Profile
Catherine Wheatley
My CV
-
Education:
Worcester Sixth Form College (1984-86); Oxford University (1986-89); Oxford Brookes University (2014-18)
-
Qualifications:
BA in Politics, Philosophy & Economics; MSc in Psychology; working towards PhD in Psychology
-
Work History:
The Sunday Times and The Sunday Express as a journalist; retrained as a research psychologist.
-
Current Job:
Researcher at Functional MRI of the Brain Centre, University of Oxford (from February)
-
My Interview
-
What topics do you work on?
I’m working on Fit to Study, a large-scale trial looking at the impact of physical activity during school PE on academic attainment in secondary schools. I look at relationships between physical activity, mental health, sleep, and other factors that might affect learning.
What methods do you use?
Questionnaires, physical activity tracker devices, computer-based tasks.
Who was your favourite teacher?
Two very generous and supportive individuals who gave up their lunchtimes to coach this state school pupil through her Oxbridge exams. Thank you Mr Cox and Mrs Mylchreest.
Me and my work
I’m in the final stages of finishing my thesis before becoming a fully-fledged researcher
Typical day
I might visit a secondary school and spend time talking to teachers and gathering data from students for Fit to Study. I’m also hard at work writing and analysing data. Exercise boosts brain power! I run or cycle most days.
-