Study with us

Our students are a key part of the TBI Network. We believe in supporting students to achieve academically, as well as supporting their wider career development goals.

Interested in studying with us?

We can support research activities alongside clinical papers (Honours, MHSc) or as a research only degree (MPhil or PhD).

We welcome enquiries from anyone with an interest in postgraduate study in the area of brain injury and concussion – and especially those with an interest in:

• Brain injury in vulnerable groups
• Social aspects of brain injury
• Brain injury in older adults
• Non-pharmacological interventions to support recovery from brain injury
• Use of assessment tools in brain injury

Students studying TBI at other institutions

We can also support students studying TBI at other institutions by helping to profile their work, connecting them in with other researchers in the field and assisting with recruitment.

Current student research at the TBI Network

These current projects by some of our students give an idea of the scope of research going on at the TBI Network:

• Katherine Forch (PhD) Testing physiological recovery from concussion
• Elise Callagher (PhD) Factors affecting cognitive recovery. In partnership with Victoria University of Wellington
• Nat Hardaker (PhD): Gender differences in concussion recovery
• Renata Gottgtroy (PhD): Artificial Intelligence use for predicting brain health
• Sam Guy (PhD) Understanding the link between Traumatic Brain Injury, cognition and longer term antisocial behaviour
• Mayan Bedgood (PhD) Predicting Recovery from Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, the role of physical activity
• Christi Essex (PhD) How do elite rugby players career experiences following concussion influence later life decisions to retire from rugby and brain structure?
• Charlotte Bray (PhD) How do we measure recovery following mild TBI?
• Louise Patterson (PhD) The old-to-the-new. Adapting the PASAT to the diagnosis of TBI.
• Mahdi Zengi (PhD) Mild and moderate TBI in the emergency department (in partnership with University of Otago)
• Colin Hancock (MPhil) What do GPs and physios understand and advice players regarding return to play advice after a concussion?
• Geet Vahista (MPhil) EEG development for TBI brain biomarkers
• Sarah Rodgers (MPhil) Genetic factors and attention differences
• Silin Wu (Hons) – Impact of mild TBI on social participation in the longer-term.
• Phyllis-Ann Bray (Hons)– Systematic review of TBI history screening tools.
• Sharlene Verma (Hons)– Impact of acceptance and commitment therapy on valued living post mTBI.
• Kelsey Beet (Hons) – Qualitative study exploring kaumātua perspectives of living a healthy lifestyle for optimised brain health.
• Isaac Tracey (Hons)– Systematic review of reporting quality of aerobic exercise interventions following mTBI.
• YuWen Huang (Hons)– Dual-task gait assessment using insole sensors to test recovery after sports-related concussion.
• Bayden Moore (Hons)– Using Electrophysiological Measures of Stimulus Competition to Test the Sensory Recruitment Hypothesis of Working Memory.
• Rebecca Keven (Hons)– Long Term Impacts of Attention Training on Neural Biases in Densely Sampled Individuals.

Past students

We enjoy seeing so many of our past students go on to some exciting careers, and we're pleased to continue to work with many of our students, even after their studies are completed.

These students have completed their studies with us at AUT:

• Lara Wilson (MPhil) How are brain injuries identified and managed within the justice sector?
• Josh McGeown (PhD): Optimisation of mTBI symptom assessment and rehabilitation strategies
• Lena Kemp (Honours in Psychology) What are the psychosocial influences on recovery from injury for Māori
• Charlotte Bray (Honours in Psychology) Psychometric testing of the Brain Injury Screening Tool (BIST)
• Magdelena Durrant, (Hons) What do clinicians know and understand about brain injury in the context of domestic violence
• Yelda Tokhi (Hons) Test retest reliability of the Brain Injury Screening Tool in a healthy population
• Tara Munro (Hons) Is there a link between alcohol use and cognitive/neuropathological outcomes following repeated TBI in athletes
• Jules Lough (MHSc) Awareness of concussion in children engaged in Equestrian Activities
• Maureen O’Reilly (Hons) Awareness and health care seeking post-concussion in cyclists
• Nusratnaaz Shaikh (PhD) Measuring community integration following TBI
• Anna Keyter (MHSc) Symptom validity reporting after mild TBI
• Tracey Mitchell (PhD) Understanding and managing TBI in an adult male correctional facility