The University of Birmingham welcomes Elaine Fox - internationally renowned cognitive psychologist and affective scientist - as its new Professor of Psychology.
The University of Birmingham is delighted to welcome Professor Elaine Fox - an internationally renowned cognitive psychologist and affective scientist - as its new Professor of Psychology.
Professor Fox brings an exceptional track record of research leadership spanning Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and Australia. A graduate of University College Dublin, where she completed both her BA (Hons) and PhD, she has held senior academic roles across the globe. Following many years at the University of Essex - including a term as Head of the School of Psychology and Centre for Brain Science - she joined the University of Oxford in 2012 as Professor of Psychology and Affective Science. There, she founded the Oxford Centre for Emotion & Affective Neuroscience (OCEAN), pioneering work at the intersection of psychological science, molecular genetics and neuroscience to advance understanding of emotional resilience and vulnerability. Her research was supported by a prestigious European Research Council Advanced Investigator Award, one of Europe’s most competitive personal fellowships.
In 2022, Professor Fox moved to the University of Adelaide to serve as Head of the School of Psychology, later becoming Director of Mental Health Science with a remit to build a world-leading multidisciplinary centre for mental health research. She returned to the UK in 2025 for personal reasons and now joins Birmingham to continue advancing cutting-edge psychological science.
Professor Fox has served on editorial boards of leading journals, is a Fellow of both the Association for Psychological Science and the British Psychological Society and is a former President of the Society for Affective Science. Alongside her academic work, she is committed to public engagement. Her bestselling book Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain (2012) and her latest book Switchcraft (2022) bring contemporary psychological science to broad audiences.
I’m thrilled to be joining the University of Birmingham. The opportunity to contribute to such a dynamic research community - one that is deeply committed to understanding and improving mental health - means a great deal to me. I’m excited to collaborate with colleagues across the University to push the boundaries of psychological science and to support the next generation of researchers.
“Elaine is an outstanding scientist whose work has fundamentally shaped our understanding of emotion, resilience and mental health. We are delighted to welcome her to Birmingham.
Professor Fox will play a key role in advancing interdisciplinary psychological science at the University and supporting Birmingham’s growing community of scholars focused on mental health, wellbeing and the biological and social factors that shape human behaviour.
