Dr Ian Devonshire

Ian Devonshire is a neuroscientist, author and science communicator. All it took was watching a TV show called ‘Brainspotting’ in his teens for Ian to become fascinated with the human brain. He enrolled onto one of the very first neuroscience degree courses offered in the UK, at Sheffield University's Department of Biomedical Sciences, before moving to the Psychology Department to complete a doctorate in neuroimaging. In his PhD he used imaging to study drug addiction, an application which allowed him to further establish the benefits of brain imaging techniques, but also  reveal some serious limitations.

He continued his lab-based in vivo research after he moved to the University of Oxford, but here his research interests broadened. Based at the Institute for the Future of the Mind, he became interested in how young people's intrinsic motivation to learn is a key factor for academic success. Ian studied pupils' attitudes to learning and whether we can use what we know about brain plasticity to change these attitudes. The relevance of this new style of research was being increasingly recognised at the time and Ian spent time working to bring different voices together as co-ordinator of a Parliamentary Group in the House of Lords, organising debates on applying scientific research in education. Whilst at Oxford, his policy and educational work was balanced by lab-based projects that investigated: the impact of environmental enrichment on brain structure and sensory function; visualising dynamic cerebral cortical activity using voltage-sensitive dye imaging; measuring how general anaesthesia influences global measures of brain function; and developing devices to monitor physiological parameters from animals while under anaesthesia in veterinary practice and scientific studies.

Ian then moved to Nottingham to become a Research Fellow in the Arthritis Research UK Pain Centre where he explored the development and functional anatomy of brain areas involved in the perception of pain. He then held the position of Chief Scientific Officer in the University’s animal research facility, responsible for supporting and training in vivo research scientists. Here, he sat on the University's Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Board (AWERB) and was Chair of the committee for the Pre-Clinical Imaging Research Accelerator Fund; he also served as Chair of the Universities' Training Group, a national body responsible for setting the standards for Home Office personal license training courses.

In addition to research and policy work, Ian is also passionate about science outreach and has regularly visited schools and colleges with a suitcase full of brains; to date he has delivered over a hundred talks, seminars and workshops on various topics in neuroscience to schoolchildren and the general public.

For details of Ian's published books, see the 'Professional Activities' tab.

Grants/funding

• BBSRC, 'Subcortical neurovascular coupling: how does it differ from the cortex?' (Co-I, £327k)
• Templeton Foundation, 'Neuroscience and a new science of virtues' (Co-I, $50k)
• The Cascade Progamme, 'Brain science in the classroom: raising aspiration in primary school pupils, training undergraduates in science communication and performing world-class research' (£7.5k)
• The John Fell OUP Research Fund, 'Disturbance of the spatiotemporal pattern of ongoing brain activity as an underlying mechanism of general anaesthesia' (£5k)