Discipline of Psychology

Professor Phoebe Bailey is Director of Studies, leading the design and delivery of UTS’s first undergraduate and graduate diploma psychology programs. Recruited to UTS in 2021 to establish these programs from the ground up, she has overseen the development of the curriculum, team, and supporting infrastructure required to deliver psychology education at scale. The graduate diploma programs launched in 2022, followed by a staged roll-out of the undergraduate programs commencing in 2024.

Prior to joining UTS, Phoebe spent a decade at Western Sydney University, where she served as Director of Academic Programs in Psychology and, briefly, Acting Deputy Dean (Academic) in the School of Social Sciences and Psychology. She worked in investment banking for seven years in Sydney, London, and Dublin, before entering academia.

Alongside her academic leadership role, Phoebe maintains an active research program. Funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project grant, she is investigating decisional isolation among solo agers in Australia. This follows two earlier ARC Discovery Projects investigating how older Australians use advice, and the role of trust in the financial exploitation of older adults. Phoebe has published more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and five book chapters. She is Consulting Editor at Psychology and Aging and The Journals of Gerontology: Psychology Sciences, and was Associate Editor at Cognition and Emotion for four years.

Dr Joanne Beames is a Clinical Psychologist and expert in digital mental health. She leads international collaborative research across Europe and Australia on the design, evaluation, and implementation of scalable digital tools in schools and mental health services. Her work aims to improve the prevention and early intervention of mental health difficulties, including depression, anxiety, and psychosis. One of her methodological interests is experience sampling methodology, which she uses to examine transdiagnostic processes as they unfold in daily life, particularly anhedonia. Across her work, she emphasises co-design and the integration of lived experience perspectives to ensure that digital mental health tools are person-centred and clinically meaningful. 

Saoirse is a cognitive psychologist who investigates how people think and form beliefs, especially in determining which information to trust. Her primary focus is on how individuals use cues like the reliability of the source, the frequency of exposure to information, and the level of agreement or disagreement among different sources. She examines how these factors influence individuals' perceptions of the intentions and expertise of information sources, as well as how they contribute to the acceptance of claims made by those sources.

To explore these ideas, she conducts experiments to examine how indicators of credibility and agreement impact decision-making in real-world contexts. Her findings are crucial for understanding misinformation, especially in legal, health, and political contexts. They also aid in developing strategies to mitigate the effects of misinformation.

Originally from the UK, Saoirse earned her PhD from City, University of London, in 2018. Her doctoral research focused on why people continue to believe misinformation even after it has been corrected. After completing her PhD, she worked at the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney, where she explored how beliefs about the generation of evidence affect our perceptions of information. She has also been exploring the prevalence and impact of misleading information related to sexual and reproductive health.

Deb Mitchison is a clinical psychologist, researcher and educator. She has specialised in eating disorders since 2009. According to ScholarGPS, Deb is the #10 ranked eating disorder scholar globally, based on the productivity and citations of her work over the past 5 years. Deb's research focuses on understanding the prevalence, distribution, determinants, and health service use associated with eating disorders and related concerns. Primary methodological approaches that she employs includes population-based cohort studies, registry-based research, and program evaluations. Noteworthy research programs Deb has led/is leading include:

• The TrEAT Registry, which is the first registry for community-based eating disorder treatment registered on the Australian Register of Clinical Registries (ACSQHC-ARCR-279). This registry is a partnership with clinical leaders across eating disorder speciality clinics in Australia and New Zealand. Information collected in the registry is fed back to clinicians and services to support treatment monitoring, and the de-identified database is used by researchers. 

• The EveryBODY Study, a cohort study investigating eating disorders and associated risk factors among 5000 NSW adolescents over ther period 2017-2020. This longitudinal dataset has been used in 30 publications to date, including studies that have documented the prevalence of diverse eating disorders and muscle dysmorphia, and examined risk factors for developing eating disorders such as social media use and social fears.       

Matt is a Lecturer and ARC-DECRA fellow in the Discipline of Psychology at the School of Clinical and Health Sciences.

He is an internationally recognised cognitive neuroscientist and early-career researcher specialising in the neuroscience of consciousness. His research interests span how changes in brain activity, structure and function impact our behaviour and subjective experience. He is an expert in experimental psychology and electroencephalography (EEG), receiving his PhD from Monash University, and completing two post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford (UK) and University of Sydney.

As a postdoc at the University of Oxford his research investigated human-decision making using brain-computer-interfaces and human-machine teaming. Recently, at the University of Sydney, he developed a wireless virtual reality and mobile-EEG protocol for testing active perception while walking in naturalistic environments.

His research has been published in numerous prestigious journals such as Nature Communications, eLife, NeuroImage and PLOS Biology, and has reached a large national audience through plain-language summaries and appearances on public and commercial radio.

He is currently investigating how the brain, body, and environment co-create our subjective experience, with a focus on dynamic changes in perception that occur within the stride-cycle.

At UTS, he is the subject coordinator for 96633 Research Methods in Psychology in the undergraduate Bachelor of Psychology programs.

Tarren is proudly of the Worimi/Biripi and Dunghutti peoples, and is a lecturer in Psychology.

She began her academic journey at Western Sydney University, completing her undergraduate studies while also working in administrative and HDR student support roles. In early 2022, Tarren joined UTS as a PhD candidate, supported by a Jumbunna Postgraduate Research Scholarship. Her recently completed thesis explored how emotions and advice can influence decision-making across the adult lifespan.

Tarren’s research broadly investigates cognitive and emotional processes in older adulthood, and she is also interested in understanding prejudiced behaviours and cross-cultural psychological dynamics.

Throughout her PhD, Tarren contributed to the UTS Psychology program as a tutor across multiple subjects. She has played an active role in the embedding of the Indigenous Graduate Attribute into the Psychology curriculum—an initiative that enhances students’ understanding of culturally responsive practice when working and/or researching with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This work continues to be a deeply rewarding part of her academic career.

As an early career researcher, Tarren has published seven peer-reviewed journal articles and has supervised three Graduate Diploma of Psychology (Advanced) students in their Honours-equivalent research projects to completion. She looks forward to expanding her supervision and research collaborations in the future.

Garston is a cognitive psychologist interested in human decision-making processes. He is interested in the way individuals and experts use their cognitive capacities to problem-solve, learn about their environment, and act decisively across different contexts. If you're from industry with overlapping interests or a student/academic colleague, feel free to get in touch! 

Garston uses behavioural experimental methods alongside modern computational modelling to understand the underlying processes driving human behaviour. His current work is focussed on protecting and enhancing expert cyberanalyst intuitions in complex environments with AI assistants.

Broadly, his work is inspired by everyday decision-making such as how individuals appraise risks and rewards from limited information (e.g., known and unknown threats in cybersecurity), how people distribute cognitive resources and enhancing decision-making during complex tasks (e.g., multitasking when under pressure), and understanding the underlying processes of how people learn skills and inhibit previously-acquired habits (e.g., information seeking with AI assistants). 

He completed his PhD at UNSW, Sydney (2022) on the cognitive underpinnings of algorithm-seeking behaviour and was then a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Newcastle, Australia investigating collaborative human-machine teams and shared mental models of individuals and AI alongside Scott Brown and Ami Eidels (2022-2025). He joined UTS as a lecturer in 2025. 

Senior Lecturer and First-Year Experience Officer, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney

Dr. Liquan Liu focuses on the internal and external factors that shape early childhood cognition and development. His work examines internal mechanisms such as initial biases, learning processes, and health indicators, alongside external influences including the quantity and quality of exposure, socio-economic status, and environmental factors such as human–technology interaction. At its core, Liquan’s research seeks to understand how children learn and how to better support their learning.

With a career dedicated to working with children, Liquan’s recent research spans language development, the interplay between language and emotion, multilingualism and multiculturalism, and children's engagement with technology, including digital media and virtual agents. He has worked at internationally renowned institutions, including the Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS at Utrecht University (2008–2014); the School of Psychology and MARCS BabyLab at Western Sydney University (2015–2024); and the Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan at the University of Oslo (2019–2021). Currently, he conducts experimental research at the Graduate School of Health.

Liquan is a recipient of the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship awarded by the European Commission. As an educator, Liquan is known for his approachable and engaging teaching style. He enjoys collaborating with students on innovative ideas and projects.

Dr Catherine O'Gorman is the Course Director for undergraduate psychology and the graduate diploma in psychology in the Graduate School of Health at UTS. She has extensive online and face-to-face teaching, coordination, and content design experience across a range of undergraduate psychology subjects. Catherine has been recognised with a University Excellence in Learning and Teaching award for subject coordination, as well as a Dean’s award for outstanding student feedback. Her PhD investigating embodied cognition, specifically the role of affect as regards conceptual metaphor and spatial representations of time, was recognised with the Western Sydney University Dean’s Doctoral Award.

Alexander M. Puckett is an American Australian neuroscientist and lecturer. His research has primarily involved developing and applying advanced neuroimaging techniques and computational models to investigate the neural underpinnings of human perception and behavior. He has led a number of investigations using fMRI (at both 3T and 7T) to measure brain activity throughout various cortical areas (e.g., visual, somatosensory, motor) as well as in the subcortex. Most recently, he has been exploring the statistics of natural scenes and how these influence brain activity and mood. 

Dean Spirou is a Lecturer in Psychology in the School of Clinical and Health Sciences. He has been involved in teaching, subject development, and subject coordination in the Undergraduate and Graduate Psychology programs. 

Dean is a practising clinical psychologist and board-approved supervisor with experience assessing, treating, and researching the psychological aspects of weight management for people with higher weight. He has practiced in several clinical settings including private practice, NSW public health and community-controlled health services.

Through his clinical and academic experience, Dean has developed expertise on the assessment and treatment of psychological difficulties associated with higher weight in people with severe and complex physical and mental health difficulties. His current research focuses on treating the psychological mechanisms underlying adult obesity and weight management, with particular emphasis on addressing the barriers that impede successful weight loss and weight maintenance. Dean also has specialised training in the treatment of childhood conduct problems and is certified by PCIT International as a Within Agency Trainer in Parent‑Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).

Dean is the Chair of the NSW State Committee of the Australian Clinical Psychology Association (ACPA), where he is involved in advocacy for the profession of clinical psychology.

Aaron Veldre is a Lecturer in Psychology and Psychology Honours Course Director.

Aaron's research investigates language processing using eye tracking, brain imaging, and computational modelling. In particular, he examines how the cognitive and neural processes involved in eye-movement control during reading vary across languages, age groups, and reading abilities. He also applies eye-tracking techniques to investigate cognitive processes in other domains, including eating disorders.

Aaron completed his PhD at The University of Sydney in 2015 for which he was awarded the H Tasman Lovell Memorial Medal for the best PhD thesis in Psychology. He has held postdoctoral research and teaching positions at The University of Sydney and Macquarie University.

Aaron has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles. He is a member of the editorial board for Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, and Frontiers in Psychology.

The research interests of Dr Poppy Watson lie at the intersection of motivation, attention and choice behaviour. A fundamental question in human psychology is whether we are totally in control of the choices we make and the extent to which we rely on environmental cues to guide our decisions. She is interested in the conflict that arises between our ‘good intentions’ (for example to eat healthily or avoid alcohol) and our innate tendency to be attracted by things that signal reward such as the McDonald’s golden M or the beer logo. She uses methods such as eye tracking and neuroimaging to examine this interplay between biased cognitions and habits on the one hand and explicit motivation on the other. She tries to understand the mechanisms that contribute to unwanted patterns of behaviour in both healthy and clinical populations. She is also involved in intervention projects (to improve treatment outcomes for patients and measuring the efficacy of these interventions) and is interested more generally in health psychology and behaviour change.

Originally from New Zealand, Poppy Watson completed her Masters (2011) and PhD (2016) at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. There, she investigated reward-seeking behaviours and how these could be triggered by cues in the environment. From 2017 - 2023 Poppy worked at UNSW - first as a postdoc with Mike Le Pelley and Steve Most and then as a Discovery Early Career research fellow (DECRA). Since October 2023 she has been working at at UTS, teaching into the Psychology Undergraduate Programme. As Senior Lecturer she coordinates the Health Psychology Subject (96636) alongside her research conducted as an ARC Future Fellow (2026-2029).