Dr Tom Heffernan

Dr Heffernan is Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) Psychology with Criminology degree. He has a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Manchester. Tom’s main teaching is in memory, abnormal psychology and the psychology of crime. Tom also supervises projects at Undergraduate, Masters and PhD levels. Tom has acted as both internal and external examiner at various stages of the PhD process, from the Initial Project Approval stage, to the Mid-Point Progression stage and the final Viva Voce. He has held previous administrative jobs including Exams Tutor, Year Tutor (Years 1, 2, and 3), Project Tutor, Head of Undergraduate Ethics and Member of the School Research Board.

Tom’s research focuses mainly upon the cognitive consequences of recreational drug use, for example, what impact excessive alcohol consumption (including‘bingedrinking’), smoking, ecstasy and cannabis has upon every day cognition, working memory and prospective memory. Tom is active in terms of peer-reviewed publications in this area, bidding for research funding in the field, and is committed to the wider dissemination of research findings to inform policy, advisory groups and to the wider public. Tom has presented his findings both nationally and internationally and his work has attracted interest from researchers, students, the media and the general public from around the world.  His work has been featured in newspapers within the UK and internationally and has been included in on-line factsheets, including, for example, on-line fact sheets developed by ‘Drink Aware’ –an independent UK-wide charity. Tom works with several groups of researchers from both within the UK and in other countries.  Tom is actively pursuing external grant funding for larger scale projects within his field of expertise. Tom is on the editorial board of 2 journals; Current Drug Abuse Reviews and Open Addiction. He also acts as a reviewer for several journals and book companies, as well as for grant funding agencies.   

Tom is a member of the Alcohol Hangover Research Group (AHR-Group) – an international expert group composed of active researchers in the field of alcohol hangover. The goal of the AHR-Group is to elucidate the pathology, treatment and prevention of the alcohol hangover.

Tom is also a member of the FUSE network – which brings together the five North East universities and works in partnership with the public, the NHS and local government services to support the transformation of health across the region, through public health research and the application of knowledge in policy and practice.

Research Grants Held as Principal Investigator

Northumbria University Travel Grant: Funding for international conference presentation. £1500. 2010.

Northumbria University Travel Grant: Funding for international conference presentation. £1500. 2009.

British Academy Travel Grant: Part funding for international conference presentation. £1000. 2007.

Northumbria University Internal Research Fund: Fund part-time Research Assistant. The impact of ‘binge drinking’ in teenagers upon everyday prospective memory. £5000. 2007.

Royal Society Travel Grant: Part funding for international conference presentation. £1,204. 2006.

Northumbria University APT awards: Learning and Teaching research. £4000. 2005-6.

Northumbria University Internal Research Fund: The impact of excessive alcohol use on prospective and central executive processes in teenagers. £5,500. 2004.

Northumbria University Internal Research Fund: The cognitive consequences of chronic ecstasy use. £5000. 2004.

Northumbria University Travel Grant: Funding for international conference presentation. £1000. 2002.

Northumbria University Travel Grant: Funding for international conference presentation. £1500. 2001.

Teesside University Internal Research Fund: 3 year full-time PhD funding. £30,000. 1998.

Teesside University Internal Research Fund: 3 year full-time PhD funding. £25,000. 1996.

Publications

Heffernan, T.M., O’Neill, T., & Moss, M.  (in press). Does persistent smoking impair real world everyday prospective memory? Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Bartholomew, J., Holroyd, S., Heffernan, T.M. (2010).  Does cannabis use affect prospective memory in young adults? Journal of Psychopharmacology, 24(2), 241-246.

Heffernan, T.M., Rebecca Clark, R., Bartholomew, J., Ling, J., & Stephens, R. (2010). Does binge drinking in teenagers affect their everyday prospective memory? Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 109, 73-79.

Stephens, R., Ling, J., Heffernan, T.M., Heather, N. & Jones, K. (2008). A review of the literature on the cognitive effects of  the alcohol hangover. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 43: 163-170.

Heffernan, T.M. (2008). The impact of excessive alcohol use on prospective memory: A brief review. Current Drug Abuse Reviews. 1, 36-41.

Rodgers, J., Buchanan, T., Pearson, C., Parrott, A.C., Ling, J., Heffernan, T., & Scholey, A.B. (2006). Differential experiences of the psychobiological sequelae of ecstasy use: quantitative and qualitative data from an internet study. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 20(3), 437-446.

For a full list of publications please click here.

 

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