Meet the Team

Tamar Makin

I am a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge (MRC CBU), heading the Plasticity Lab. I am interested in understanding what we can do with a brain area we no longer need - specifically the parts of the brain that normally control the hand if a child is born without a hand. A particular focus is on how habitual behaviour, such as prosthesis usage or the use of other body parts, shapes brain reorganisation. For this purpose, I integrate methods such as MRI scans and behavioural experiments. I hope my research will enable clinicians to guide amputees and families experiencing limb differences to take advantage of the benefits of brain reorganisation.

Dorothy Cowie

I am a developmental psychologist in the Department of Psychology at Durham University. I am interested in how children learn to control their movements and understand their own bodies. My current work brings together movement and body awareness. I use motion capture to study children’s movement control, and combine this with virtual reality to examine how movement helps to ground the sense of bodily self. I have been blown away by watching children with limb differences solve everyday motor tasks with skill and speed. I want to understand how they learn to do this, and how their developing brains support them. Visit my lab website to find out more about my work.

Laura-Ashleigh Bird

I am a Research Assistant at MRC CBU and Durham University's Department of Psychology. I am interested in how children develop, and learn to explore the world independently. I am fascinated by the unique strategies children with limb differences use when tackling everyday motor tasks. The determination and level of skill these children show is truly inspiring.

Raffaele Tucciarelli

I am a postdoctoral researcher who joined the MRC CBU Plasticity lab in October 2020. My background is in Cognitive Neuroscience and Computer Science. I am interested in how the brain represents the body and how this model of representation is involved in perception, action and cognition. Children with limb differences explore the world in their own unique way, using different body parts to compensate for their limb difference. I will be working on the brain scanning project with BOLDkids to investigate early motor experience as a driver for neuroplasticity in the developing brain.

Maggie Szymanska

I am a Research Assistant in the MRC CBU Plasticity Lab. My background is in Psychology and Cognitive Science. I am fascinated by the brain, and how our bodies are represented in the brain. I will be working on the brain scanning project with BOLDkids, to investigate neuroplasticity in children with congenital upper limb differences, specifically how the use of different body parts in everyday life is reflected in the developing brain.

Allie Williams

I am a Research Assistant in the MRC CBU Plasticity Lab, and will be beginning my Masters project in Autumn 2023. I am a yoga teacher with a background in strategic communication, and have worked with children for many years. I am fascinated by the creativity and playfulness that children embody, and how their brains grow and develop. I will be working on the brain scanning project with BOLDkids, to investigate neuroplasticity in children with congenital upper limb differences, specifically how the use of different body parts in everyday life is reflected in the developing brain.