Salaam, Kia ora and Greetings!

I am the lead researcher (principal investigator) of the Muslim Diversity Study, currently working as a postdoctoral research fellow and lecturer in the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing at the University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand).

In the multi-city longitudinal Muslim Diversity Study, my team and I concentrate on investigating the effects of religion on social attitudes, values, resilience, flourishing, meaning-making, overall well-being, and experiences of Muslims in New Zealand. In this capacity, I lead a team of 28 research assistants and numerous collaborators, fostering a collaborative and enriching research environment.

During PhD, I received training in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, with a primary emphasis on memory suppression and utilising brainwave (EEG/ERP) data to examine possession of criminal knowledge. Additionally, my research encompasses contemplative neuroscience, where I aim to explore neural correlates of contemplative practices.

I use experimental (behavioural as well as neuroscientific) and observational methods.

Fields of Research

• Human Flourishing
• Psychology of Religion
• Contemplative Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology: memory control
• Forensic Neuroscience

Current Projects

• As principal investigator (PI) and postdoctoral research fellow in the Muslim Diversity Study
• As PI in Controlling unwanted memories: A multisite registered replication of the Think/No-Think effect
• As PI in Resting EEG microstates during contemplative practices
• As PI in the “Artificial Intelligence-Based Crime Detection in Aotearoa: Real-life and Virtual Reality Applications”

Research Supervision

Since 2021, I have developed a track record of effective leading and supervising research at different levels (PhD, Masters, and Honours).

Teaching

My experience encompasses teaching statistics, research methods, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience, consistently earning positive feedback each year. I take pride in my ability to embrace constructive criticism and continuously enhance my teaching approach. Currently, I teach the following courses:

• Postgraduate Computational Contemplative-Neuroscience (2023-Present).
• Undergraduate Intermediate Research Methods and Statistics (2022-2024).

Grants

• A national longitudinal study of Muslim diversity and flourishing

Awards

• UC Foundation Doctoral Publication Prize
• Georgina Carvell Memorial Prize
• Te Puna Toiora Scholarship
• University of Canterbury Doctoral Scholarship
• Stage 4 Psychology Prize
• Stage 3 Psychology Prize

Coding

I use GitHub with RStudio and Quarto to learn, produce, and share code. Occasionally, I use Matlab and Python too.

Career Goals

My immediate goal is to become a permanent (tenure-track) lecturer in the field of psychology of religion, human flourishing, neuroscience, or research methods. Psychology and science fascinate me a great deal and my lifelong goal is to conduct good science and contribute to open science.