September 13, 2026, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE): Three Canadian University Dubai (CUD) Psychology students have presented their research in the United Kingdom (UK), representing the University at the Attachment in Practice Symposium at the University of Derby.
Mira Aljallad, Mohamed Rozaik and Aasea Alhashmi presented their scoping review, “Emotion-Related Interpretation of CNS Findings in Preterm Infants: Mapping the Interpretive Step Before the Relational Question”.
Completed under the supervision of Professor Efthymios Papatzikis, NICU Senior Clinical Research Fellow, the research explores how a deeper understanding of early emotional development can support more compassionate, attachment-informed neonatal care. As a scoping review, the work maps existing research on how findings about the central nervous system (CNS) in preterm infants are interpreted in emotional terms, the step that comes before questions about relationships and attachment.
Presenting at an international symposium gave the students the opportunity to share their work with an academic audience abroad, exchange ideas with researchers in the field and gain first-hand experience of communicating research beyond the classroom.
The achievement reflects CUD’s commitment to supporting student research with global relevance and real-world impact.