Summary

I joined the Department in August 2017 from the University of Bern, Switzerland, where I was working as a post-doctoral research fellow. I hold a BSc degree in Sport Science from the School of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Sao Paulo (EEFE-USP), Brazil. At the same institution (USP), I did my PhD in Human Physiology (Neuropsychology) focusing on the effects of training strategies and high levels of stress and anxiety in human cognition (eg. attention and decision making) and motor control. During my PhD I joined a Sandwich program and did part of my PhD research at the MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam at the VU University Amsterdam. In 2013 I worked at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, at the School of Medicine of the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as Post-Doctoral Fellow. In 2016, I was awarded an excellence post-doctoral research fellowship by the Swiss Government, and subsequently joined the Institute of Sport Science at the University of Bern. During my Fellowship, my research focused on testing Bayesian Decision Making Theory in sports and human performance. In addition, I have worked with sports consultancy companies and professional sports teams and international sport organisations, most notably, in Brazil and the Netherlands.

My research interests are focused on understanding the intricacies of the key elements (perception, action, cognition and emotion) in human performance psychology. Specifically, my work investigates how high levels of anxiety and stress and different skill acquisition strategies may affect attentional resources and consequently decision-making process.