Academic Career

Sept 2009 – Aug 2010

ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow

School of Experimental Psychology

University of Bristol

Fellowship to produce peer-reviewed articles, write grant applications, gain teaching experience and training and conduct additional research.

Jan 2009 – Aug 2009

Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Schools of Psychology and Computer Science

University of St Andrews

Developing face transformer software for public engagement. I presented findings to government and industry, supervised undergraduates and taught at the MSc level.

Jan 2006 – Jan 2009

PhD Psychology “Skin colour, pigmentation and the apparent health of human faces”

University of St Andrews

Supervisor: Professor David I Perrett

Funded by BBSRC CASE studentship with Unilever

I investigated the effects of colour and pigmentation on the perceived health of human faces. I also supervised undergraduate projects and demonstrated.

2004-2005

MPhil Biological Anthropology (High Pass ~A)

University of Cambridge

Supervisor: Dr Marta Mirazon Lahr

Thesis: “Sexual selection as a possible mechanism for the evolution of light skin in northern human populations”

A research-focussed master's degree.

2000-2003

BSc (hons) Human Sciences (2:1)

University College London (UCL)

A highly interdisciplinary Life Sciences degree.

Publications

In Press

Stephen, I.D., Coetzee, V., Law Smith, M.J., Perrett, D.I. Skin carotenoid and melanin colouration affect perceived health of human faces.

2010

Scott, I.M.L., Pound, N., Stephen, I.D., Penton-Voak, I.S. Does masculinity matter? The contribution of sex-typical appearance to male attractiveness in humans. PLoS ONE, 5, e13585.

2010

Stephen, I.D., McKeegan, A.M. Lip colour affects perceived sex typicality and attractiveness of human faces. Perception 39, 1104-1110.

2010

Coetzee, V., Chen, J., Perrett, D.I., Stephen, I.D. Deciphering faces: Quantifiable visual cues to weight. Perception, 39, 51-61.

2009

Coetzee, V., Perrett, D.I., Stephen, I.D. Facial adiposity: a cue to health. Perception 38, 1700-1711.

2009

Stephen, I.D., Law Smith, M.J., Stirrat, M.R., Perrett, D.I. Facial skin colouration affects perceived health of human faces. International Journal of Primatology, 6, 845-857.

2009

Stephen, I.D., Coetzee, V., Law Smith, M.J., Perrett, D.I. Skin blood perfusion and oxygenation colour affect perceived human health. PLoS ONE 4:e508.

Submitted Manuscripts

Stephen, I.D., Oldham, F.H., Perrett, D.I., Barton, R.A. (submitted) Redness enhances perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness in men's faces.

Invited Talks

Invited seminar at University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus School of Psychology, 2010

Invited seminar at University of Bristol Department of Biology, 2010

Invited seminar at University of Western Australia Departments of Psychology and Animal Biology, 2009

Invited seminar at University of Durham Evolutionary Anthropology Research Group, 2008

Conference Talks

Stephen, I.D., et al. (2010) Redness enhances perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness in men's faces. ISHE

Stephen, I.D., et al. (2010) Red, aggression, dominance and attractiveness in men’s faces. Red Workshop, Durham University

Stephen, I.D., Oldham, F.H., Perrett, D.I., Barton, R.A. (2009) Redness enhances perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness in men's faces. HBES Conference Proceedings 21, 58.

Stephen, I.D., Perrett, D.I. (2009) Skin pigment colouration cues health in human faces. Scottish Face Group meeting, Heriot-Watt University .

Stephen, I.D., Perrett, D.I. (2008) Skin pigment colouration signals health in human faces. HBES Conference Proceedings 20, 13.

Stephen, I.D., Perrett, D.I. (2008) Skin pigments signal health in human faces. PsyPAG

Stephen, I.D ., Perrett, D.I. (2007) Skin pigmentation, colour and health. Scottish Face Group Meeting, Stirling

Stirratt, M.R., Lawson, J.F., Sharp, M.A., Al-Dujaili, A.S., Stephen, I.D., Perrett, D.I. (2007) Fear of punishment: testosterone elicits trustworthiness in trust games. HBES Conference Proceedings 19, 82.

Grants

ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship. Total value: £77,160. One year postdoctoral fellowship to write papers and grant applications, gain training and teaching experience and conduct additional research. Funding runs Sept 2009 – Sept 2010

BBSRC CASE studentship . Total value: £56,000 (full fees and maintenance). My PhD was funded by this grant, from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council in association with multinational company Unilever. Funding runs Jan 2006 – Jan 2009

SIET Travel Grant . Total value £900. Won this highly competitive grant to attend the HBES 2008 conference in Kyoto, Japan, and meet potential collaborators.

Brain Travel Grant. Total value: £800. Won funding to give an invited talk, learn new techniques and discuss collaborations at the departments of Psychology and Animal Biology at the University of Western Australia .

British Psychological Society study visit grant. Total value: £600. Further funding towards my visit to the University of Western Australia .

Grindley Travel Grant . Total value: £500. Won funding from the Experimental Psychology Society to attend HBES conference at William & Mary College, Virginia, USA in 2007.

ASAB Conference Grant. Total value: £400. Secured funding to attend the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour summer meeting 2009 in Oxford, UK .

Department of Psychology Travel Grant . Total value: £1000. Secured funding to attend HBES conferences in 2007 and 2008, as well as PsyPAG 2008 in Manchester .

HBES Travel Grant . Total value £150. Won funding to attend HBES 2008 conference.

Teaching

Module coordinator on 2nd year undergraduate course Statistical Methods 2.

Lectured on the 2nd year undergraduate course Critical Issues in Psychology.

Lectured and tutored for the MSc course in Origins of Mind: Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology at the University of St Andrews School of Psychology .

Demonstrated in practical sessions for the junior honours level course Brain & Behaviour 1 at the University of St Andrews School of Psychology .

Co-Supervised final year undergraduate dissertations at the University of Durham Department of Anthropology and University of Ulster Department of Psychology

Co-Supervised undergraduate students on summer research projects at the University of St Andrews . One summer student won a prize of £250 and received coverage in the St Andrews Citizen and University of St Andrews website for the best summer project in the university.

Played a significant role in supervision of undergraduate students doing research projects in the Perception Lab, including final year honours project students.

Completed GradSkills course entitled “Introduction to Tutoring and Assessment” to qualify me to teach at the University of St Andrews, and provide tutoring and marking skills. Also included ethical and legal responsibilities.

Public Engagement and Knowledge Transfer

Presented work and proposed knowledge transfer project to senior leaders at Health Scotland, Equally Well, NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government . Discussions on Public Health projects are ongoing.

Produced press release publicising my published work.

My work has been widely reported in the press, including BBC Health, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The LA Times, El Mundo, The Mirror, and the Metro in addition to several online and radio outlets.

Demonstrated Face Transformer technology to the public and staff at special exhibitions that I arranged at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, Magna in Rotherham and Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Manchester .

Volunteered at National Science Week science fairs in 2007 and 2008, Edinburgh Science Festival, 2008, and Psychology For All, 2009 (a British Psychological Society event in London), demonstrating face morphing software and 3D photography equipment and answering questions from the public, including children and adults of all ages.

Interviewed for Glasgow Herald, 2007, BBC World Service, 2008 and The National, 2008.

Produced images for publication in the Sunday Post, 2007 and Femme Actuelle, 2007.

Attended BBSRC Media Training Course in London, 2008, where I learned interview techniques and press release writing skills.

Presented at Teachers Together, an event designed to help state school teachers to encourage pupils to apply for science courses at top Scottish universities, 2007, 2008.

Other Achievements

Completed accredited Level 5 Award in Research Management.

Organised two training sessions for PhD students on the grants process.

Member of the ESRC peer review college.

I organise the Social and Evolutionary Discussion Group in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol.


Referee for the peer-reviewed journals Emotion, British Journal of Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology, Human Ethology Bulletin, Swiss Journal of Psychology.

Referee for the Czech Science Foundation

Refereed papers for peer-reviewed journals Current Anthropology, the Journal of Sports Sciences, Proceedings of the Royal Society B and PNAS, in association with my supervisor.

Coordinated a team of researchers in St Andrews and Newcastle and liaised with suppliers, technicians and computer programmers to design and implement a system for taking and colour-calibrating photographs for use in my research.

I organised the Social and Evolutionary Discussion Group in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol.

Professional Memberships

Human Behaviour and Evolution Society (HBES)

European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association (EHBEA)

Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB)

International Society for Human Ethology (ISHE)

Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM)

 

Current Collaborations

    

Dr Elizabeth Sheppard, Chrystalle Bih Yuan Tan (Psychology), University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus
Dr Ian Penton-Voak, Isabel Scott, Dr Marcus Munafo, Dr Bruce Hood (Experimental Psychology), Dr Neill Campbell, Alex Davies, Rosie Campbell, Dr Colin Dalton (Computer Science), University of Bristol

Prof Robert Barton (Anthropology), Dr Lynda Boothroyd (Psychology), Durham University

Prof David Perrett, Vinet Coetzee, Ross Whitehead (Psychology), University of St Andrews

Dr Lesley Knapp, Simeon Innocent (Biological Anthropology), University of Cambridge

Dr Nick Pound (Psychology) Brunel University

Dr Erika Nurmsoo (Psychology), University of Kent

Dr Diana Fleischman (Psychology), University of North Carolina



Last updated 16-Dec-2010