Daniel Berry
PhD Student

Profile

Biography

I graduated from the University of Oxford in 2023 with a BA in Experimental Psychology, specializing in behavioral neuroscience. During my final year, I developed a strong interest in human cognition, memory, and psychopathology. At the same time, I began working with the US company Starting Strength, particularly engaging with Dr. Jonathon Sullivan’s concept of human apoptosis—the idea that the loss of strength, function, and vitality with age is not inevitable but can be mitigated through resistance training. This perspective reinforced my interest in the link between strength training and mental health, particularly how it influences effort perception and motivation in vulnerable populations such as older adults and individuals with physical disabilities.

After spending six months as a healthcare assistant in a medium-security forensic mental health hospital, I returned to academia in May 2024 as a research assistant at the University of York. Alongside this role, I was awarded a departmental scholarship to pursue a PhD in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging at York.

Under the supervision of Dr. MaryAnn Noonan and Professor Alex Wade, my research focuses on the learning processes that drive decision-making and how these may be altered in individuals with depression, anxiety, and apathy. I am particularly interested in how strength training influences effort perception and whether this, in turn, affects motivation and cognitive function in individuals experiencing apathy.

To further explore these mechanisms, I am collaborating with Professor Robin Murphy’s Computational Psychopathology Lab at Oxford. Our work aims to bridge cognitive neuroscience and computational modeling to determine whether changes in underlying learning processes can help explain his lab’s findings on depression and agency. By integrating insights from both behavioral interventions and computational approaches, we hope to better understand how modifying effort perception through strength training could be used as a social prescription for mental health.

Career

• PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging - University of York (2024 - Present)
• Research Assistant - University of York (2024 - 2024)
• Healthcare Assistant - Priory Hospital Stockton Hall (2023 - 2024)
• BA in Experimental Psychology - University of Oxford (2020 - 2023)

Departmental roles

• PGR Student Representative (2024 - Present)
• Graduate Teaching Assistant (2024 - Present)

Research