Maria obtained a degree in Psychology from the University of Westminster followed by an MSc in Organizational Psychology from City University. Her PhD investigated aspects of pre-attentive visual processing under the leadership of Professor Tony Towell and Dr Mark Gardner from the University of Westminster and Dr Alki Liasis from Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. She is currently working as Research Fellow and has interests in the psychophysiology of pre-attentive processing, the psychophysiology of stress and in facial expression analysis.