DrEugene McTavish

My research focuses on using messy and complex real-world data to answer applied research questions with relevance to policy and practice.

My current research interests centre on education, particularly educational equity, student progression and completion, teacher workforce shortages, and the evaluation of interventions intended to improve educational outcomes. I am interested in using large-scale public and administrative datasets to understand how individual, demographic and contextual factors influence educational experiences and outcomes, and to identify opportunities for improving equity and informing policy. I am also interested in trauma-informed approaches and the development and evaluation of classroom-based interventions.

My broader research interests span psychology and neuroscience, particularly the cognitive, behavioural and neurobiological mechanisms underlying mental health, addiction and compulsive behaviours. I am interested in individual differences in motivation, reward processing and risk perception, and how these relate to behaviour and psychological outcomes.

Methodologically, I am particularly interested in longitudinal and intervention research, understanding individual trajectories and differences in outcomes over time, and applying robust quantitative methods to complex observational and experimental data.