Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I am a developmental cognitive neuroscientist and Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychological Sciences. I am Deputy Lead of the Neurodevelopment Program at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Sciences at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute.
I completed a PhD in the area of child neuropsychology at the University of Melbourne (2008), and during this time spent three months as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada (2006). My postdoctoral research has been conducted at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (2008-2011) and University of Melbourne (2009) in Australia. I was a Swiss National Science Foundation Visiting Fellow at the Bern Children’s Hospital (2011) in Switzerland, and a Department of Neuroscience Research Fellow at the Karolinska Institute (2011-2013) in Sweden.
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Research interests
My research aims to achieve a deeper understanding of the development of children's cognitive skills, academic and behavioural functioning, and how to improve these outcomes. The themes of my research are:
1. Cognitive training in paediatric populations: Does cognitive training have long-term benefits for everyday functioning? My recent research focuses on the application of cognitive training in paediatric populations, identifying the subgroups of children who benefit most from training, and the conditions under which training leads to long-term functional benefits.
2. Development of cognitive skills, academic and behavioural functions: Much of my research has centred on understanding variability in developmental outcomes. I work with normally developing children and clinical populations, including children born preterm or with agenesis of the corpus callosum.
I conduct cohort studies and randomised controlled trials using a combination of measures, including cognitive, behavioual, neuroimaging and genetics.
Monash teaching commitment
PSY2071 - Developmental Psychology
PSY4130 - Developmental Psychology and Clinical Neuroscience
PSY4271 - Psychological Assessment and Intervention
Keywords
- child neuropsychology
- academic performance
- working memory
- cognitive training
- developmental cognitive neuroscience
- executive function
- mathematical performance
Network
Recent external collaboration on country level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots.
Research Output 2008 2019
Child Motivation and Family Environment Influence Outcomes of Working Memory Training in Extremely Preterm Children
Pascoe, L., Spencer-Smith, M., Wiley, J., Lee, K., Roberts, G., Josev, E., Nosarti, C., Seal, M., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Doyle, L. W., Thompson, D. & Anderson, P., 3 Jun 2019, (Accepted/In press) In : Journal of Cognitive Enhancement. 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Dorsal language stream anomalies in an inherited speech disorder
Liégeois, F. J., Turner, S. J., Mayes, A., Bonthrone, A. F., Boys, A., Smith, L., Parry-Fielder, B., Mandelstam, S., Spencer-Smith, M., Bahlo, M., Scerri, T. S., Hildebrand, M. S., Scheffer, I. E., Connelly, A. & Morgan, A. T., 1 Apr 2019, In : Brain : a journal of neurology. 142, 4, p. 966-977 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access
File
Efficiency of structural connectivity networks relates to intrinsic motivation in children born extremely preterm
Pascoe, L., Thompson, D., Spencer-Smith, M., Beare, R., Adamson, C., Lee, K. J., Kelly, C., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Nosarti, C., Josev, E., Roberts, G., Doyle, L. W., Seal, M. L. & Anderson, P. J., Aug 2019, In : Brain Imaging and Behavior. 13, 4, p. 995-1008 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Influence of Fathers' Early Parenting on the Development of Children Born Very Preterm and Full Term
McMahon, G. E., Spencer-Smith, M. M., Pace, C. C., Spittle, A. J., Stedall, P., Richardson, K., Cheong, J. L. Y., Doyle, L. W., Anderson, P. J. & Treyvaud, K., Feb 2019, In : Journal of Pediatrics. 205, p. 195-201 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Neonatal brain abnormalities and brain volumes associated with goal setting outcomes in very preterm 13-year-olds
Haebich, K. M., Willmott, C., Scratch, S. E., Pascoe, L., Lee, K. J., Spencer-Smith, M. M., Cheong, J. L. Y., Inder, T. E., Doyle, L. W., Thompson, D. K. & Anderson, P. J., 1 Jan 2019, (Accepted/In press) In : Brain Imaging and Behavior. 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Prizes
Harold Mitchell Travelling Fellowship
Megan Spencer-Smith (Recipient), 2011
Prize: Competitive Fellowships
International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes, Travel Scholarship
Megan Spencer-Smith (Recipient), 2007
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Karolinska Institute, Department of Neuroscience Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Megan Spencer-Smith (Recipient), 2011
Prize: Competitive Fellowships
Monash University, Jenny Redman Early Career Research Publication Prize for Psychological Sciences
Megan Spencer-Smith (Recipient), 2016
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Honorary Senior Research Fellow
Megan Spencer-Smith (Recipient), 2011
Prize: Other distinction