Hi! I’m a Cognitive Neuroscientist and science communicator. As an upcoming consultant, user researcher, and scientist, I am interested in VR and game development. I like to study how users engage, decide, and immerse. I’m also excited by the potential of creativity and AI to help people innovate, strategize, and drive meaningful change.
Over the past decade, I’ve worked at the intersection of behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, sensory technologies, and science communication. I’ve developed clinical tools for counselors, analyzed eye-tracking data from undergraduates, people with problem gambling, and recreational athletes, co-founded a neuroscience magazine, and supported students with thesis design and publication strategy. I recently defended my PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia, where I studied how audiovisual cues influence immersion during slot machine gambling and basketball performance.
But research is just one part of my story. I’m also a writer, mentor, mother, and first-generation scholar who is driven to make scientific concepts accessible, strategic, and deeply human-centred.
Through it all, I’ve stayed grounded in one belief:
💬 Science and creativity are two sides of the same coin. As a team, they empower people and drive change.
I care deeply about bridging research and real-world impact. That’s why I offer editing, consulting, and mentorship through BrainBloom Consulting – a small initiative I started to help researchers and innovators design and analyze their projects in transformative ways and to help graduate students get to the other side of the river.
Whether you’re a grad student, startup, or public health team, I’d love to help you.
👉 Check out my Portfolio and Publications to learn more.
Quick Facts
🎓 PhD in Neuroscience | MSc in Neuroscience | HBSc with a minor in Creative Writing
✍️ User Research Scientist, Digital Health, Research, & AI Consultant | Academic Mentor
🧠 Research areas: Game Immersion • Flow • Peak Performance • Multisensory Integration • Reward • Decision-making
💬 Languages: English, Urdu, Punjabi (beginner), Arabic (beginner)
📚 Favourite books: A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini | For One More Day – Mitch Albom
Fiza Arshad 