Elizabeth Edwards

Dr Edwards is an Associate Professor in the School of Education where she is currently the Director of Research Innovation and Higher Degree Research. Her research spans education, psychology and medical education and her collaborators are national and international experts in these disciplines. Dr Edwards has an international reputation for contributing to understanding the link between anxiety, attention, and memory. Her work supports the notion that an inability to efficiently process information and maintain concentration, plays a critical role in the development and maintenance of emotional disorders.

Dr Edwards' latest work focusses on the translation of theory-driven, basic science into treatments for clinical problems, specifically for children and adolescents. For example, her research laboratory is currently conducting a series of studies investigating whether training the cognitive processes most vulnerable to anxiety and depression can in turn reduce emotional symptoms in children and adolescents. This work also seeks to understand the influence of cognitive training on academic achievement.

Dr Edwards completed a PhD and an honours degree in psychology (Bond University), and an undergraduate degree in education (Griffith University). For over two decades, she has worked as a primary classroom teacher, special education teacher, guidance counsellor, and psychologist. She has taught and supervised clinical, professional and research skills in education, psychology and medicine and worked in higher education in the United Kingdom and Australia. Dr Edwards joined The University of Queensland in 2020 to teach into the Master of Educational Studies (Guidance, Counselling and Careers).