Robert Kegan’s framework, it demonstrates how testing limiting beliefs can reduce resistance, emphasizing that successful AI integration depends on addressing human concerns about autonomy, competence, and connection.

This research shows that pauses in information streams alter decision-making. After a break, the brain increases effort, giving greater weight to subsequent information—a “peak-after-break” effect. A computational model explains this as a performance-effort tradeoff. Findings challenge traditional theories and suggest strategic pauses can shape attention, memory, and judgment.

This research investigates risk and protective factors in father–daughter intrafamilial child sexual abuse. Findings show abuse arises from combined individual and family-level factors, especially conflict and violence, while early caregiving and warmth are protective. The work aims to inform earlier intervention, improve prevention strategies, and enhance child safety within families.