Collaborators
Dr David Hawes
Associate Professor, University of Sydney
As a clinician and researcher I specialise in behavioural and emotional problems of childhood, and family-based interventions. My research focuses on the developmental psychopathology of antisocial behaviour, and innovations in treatment approaches. This research examines the processes through which parenting practices and child neurobiology interact, and the translation of this evidence into early intervention and prevention practices.
Professor Ron Rapee
Distinguished Professor, Macquarie University
Professor Rapee specializes in mental health, especially in anxiety and related disorders across the lifespan. He is best known for his theoretical models of the development of anxiety disorders as well as for his creation of empirically validated intervention programs. His recent work has focused on prevention of anxiety and depression as well as on public dissemination and access to empirically validated programs.
Professor Rapee's public contributions include membership of several grants committees for the NH&MRC, honorary advisor to the Chinese Association of CBT and the British Psychological Society Division of Clinical Psychology, and chair of the Australian Rotary Health Grants Committee. He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012 for his contributions to clinical psychology,especially among young people.
Research interests: Anxiety, Depression, Bullying, Youth, Older age
Assistent Professor, University of Pennyslyvania
I study socioemotional development, child psychopathology, and personality development. In particular, my research examines the environmental contexts that children grow up in and that give rise to the development of antisocial behavior, including aggression, violence, theft, and problematic alcohol and substance use, as well as related constructs, such as callous-unemotional traits, fearlessness, empathy, and conscience. My research explores how the environment interacts with genetic risk (i.e., using candidate genes, twin studies, adoption designs) to influence children’s socioemotional development by shaping brain structure and function (i.e., using fMRI, DTI). My work has a strong translational goal by focusing on understanding resilience among children and families to help inform prevention and intervention strategies for reducing antisocial behavior.
Senior Lecturer, University College London
As a psychologist who practices clinically and is engaged in research, I am interested in the ways in which autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are best conceptualised. It is likely that current conventional definitions of ASDs represent a false syndrome, in which distinct dimensions of impairment have been mistakenly thought to share underlying gene-brain-behaviour pathways. In fact, different aspects of autistic behaviour are likely to have distinct underlying impairments, and it is this principle that guides my research into the cognitive correlates of autistic spectrum disorders. I am particularly interested in the relationship between various aspects of executive function and the insistence on sameness that is seen in many children with an ASD. Additional research interests include the autism phenotype in females and how it differs from that seen in males; consequences of sub-threshold social-communication impairments; development of social cognition in non-clinical populations; autistic traits in non-autistic populations, including people with disordered eating.
Professor, Macquarie University
My research focuses on understanding the underlying mechanisms of anxiety and depression, and on the psychological treatment of these disorders in children, adolescents and older adults. I am particularly interested in how anxiety and depression, and its assessment and treatment differs across the lifespan. I have developed a number of psychological interventions for children, adolescents and older adults through randomised controlled trials. I have a particular interest in translating evidence-based practice into public and private mental health settings and schools.
Associate Professor, UCL Institute of Education
My research explores the contextual effects of neighborhoods and schools on children's early emotional and behavioral development, and in the pathways through which these environments influence children. I am also interested in the resilience of children in disadvantaged neighborhoods and schools. I explore these topics with large-scale longitudinal data using quantitative analysis approaches.
Dr Matthew Somerville
Lecturer, UCL Institute of Education
My research interests are concerned with educational contexts that support children’s social and emotional development. My primary research focus is on emotion regulation and how it relates to children’s mental health and well-being. Other research interests include self-regulation, metacognition, teacher-pupil interactions, and the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage on both psychological and educational outcomes.
Dr Keri Wong
Lecturer, UCL Institute of Education
I am a developmental psychologist and criminologist researching antisocial behaviour, schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and the mental wellbeing of young people across cultures. My most notable work to date is in developing the first dimensional assessment tool for childhood suspiciousness, which is freely accessible here.
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