Dr Monika Sobczak-Edmans

Dr Monika Sobczak-Edmans is a senior lecturer in Psychology. She is a qualified psychotherapist with extensive experience of working therapeutically in a variety of clinical settings, including the National Health Service (NHS).

Dr Sobczak-Edmans has also expertise in the field of neuroscience. Her primary research interests are in cognitive neuroscience, with particular interest in cross-modal perception (synaesthesia), working memory and social cognition. She obtained PhD in Psychology from Brunel University in London, UK, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience. She also completed postdoctoral training in Clinical Brain Lab at Nanyang Technological University.

Dr Sobczak-Edmans has expertise in using functional and structural neuroimaging methods (fMRI,  rs-fMRI sMRI,DSI/DTI) as well as in using neuropsychological and psychological measures for studying human cognition.

• Mary Seacole Research Centre

Parekh, R. P., Sobczak-Edmans, M., & Williamson, I. (2025). Rediscovering the forgotten mourners’: A qualitative synthesis of adults’ accounts of sibling bereavement experiences. Death Studies, 1-19.

Parekh, R. P., Sobczak-Edmans, M., & Williamson, I. (2025). A qualitative synthesis of Hindus’ beliefs and experiences about death and dying. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 1-26.

Kwok, F. Y., O'Brien, B. A., H Tay, S. K., Sobczak-Edmans, M., & Chen, A. (2023). Effective Network connectivity during Verbal Working Memory: Understanding the Effect of Cross-sectional Neurodevelopment changes and the Influence of Dyslexia. Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences, 10(2). 

Sobczak-Edmans, M., Lo, Y.C., Hsu, Y.C., Chen, Y.J., Kwok, F.Y., Chuang, K. H., Tseng, W-Y., & Chen, A. (2019). Cerebro-cerebellar pathways for verbal working memory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 530. 

Sagiv, N., Sobczak-Edmans, M.  and Williams, AL.  (2017)   'Personification, Synaesthesia and Social Cognition', in Deroy, O. (ed.) Sensory blendings: New essays on synaesthesia and related phenomena.  Oxford Oxford University Press 

Sobczak-Edmans, M., Ng, T. H. B., Chan, Y. C., Chew, E., Chuang, K. H., & Chen, S. H. A. (2016). Temporal dynamics of visual working memory. NeuroImage, 124, 1021-1030. 

Sobczak-Edmans, M. & Sagiv, N. (2013). Synesthetic personification: The social world of graphemes. In Oxford Handbook of Synesthesia, ed. Julia Simner and Edward M. Hubbard, 222–238. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Amin, M., Olu-Lafe, O., Claessen, L. E., Sobczak-Edmans, M., Ward, J., Williams, A. L., & Sagiv, N. (2011). Understanding Grapheme Personification: A Social Synaesthesia? Journal of Neuropsychology, 5, 255-282.

The paper “Understanding grapheme personification: A social synaesthesia?” was awarded the Journal of Neuropsychology Best Paper Prize in conjunction with the BPS Division of Neuropsychology and the British Neuropsychological Society.

Sobczak-Edmans, M. (2011).Neuromity w nauczaniu szkolnym (eng. Neuromyths in the classroom). Annales UMCS, sec. J(Pedagogia-Psychologia), 24(1):77-82.

Parekh, R. P., Sobczak-Edmans, M., & Williamson, I. (2025). Rediscovering the forgotten mourners’: A qualitative synthesis of adults’ accounts of sibling bereavement experiences. Death Studies, 1-19.

Parekh, R. P., Sobczak-Edmans, M., & Williamson, I. (2025). A qualitative synthesis of Hindus’ beliefs and experiences about death and dying. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 1-26.

Kwok, F. Y., O'Brien, B. A., H Tay, S. K., Sobczak-Edmans, M., & Chen, A. (2023). Effective Network connectivity during Verbal Working Memory: Understanding the Effect of Cross-sectional Neurodevelopment changes and the Influence of Dyslexia. Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences, 10(2). 

Sobczak-Edmans, M., Lo, Y.C., Hsu, Y.C., Chen, Y.J., Kwok, F.Y., Chuang, K. H., Tseng, W-Y., & Chen, A. (2019). Cerebro-cerebellar pathways for verbal working memory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 530. 

Sagiv, N., Sobczak-Edmans, M.  and Williams, AL.  (2017)   'Personification, Synaesthesia and Social Cognition', in Deroy, O. (ed.) Sensory blendings: New essays on synaesthesia and related phenomena.  Oxford Oxford University Press 

Sobczak-Edmans, M., Ng, T. H. B., Chan, Y. C., Chew, E., Chuang, K. H., & Chen, S. H. A. (2016). Temporal dynamics of visual working memory. NeuroImage, 124, 1021-1030. 

Sobczak-Edmans, M. & Sagiv, N. (2013). Synesthetic personification: The social world of graphemes. In Oxford Handbook of Synesthesia, ed. Julia Simner and Edward M. Hubbard, 222–238. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Amin, M., Olu-Lafe, O., Claessen, L. E., Sobczak-Edmans, M., Ward, J., Williams, A. L., & Sagiv, N. (2011). Understanding Grapheme Personification: A Social Synaesthesia? Journal of Neuropsychology, 5, 255-282.

The paper “Understanding grapheme personification: A social synaesthesia?” was awarded the Journal of Neuropsychology Best Paper Prize in conjunction with the BPS Division of Neuropsychology and the British Neuropsychological Society.

• Psychotherapy/couneselling
• Psychoanalysis/neuropsychoanalysis
• Loss and bereavement
• Cognitive and affective neuroscience
• Synaesthesia and cross-modal perception
• Consciousness
• Social cognition
• Working memory

• Counselling Psychology
• Biological Psychology
• Mental Health and Wellbeing: Assessments and Interventions
• Approaches to Psychological Problems

• PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience
• MSc in Functional Neuroimaging
• MSc in Psychology with Clinical Psychology

• Counselling Psychology
• Biological Psychology
• Mental Health and Wellbeing: Assessments and Interventions
• Introductory Research Methods in Psychology
• Multisensory Integration
• Brain and Cognition
• Practical Neuroimaging

• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP)
• International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA)
• British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC)
• British Psychological Society (CPsychol)
• Organization for Human Brain Mapping
• UK Synaesthesia Association
• Association for Scientific Study of Consciousness

Sobczak-Edmans, M., Liu, Y., Ersahin, Z. (2025). Loss and Psychic Growth: Understanding Mourning Through Mentalization​. Presented at 54th International Psychoanalytic Aassociation (IPA) Congress. Lisbon, Portugal. 

Sobczak-Edmans, M., Lo, Y-C., Hsu, Y-C, Chen, Y-J., Kwok, F.Y., Chuang, K-H., Tseng, W-Y. I. & Chen, S.H.A. (2016). Contralateral cerebro-cerebellar white matter pathways for verbal working memory: A combined diffusion spectrum imaging and fMRI study. Presented at the 24th ISMRM Conference, Singapore.

Sobczak-Edmans, M., Ng T.H.B., Lim A.K.S., Heng G.J.M., Chan Y.C., Chew E., Chuang K.S., Chen H.A.S. (2015). Cerebellar contributions to visual working memory. 21st Annual Human Brain Mapping Conference, Honolulu, USA 

Kwok F.Y., Ng T.H.B., Sobczak-Edmans, M, Chen S.H.A. (2015). Verbal working memory network: A network connectivity study. 21st Annual Human Brain Mapping Conference, Honolulu, USA

Sobczak-Edmans M, Wu C.-Y., Fung Y.L., Chen S.H.A. (2014). White matter pathways associated with verbal memory in healthy aging: A TBSS study. 20th Annual Human Brain Mapping Conference, Hamburg, Germany

Sobczak-Edmans, M., Williams, A., & Sagiv, N. (2012). Is self-projection the key to understanding the attribution of agency to graphemes in sequence-personality synaesthesia: A neuroimaging study. UK Synaesthesia Association Meeting, April 14-15, Merton College, Oxford.

Sobczak, M., Sagiv, N., & Williams, A.L. (2011). Automatic attributions of human qualities to graphemes and linguistic sequences in synaesthesia: an fMRI study. 15th Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness meeting, June 9-12, Kyoto, Japan.

Sobczak, M., Sagiv, N., & Williams, A.L. (2011). Personification and the brain: An fMRI study. UK Synaesthesia Association Meeting, March 26-27, University of East London.

Sobczak M, Sagiv N, & Williams AL (2010). Reflections of the self: A neuroimaging investigation of the link between animistic thought and self-processing. 14th Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness meeting, June 24-27, Toronto , Ontario, Canada

Sobczak, M., Williams, A.& Sagiv, N. (2010). Synaesthetic personification: New perspectives on social cognitive neuroscience. UK Synaesthesia Association 4th Annual Meeting. March 27-28, Brighton, UK 

2011: KUPRI-HOPE Travel Prize for Young Researchers: Grant awarded to attend the 15^th meeting of Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness in Kyoto, Japan in June 2011 (amount awarded: £550)

2009: Isambard Research Scholarship. A three-year full time studentship for postgraduate research neural bases of social synaesthesia (amount awarded: £46000)

Peer reviewed for:

• Frontiers in Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neurobiology of Aging
• Neuropsychology Review