Rhys Swainston, Research Associate
Rhys is a MSc postgraduate working as a Research Assistant alongside Dr Catherine Grainger. He has run two autism-related project looking at the support systems that were available to autistic adults as children and their employability as adults. He is currently assisting on a project that focuses on autism and prospective memory.
Andrew Currie, PhD Student
Andrew is a PhD student at the University of Strathclyde, where he completed his MRes in English studies in 2021. His research focuses on literary narrative processing in autistic adult readers and explores their engagement with literary fiction. He is particularly interested in whether the cognitive traits associated with autism create a unique reading experience for such readers. Andrew is also passionate autism inclusion, advocacy and community participation. He is currently supervised by Dr. Elspeth Jajdelska (Strathclyde), Prof. Nigel Fabb (Strathclyde) and Dr. Catherine Grainger.
Sarah Dantes, PhD Student
About:
Research Interests:
New STAR team members
From left to right: Dr Eilidh Cage, Dr Amanda Roestorf and Dr Catherine Grainger
At the start of the new year, we look forward to an exciting 2020!
We welcome two autism researchers as new members of the Stirling Autism Research group.
Dr Eilidh Cage joins as Lecturer in Autism. Eilidh’s research interests include mental health and the experiences of autistic people.
Dr Amanda Roestorf joins as Post-Doctoral Research Assistant. Amanda’s research explores the ways in which remembering to do things in the future (Prospective Memory) affect everyday functioning and well-being across the lifespan.
Find out more about Eilidh and Amanda on our Meet The Team page.
Dr Catherine Grainger, Lecturer in Psychology
About me:
I first studied psychology at Durham University, where I completed a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. Before starting my PhD, I worked as a research associate at Durham University, and then went on to complete a PhD in Psychology at the University of Kent. After working as a post-doctoral researcher, I joined Stirling in April 2016. I am a non-autistic researcher, and am passionate about equality diversity and inclusion, in both research and teaching in Higher Education.
Research Interests:
My research mainly focusses on cognition in autistic and non-autistic adults. I am particularly interested in understanding how aspects of cognition (e.g., self-awareness) relate to mental health outcomes and quality of life in autism. I also research episodic memory, prospective memory, theory-of-mind, and alexithymia. I am always happy to talk about research ideas and to meet with potential students. Please feel free to email me or come by my office during my office hours. I also welcome students interested in applying for a PhD within an area of my research interests.
Funding:
Principle Investigator:
| £15,000 | Carnegie Trust |2023-2024| University of Stirling
Research Incentive Grant: The Development and Validation of the Autistic Experiences of Microaggressions (AEMS) Scale. |
| £65,616 | Royal Society of Edinburgh| 2021-2022| University of Stirling
Sabbatical Research Award. Project: Understanding anxiety in Autism: Is metacognition the missing link? |
| £109,677 | Academy of Medical Sciences| 2019-2022| University of Stirling
Springboard Grant. Project: Remembering to remember: What techniques can be used to support prospective memory in autistic adults? |