Dr Valeria Bellan

In 2009 I obtained my Master degree in Psychology (focus on Cognitive and Neuropsychology) at University of Pavia (Italy). For my experimental thesis I have focused on how Italian native speakers assign the stress to pseudo-words, under the supervision of Professor Alessio Toraldo. Afterwards, I worked as a Psychologist at Niguarda Hospital (Milan, Italy) with pediatric and adult patients undergoing brain surgery as a treatment for drug-resistant focal epilepsy.

In 2011, I started my PhD at the University of Milano Bicocca (Italy) under the supervision of Professor Alberto Gallace. My PhD focused on how bodily illusions influence body representation in healthy individuals. Halfway through my PhD, I moved to Adelaide as a visiting PhD student at Body in Mind group (BiM, University of South Australia, School of Health Sciences), under the supervision of Professor Lorimer Moseley. At BiM I have explored various bodily illusions, developing a major interest in illusions disrupting self-localisation of the hands (i.e. when participants do not know where their hands are anymore). To do this I have employed different techniques, such as the tendon vibration and a machine called MIRAGE that creates a mismatch between visual and proprioceptive input. My expertise in the use of MIRAGE illusions led to a collaboration with Australian artist Ms Eugenie Lee. 

After obtaining my PhD in 2015, I have been working as a full time post doc researcher at BiM, applying my research to individuals experiencing chronic and acute pain. I have been interested in self-localisation processes in patients experiencing hand chronic pain, in particular people diagnosed with a rare condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. In November 2017, together with fellow researchers Dr Tasha Stanton and Dr Carolyn Berryman, I have organised the first CRPS Knowledge night in Australia, a free event conceived to raise awareness about this disease.

At the beginning of 2017 I moved to the Centre for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience (CCSN, School of Psychology, UniSA), directed by Prof Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky. This new environment gave me the opportunity to develop a new project that focuses on the relationship between pain and language. 

I currently work at CCSN and I collaborate with BiM. I also teach Foundations in Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience at School of Psychology. 

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy Universita Degli Studi Di Milano - Bicocca

• Master in Psycology University of Pavia

• Bachelor in Psychology University of Privia