Prof Melanie Burke

Profile

I graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Applied Physiology before gaining my PhD from the University of Manchester on Visual Neurophysiology. From there I continued my interest in vision and the brain by investigating optical imaging with Dr Niall McLoughlin before accepting a research fellow position with Professor Graham Barnes in the Sensorimotor Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Manchester. In 2007 I accepted a lectureship position at the University of Leeds in the School of Psychology (SoP) and has established my own Brain and Behaviour laboratory capable of simultaneous brain recordings using functional Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy (fNIRS, Artinis Medical Ltd), brain stimulation using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS, Magstim Ltd), and recording of eye (EyeLink 1000 Hz, SR Research) and hand movements. In 2014 I was promoted to Associate Professor within the SoP and am also the Director of Post-graduate Research Studies (DPGRS) in the School of Psychology. In October 2024 I was promoted to Chair in Cognitive Ageing and Neuroimaging within the School.

Selected Grants:

Funder name: ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council)
Title: Strategy interventions to support healthy cognitive ageing: behavioural, neuroimaging, and real-world perspectives
Start date: 1 December 2023
End date: 30 November 2026
Amount: GBP 243,261.00
 

Funder name: Wellcome Trust
Title: Wellcome Trust iTPA
Start date: 1 December 2019
End date: 31 December 2023
Amount: GBP 912,500.00
 

Funder reference: Not Known
Funder name: Anonymous 01 (see Alumni team)
Title: Neurodegeneration in the Brain: Investigating links between Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease
Start date: 1 January 2018
End date: 31 December 2018
Amount: GBP 68,249.23
 

Funder reference: ARUK-PPG2014A-19
Funder name: Alzheimer's Research UK
Title: An electrophysiological investigation of interhemispheric communication in Alzheimers disease
Start date: 1 May 2014
End date: 31 August 2015
Amount: GBP 68,195.56
 

Selected Publications:

Miller, A., Allen, R. J., Juma, A. A., Chowdhury, R., & Burke, M. R. (2023). Does repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation improve cognitive function in age‐related neurodegenerative diseases? A systematic review and meta‐analysis. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 38(8). doi:10.1002/gps.5974

Delvenne, J. -F., Scally, B., & Burke, M. (2023). Splenium tract projections of the corpus callosum to the parietal cortex classifies Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. Neuroscience Letters, 810. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137331

Delvenne, J. -F., Scally, B., Bunce, D., & Burke, M. R. (2021). Splenium tracts of the corpus callosum degrade in old age. Neuroscience Letters, 742. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135549

Scally, B., Burke, M. R., Bunce, D., & Delvenne, J. F. (2018). Resting state EEG power and connectivity are associated with alpha peak frequency slowing in healthy aging. Neurobiology of Aging, 71, 149-155. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.07.004

Gonzalez, C. C., & Burke, M. R. (2018). Motor Sequence Learning in the Brain: The Long and Short of It. Neuroscience, 389, 85-98. doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.01.061

Scally, B., Burke, M. R., Bunce, D., & Delvenne, J. -F. (2018). Visual and visuomotor interhemispheric transfer time in older adults. Neurobiology of Aging, 65, 69-76. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.01.005

Ozer, S., Noonan, K., Burke, M., Young, J., Barber, S., Forster, A., & Jones, R. (2017). An Investigation Of Two Brief Cognitive Tests (M@T And TYM) For Identifying Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI). Age and Ageing, 46(Suppl 1), i35. doi:10.1093/ageing/afx068.130

Responsibilities

• Director of Post-Graduate Research Studies

Research interests

My principal interests lie in changes in cognitive and visuomotor processing across the lifespan. I am interested in both typically developing individuals and those with a pathological development or neurodegeneration. I use a variety of technology to explore cognitive and behavioural responses that include eye-trackers, touch-screen monitors and joysticks. I monitor behaviour alongside more neurophysiological measures to explore the brain processes behind these responses and these include:

• functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
• functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)
• Electroencephalography (EEG)
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) techniques
• Eye movements and motor control
• Cogntive processing in the brain and changes during ageing

The combination of these methods helps to identify causal relationships between brain areas and function.

In summary, my research looks at activity in the brain during eye and hand movements to a range of cognitive tasks. I am interested in the brain areas involved memory and motor control during coordination throughout the lifespan and how these neural mechanisms change with healthy and abnormal ageing.

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) in Applied Physiology
• PhD in Visual Neurophysiology
• Fellow of the HEA
• UKCGE Supervisor Recognition Award
• Post-Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCAP)

Professional memberships

• Manager and creator of the Visuomotor Laboratory at IPS
• Member of the British Neuroscience Association (BNA)
• Founding member of the Yorkshire Vision Network (YVN)
• Perception-Action-Control laboratory
• Member of the British Ocular Motor Group (BOMG)
• Member of the Active Vision Association (AVA) 
• Neur@l

Student education

My teaching in the SoP is centred around my areas of expertise. Early in the course I contribute to teaching students about vision and the brain and provide details for the neural pathways involved in cognitive processing alongside lectures on ageing.

I have a specialised module at level 3 which looks at advanced techniques in human neuropsychology (PSYC3527). This module teaches students about brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonnance imaging (fMRI), function Near Infra-red Specroscopy (fNIRS), and electroencephalography (EEG), alongside some intervention methods of brain stimulation such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

I am also module leader for the Ageing and Dementia module (PSYC5919) within the MSc in Cognitive Development and its Disorders programme.

Research groups and institutes

• Academic Unit for Ageing and Stroke Research
• Perception, action, cognition
• Successful ageing
• Brain and Behaviour Laboratory