Noellie has a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Birmingham. She is Head of the Department of Cognitive Science, Dean of the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences, and Chair of the Edward de Bono Institute for Creative Thinking & Innovation.

Her research in recent years has focused on the intersection between Cognitive Science and Social Psychology, particularly on using cognitive science methods (e.g., thermography, EEG) to validate measures used in the social sciences, and the role of individual cognitive differences in social behaviour, especially in relation to intergroup biases.

Noellie has acted as Work Package coordinator in several EU-funded projects under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) and Horizon 2020 programme. Most recently she was a member of the steering committee of the ESSENTIAL consortium funded under the Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network programme which included fifteen fully-funded Early-Stage Researchers carrying out doctoral research leading to a PhD.

Noellie is a member of the University Senate (since 2011), member of Council (since 2022) and served on a number of boards and committees at the University of Malta including the University Research Ethics Committee (UREC), the Office for Academic Professional Development (OPAD) Advisory Committee, and the OPAD Working Group on Academic Leadership Development Training.