Mayukha Pillay

Throughout my life, I have strongly felt that my purpose is to make a change. My parents were freedom fighters - their efforts contributing to the end of Apartheid. During my Independent Examination Board (IEB) schooling years, I found inspiration in historical revolutionaries, authors, and outspoken figures. In assignments, every topic always came back to making a change; however, I never knew how. My love for Science, Psychology, Music and English seemed to clash rather than (if you’ll excuse the pun) sing harmoniously, and I struggled to find any significance in my craft. That was, until the completion of my undergraduate programme (Bachelor of Arts with combined honours in Music and Psychology) at Liverpool Hope University. Through my two theses, I found a way to make an impact in a manner that felt authentic to my purpose and combined my passions. In other words, I had found my voice - academically and personally. I graduated the course with a first-class pass, wining the Sue Willis Memorial Prize for best student ins Music, and continued the path to pursue my research career. I passed my Master of Arts in Creative Music Practice and my Master of Science in Music, Mind and Brain with distinctions, and am currently enrolled at the University of Oxford for my DPhil in Experimental Psychology. During my education, I have presented my work at numerous conferences, collaborated on multiple projects as a research assistant, published review articles, and been allocated as a peer reviewer in a prestigious journal.

My current research focuses on tackling major global nutrition concerns and food insecurities by exploring the impact of environmental cues on food behaviour and perception. Specifically, the role of various auditory stimuli on the spectrum (from a health, sustainable and wellbeing perspective) of healthy consumption lifestyles. My research covers a range of auditory stimuli including (but not limited to): music, soundscapes, background noise, the sound associated with the preparation and cooking of food and drink products, packaging sounds, and sonic branding. This is explored in a unisenorial and multisensorial context and incorporates understanding the role of sound in an online, in-person and technological context.

This field of research is deeply personal to me - it gives me the opportunity to channel creativity into something meaningful, to use sound not just as art, but as a tool for change. Beyond personal fulfilment, the potential societal impact of this research cannot be overstated. Sound’s ability to induce different emotions, manipulate stress, arousal and attention capacity, entrain and prime behaviour and affect safety perception makes it a valuable aid for promoting healthy consumption lifestyles in a multitude of contexts. For illustration, the sensation transference mechanism of music with positive emotions or pleasure induced by liked music could help facilitate a more positive relationship between the person and food. Or, perhaps, the reducing stress aspect of nature sounds could be used to help those with emotional or stress eating tendencies. Mastication noises could be used to aid elderly populations or patients that struggle with swallowing - the possibilities are both practical and profound. These suggestions, coupled with its unavoidable and non-invasive nature and inexpensive application, makes it a noteworthy avenue to explore and implement into aiding today’s nutrition concerns. It was Bono who stated that music can change the world, and my research takes that belief from quote to reality.