Penny Lewis

Professor of Psychology, MRC CoRE Leadership Team

Career Path

2025

Leadership Team, MRC CoRE in Restorative Neural Dynamics

2018

Professor in Psychology, Cardiff University

Research Themes

Mapping & rebalancing memory

We are particularly interested in triggering the brain to practice memories during sleep. This ‘brainwashing’ can strengthen target memories, helping the brain to make new connections and think creatively. It can also be used to make upsetting memories less bothersome and may eventually be used in treating Depression and PTSD.

Understanding & Engineering sleeping brain

We examines ways in which the sleeping brain processes information, and how this can be nudged in order to improve memory, enhance creativity, and improve mental wellbeing. We are also working on ways to slow down the aging process by artificially boosting sleep oscillations.