Current EDIT Lab members
Thalia
My work focuses on exploring interplay between genes and the environment with respect to the development and treatment of anxiety and depression, particularly in young people. I have always been fascinated by the fact that different people react so differently from one another when under stress. In my research I use both twin studies, in order to estimate the relative contribution of genes and the environment, and also molecular genetic approaches, which can identify links between specific genes and outcomes of interest. I also draw on methods used in experimental psychology to explore aspects of information processing that may be relevant mechanisms when trying to understand the role of genes and the environment on the development and treatment of anxiety and depression.
Elisavet
I’m interested in the associations between both depression and anxiety and environmental factors, such as the home environment and stressful life events. I’m using the twin design to investigate the role of genetic and environmental factors in these associations, as well as how this changes across development. I am also interested in implementing genetically sensitive designs to explore the direction of these effects and to estimate their magnitudes.
Genevieve
I am a Visiting Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the EDIT lab. My work is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and focuses on how social relationships and behaviours may impact mental health in children, adolescents, and young adults. I work on the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) to examine the role of genetic and environmental factors in these associations.
Iona
I am a PhD Student at the Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, based in the Emotional Development, Intervention and Treatment (EDIT) Lab. My research explores intersectional mental health inequalities using the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) and Twins Early Development (TEDS) studies.
Tim
I am a PhD student in the EDIT lab, supervised by Prof. Thalia Eley, and Prof. Oliver Robinson (Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL). My project will apply computational modelling to fear conditioning data, collected in Fear Learning and Anxiety Response (FLARe) studies, with the aim of identifying cognitive and genetic mechanisms underlying fear learning.
Celestine
I am a Research Assistant working on the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS). I am also completing a PhD part-time examining the genetic and environmental influences on anxiety symptoms and treatment in early adulthood.
Tom
I am a postdoctoral research associate working on the Fear Learning and Anxiety Response (FLARe) project. My interests are predominantly focused on how fear conditioning experiments can be used to model anxiety and its treatment. I am also interested in the ways that mobile technology can be used to improve research, helping to either reach more participants or capture more ecologically valid data.
Megan
I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate working on the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS). My research focuses on genetic and environmental influences on the development and treatment of anxiety and depression. I am particularly interested in using patient electronic health records to investigate psychological treatment outcomes.
Shannon
I am the Deputy Manager of the NIHR Bioresource Maudsley team and part-time PhD student. I work closely with Professor Thalia Eley and Professor Gerome Breen to coordinate the GLAD, EDGI and TEDS studies. My research interests are depression and anxiety including exploring strategies to address the lack of research participant diversity within psychological research.
Nour
My primary research interest lies in understanding mental health treatment outcomes for patients with anxiety and depressive disorders. My PhD project is focused on developing prediction models that identify individuals at risk of poor prognostic outcomes following psychological treatment using data collected by the NHS Talking Therapies service (previously known as IAPT).
Johan
My research is aimed at the genetics of anxiety and depression. I am interested in how genetics underpin behavioural traits and interact with environmental effects through hypothesised and previously unmeasured phenotypes; endophenotypes. I am a dad to two wonderful kids, 8 and 2 years old. In my spare time I am mostly into games and learning how to play flamenco guitar.
Past team members
Bridie
I am a part-time Research Assistant, working under the supervision of Prof Thalia Eley on the Predicting Outcome Response to Treatment (PORT) Study. My research interests involve: anxiety & depression, psychological treatment response, fear conditioning and cognitive and behavioural processes that maintain psychological distress. Outside of research and therapy I spend as much time as I can outdoors doing something active. I love hiking, running, cycling and open water swimming.
Alicia
My research focuses on investigating the mechanisms that underlie retrospectively self-reported responses to environmental experiences, both positive and negative. This work aims to identify genetic influences on self-reported experiences, including major life events and outcomes following psychological treatment. I am also interested in differences in the presentation and outcomes of psychiatric disorders associated with self-reported traumatic life events, such as symptom profiles and treatment response.
Kirstin
Interested in the intersect between psychology and genetics, particularly in regards to anxiety, treatment and fear conditioning.
Yasmin
My research is focussed on understanding how common mental health problems run in families. I use genetically informed research methods to disentangle the role of genes and environments, particularly in the context of parent and child anxiety and depression. I am deeply concerned about a major caveat in our research to date, and across mental health research more broadly, in that large-scale, family-based cohorts are comprised almost exclusively of white families. I am a member of the SGDP anti-racism working group, aimed at raising awareness and instigating change in our department to address racial inequalities at work and in our research.
Helena
My research interests include understanding genetic and environmental factors influencing the development of eating disorders. I am primarily working on the Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI) and the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) study. I am also undertaking a placement at the eating disorder charity, Beat.
Molly
My research utilises the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study cohort to investigate methods of assessing anxiety and depressive disorders and patterns of comorbidity.
Georgina
My research interests include using genetically-informative approaches to understand factors underpinning the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder in young people. I am also interested in understanding psychological processes that maintain these disorders, in order to improve cognitive behavioural treatments and optimise outcomes.
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