Dr Martina Vanova
Faculties, departments and locations
- Faculty of Business and Social Sciences
- Department of Psychology
- School of Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences
Lecturer in Cognitive and Biological Psychology
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
I completed my PhD in Psychology & Cognitive Neuroscience at Brunel University London, focusing on the neural mechanisms underlying personality traits like schizotypy and psychopathy, examining how these dimensional traits affect cognitive processes such as inhibitory control and reading skills using neuroimaging techniques.
I worked as a post-doc at King's College London, conducting randomised controlled trials on investigational medicinal products for Parkinson's Disease Psychosis and Alzheimer's Disease. Later, I worked as a Research Fellow at UCL's Institute of Neurology, leading work on the CICERO study, developing telehealth-delivered cognitive rehabilitation interventions for long COVID patients experiencing persistent cognitive impairment. My research addresses critical gaps in understanding cognitive dysfunction across diverse populations, from forensic settings to emerging post-viral conditions.
I have extensive experience in neuroimaging methods, clinical trial management, and cognitive rehabilitation. When not researching the complexities of the brain, I enjoy triathlon training, travel, hiking, and tending to my house plants.
Qualifications
- PhD - Cognitive Neuroscience, Brunel University London
- MSc - Psychology, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia
- BSc (Hons.) - Psychology, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia
Domains
Courses taught
- Chauhan S, Vanova M, Tailor U, Asad M, Fa.bender K, Norbury R, Ettinger U, Kumari V. (2025). Chronotype and synchrony effects in human cognitive performance: A systematic review. Chronobiology International, 1–37. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2025.2490495
- Vanova M, Patel AMR, Scott I, Gilpin G, Manning E, Ash C, Chapman P, Lim J, Hoare Z, Evans R, Bray N, Kipps CM, Devine C, Ahmed S, Dunne R, Koniotes A, Warren C, Chan D, Suarez-Gonzalez A. (2024). Telehealth-delivered cognitive rehabilitation for people with cognitive impairment as part of the post-COVID syndrome: Protocol for a randomised controlled trial as part of the CICERO (Cognitive Impairment in Long COVID: Phenotyping and Rehabilitation) study. BMC Trials. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4490002/v1
- Vakani K, Norbury R, Vanova M, Ratto M, Parton A, Antonova E, Kumari V. Cognitive Function and Brain Structure in COVID-19 Survivors: The Role of Persistent Symptoms. (2024). Behav Brain Res. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115283. PMID: 39368712.
- Vanova M, Ettinger U, Norbury R, Aldridge-Waddon L, Jennings B, Puzzo I, Kumari V. Positive schizotypy and motor impulsivity modulate responses in ventral attention network during inhibitory control. Cortex. 2023;169:235-248. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2023.08.017
- Vanova M, Aldridge-Waddon L, Norbury R, Jennings B, Puzzo I, Kumari V. Distinct neural signatures of schizotypy and psychopathy during visual word-nonword recognition. Hum Brain Mapp. 2022; 43(12):3620-3632. doi:10.1002/hbm.25872
- Vanova M, Aldridge-Waddon L, Jennings B, Elbers L, Puzzo I, Kumari V. Clarifying the roles of schizotypy and psychopathic traits in lexical decision performance. Schizophr Res Cogn. 2022; 27:100-224. doi:10.1016/j.scog.2021.100224
- Aldridge-Waddon L, Vanova M, Elbers L, et al. Scenario-specific aberrations of social reward processing in dimensional schizotypy and psychopathy. Sci Rep. 2022; 12:21536. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18863-9
- Vanova M, Aldridge-Waddon L, Jennings B, Puzzo I, Kumari V. Reading skills deficits in people with mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Psychiatry. 2021;64(1):e19. doi:10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.98
*Publication featured on Medical Xpress, and Schizophrenia.com - Aldridge-Waddon L, Vanova M, Munneke J, Puzzo I, Kumari V. Atypical social reward anticipation as a transdiagnostic characteristic of psychopathology: a meta-analytic review and critical evaluation of current evidence. Clin Psychol Rev. 2020; 82:101942. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101942
- Vanova M, Irazoki E, Garc.a-Casal JA, Martinez-Abad F, Botella C, Shiells KR, Franco-Mart.n MA. The effectiveness of ICT-based neurocognitive and psychosocial rehabilitation programmes in people with mild dementia and mild cognitive impairment using GRADIOR and ehcoBUTLER: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2018;19(1). doi:10.1186/s13063-017-2371-z
- Diaz A, ... Vanova M, et al. [87 authors]. Dementia in Europe Yearbook 2015 - Is Europe becoming more dementia friendly? Alzheimer Europe, Luxembourg; 2015.
Qualifications
- PhD
- MSc
- BSc (Hons.)
- AFHEA
- Chartered member (CPsychol) BPS
Specialisms
- inhibitory control
- cognitive rehabilitation
- psychopathology traits
- long COVID
- neuroimaging
Scholarly affiliations
- Honorary Research Fellow - University College London
- Brunel University London