Insights from Educational Neuroscience and Serious Games in Math Learning

Dr Flavia H. Santos is an awardee of the prestigious UCD Ad Astra Fellowship (2019-2024) and an Assistant Professor at the School of Psychology since 2018.

Dr Santos is an active neuroscientist at the UCD Affective, Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience, developing innovative translational research on neurodevelopmental disorders. She is mainly focused on numerical cognition development and factors that affect its functioning such as math's anxiety. Dr Santos has a strong interest in how Music Science interact with emotion and cognition. She has carried out studies on interventions to stimulate and remediate mathematical performance using musical training and computerised tasks.

At the School of Psychology, she leads the Music and Math Cognition Group, featured at the UCD Discovery Rising Star. Dr Santos is also a member of the UCD Childhood and Human Development Research Centre. She has several peer-reviewed articles in neuroscience, also she authored and edited six books in the field of neuropsychology and rehabilitation. Her research is focused on Sustainable Developmental Goals, SDG 3 (Health and Well-being) and SDG4 (Quality Education). She also advocates for SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG10 (Reduce Inequalities). Dr. Erika Galea is a leading expert in Educational Neuroscience and Human Development, with over two decades of experience in the education sector. Her extensive background spans roles as a teacher, senior leader in independent schools, examiner, and consultant to a wide range of educational stakeholders. Erika's unique ability to connect with students, educators, parents, and policymakers has made her a prominent figure in bridging scientific research with real-world educational practice.

With a Ph.D. in Psychology and Human Development from UCL and a Master's in Educational Leadership specializing in Distributed Leadership from Leicester, Erika's work is rooted in evidence-based strategies that align neuroscientific insights with teaching and learning outcomes. She specializes in applying brain science principles to improve learning, leadership, and workplace practices.