44 Applications: PSYC100 Alumni in Research
By Nelly Matorina, Riley J.T. Bonar, and Meghan E. Norris
In this unit, we explored the science of sleep. We would like to introduce you to a PSYC100 alumnus who has spent many years studying sleep and who now applies many of the skills learned during her training in her career as a Research Associate in the United Kingdom.
Introducing, Dr. Nelly Matorina!
Dr. Nelly Matorina is a Research Associate at the University of York (UK) who graduated from Queen’s in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (major) and Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media (minor)! When Nelly first started her undergraduate studies at Queens, she was planning to major in English literature. Nelly decided to take PSYC 100 as an elective and enjoyed it so much that she decided to change her major to Psychology. In Nelly’s third year of undergraduate studies, she took a course called Psychology of Sleep taught by Dr. Hans Dringenberg. From there, she became particularly interested in sleep research and went on to do a master’s and a PhD focusing on memory processing during sleep. In Nelly’s current job as a research associate, she spends time designing experiments and collecting and analysing data. Most of her research involves collecting data by asking people about their memories and using neuroimaging techniques, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI). Nelly also sometimes gives lectures to undergraduate students and the general public.
By taking PSYC 100, you join a vast community that contains members who have graduated and had a variety of experiences! We caught up with Nelly and asked what her favourite memory from PSYC 100 was. Given that psychology is such a broad field, Nelly found it really fun to learn about so many different aspects of psychology in PSYC 100. Although she works in the field of cognitive neuroscience now, much of her foundational knowledge in social, developmental, and clinical psychology comes from PSYC 100. Nelly also offered some advice about careers to students currently taking PSYC 100 and said that she would recommend taking courses widely outside of your immediate interests. As an undergraduate student, Nelly took courses in art history, anatomy, physiology, interdisciplinary studies, film and media, and many others. Trying different courses can give you an idea of what interests you and perhaps which combination of fields you are interested in. It can also strengthen your main course of study. For example, you might decide to combine psychology and art in art therapy. Nelly would also encourage gaining research experience. Even if you do not pursue a research career or an undergraduate thesis, Nelly thinks it is very important to understand how all the facts you are learning about are produced. This will help you contextualize information you learn about in your courses, but also to understand how scientific research operates in general.
How to cite this resource:
Matorina, N., Bonar, R.J.T., & Norris, M.E. (2026). Applications: PSYC100 Alumni in Research. In PSYC 100: Principles of psychology. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/testbookje/chapter/applications-psyc100-alumni-in-research/
