Dr John Leach

I joined the Department in 2014 as a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in survival psychology. Prior to this I was a military SERE psychologist (survival, evasion, resistance and extraction). My academic background includes being lecturer and Director of Studies for cognitive psychology at Lancaster University and member of the Center for the Study of Human Cognition, University of Oslo. On the practical side I am a qualified military survival instructor in desert, jungle, arctic, polar, temperate, sea, conduct-after-capture and hostage survival. A qualified military and saturation, mixed-gas diver and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

My primary research interest is in the psychology of human survival. Secondary research interests include the psychoneurological aspects of adaptation to extreme environments, and the role of psychology in SERE training.