Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development
Department of Psychological Sciences
Birkbeck, University of London
Email: g.serino@bbk.ac.uk
Research Interests
My research is focused on the development of attention in infants and toddlers. To study this, I use a combination of behavioural and neuroimaging techniques. I enjoy designing and programming my own paradigms and analysing complex dataset. Currently, I am studying the role of playing in development as part of the Physical Cognition Lab. In collaboration with Dr. Chiara Bulgarelli, I am also working on tailoring virtual reality and Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT) for use with neurodivergent children, with the aim of making science more inclusive.
Public Engagement
Together with Tommaso Ghilardi and Francesco Poli, I am working to make research more accessible to students and early-career scientists. Check out our DevStart website.
Education
PhD Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London (2020-2024)
MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience and Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Padua (2017-2019)
BSc in Psychological Sciences and Techniques, University of Milan-Bicocca (2014-2017)
Research Exchange
Baby Learning Lab, The University of British Columbia (CA) - 2023 Project: Investigation of neuro-correlates of attention in infants using fNIRS technology during naturalistic interaction. Supervisor: Prof Lauren Emberson
Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London (UK) - 2020 Project: Investigation of the impact of acoustic noise on infant development using eye-tracking methods. Supervisors: Dr Brittney Chere and Prof Natasha Kirkham
Donders Institute, Radboud University (NL) –2019 Project: investigation of the mechanisms underlying visual statistical learning using eye-tracking methods. Supervisor: Prof Sabine Hunnius
Università degli Studi di Milano, Bicocca (IT) - 2017 Project: Influence of visuo-olfactory memory on colour perception. Supervisor: Prof. Emanuela Bricolo
Publications
Serino, G., & Ossmy, O. (2025). Toward a Causal Science of Early Play?. Infancy, 30(4), e70033.
Serino, G., Dopierala, A.A.W., Shen, C., Mareschal, D., Scerif, G., Kirkham, N., & Emberson, L.L. (2025). Neural Bases of Sustained Attention during Naturalistic Parent-Infant Interactions. Scientific Reports.
Serino, G., Mareschal, D., Scerif, G., & Kirkham, N. (2024). Playing hide and seek: Contextual regularity learning develops between 3 and 5 years of age. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 238, 105795.
Poli, F., Serino, G., Mars, R. B., & Hunnius, S. (2020). Infants tailor their attention to maximize learning. Science Advances,6(39), eabb5053.
Conference Proceedings
Serino, G. Tailoring and Validating Virtual Reality and DOT Methods for Use with Neurodivergent Children: New Findings, Challenges, and Future Directions. Invited talk at Respect 4 Neurodevelopment Conference, London, September, 2025.
Serino, G. & St. Clair V. Catching the young mind in motion: Wearable fNIRS in naturalistic settings. Keynote at MEG-UKI, London, July 2025
Serino, G., Dopierala, A.A.W., Shen, C., Mareschal, D., Scerif, G., Kirkham, N., & Emberson, L.L. Old Meets New: Applying Seminal ECG Research to Develop a Novel Fnirs Protocol for Studying Attention in Real-World Infant Experiences. Symposium at Flux, Dublin, September, 2025.
Serino, G., Mareschal D., Scerif G., & Kirkham N. Past Experiences Drive Infants’ Attention in the Present. Symposium presented at the International Congress of Infant Studies, Glasgow, July 2024.
Serino G. , Heraty S., Dalvit-Menabe S., Powell S., Everdell N., Aburumman N., Charman T. , Viding E., Hamilton A., Pinti P. & Bulgarelli C. Tailoring fNIRS and Virtual Reality for Use with Neurodiverse Children. Poster presented at the Society for functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy, UK, September, 2024
Serino G. , Heraty S., Dalvit-Menabe S., Powell S., Everdell N., Aburumman N., Charman T. , Viding E., Hamilton A., Pinti P. & Bulgarelli. C. Test-retest Reliability of Diffuse Optical Tomography in Neurodiverse Children. Poster presented at the Society for functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy, UK, September, 2024
Serino G. , Heraty S., Dalvit-Menabe S., Powell S., Everdell N., Aburumman N., Charman T. , Viding E., Hamilton A., Pinti P. & Bulgarelli C. Tailoring Neuroscience to Developmental Differences. Poster presented at Respect 4 Neurodevelopment Conference, London, 2023.
Serino, G., Dopierała, A. A. W., Shen, C., Mareschal, D., Kirkham, N., and Emberson, L. Studying neural bases of attention orienting in real-world infant experience. Poster presented at the Society for functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy, UK, September, 2023
Serino, G., Mareschal, D., & Kirkham, N. Distractibility is tuned on relevant information since the first year of life. Lighting talk at British Psychological Society, Cognitive and Developmental Sections Annual Conference 2023, September, 2023.
Serino, G., Grimshaw, H., Chere, B., Mareschal, D., & Kirkham, N. Can young children block out irrelevant acoustic noise? Lighting talk at British Psychological Society, Cognitive and Developmental Sections Annual Conference 2023, September, 2023.
Serino, G., Pinti, P., Mareschal D. & Kirkham, N. Using fNIRS to investigate the neural correlates of distraction in 8- month-old infants. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy, October 2022
Serino, G., Gossé L., Pinti, P., & Kirkham, N. Using fNIRS to investigate the neural correlates of the orienting response in 8-month-old infants. Poster presented at the International Congress of Infant Studies, July 2022
Serino, G., & Kirkham, N. Infants learn complex visual structures and then what? Poster presented at the Statistical Learning Conference, June 2022.
Serino, G., Mareschal D., Scerif G., & Kirkham N. Playing hide and seek: what environmental cues drive young children’s memory-guided attention and further learning? Poster Presented at the Lancaster Conference on Infant and Early Child Development, August 2021.
Awards and Funding
LSE Class Teacher Awards 2022-23 in recognition of the highly commended work as a class teacher in the department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics, London (UK).
UCL, Bloomsbury and East London DTP – International Institutional Visit (IIV) - funding towards gaining research skills.
Gorilla Grant 2020 – Ruby Tier Award - tokens to run online research on the Gorilla.sc platform
ESRC +3 PhD studentship (2020 – 2023) - Fully funded studentship to cover PhD fees, living expenses and research expenses.
ESRC Advanced Quantitative Methods (2020 – 2023) - funding towards gaining skills in quantitative methods.
Erasmus+ for Traineeship (Oct. 2019 – Feb. 2020) - internship exchange program, funding to cover living expenses.
Erasmus+ for Traineeship (March. 2019 – July 2019) - internship exchange program, funding to cover living expenses.
Erasmus+ for Studies (Sept. 2018 – Feb.2019)- study exchange program, funding to cover living expenses.