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Keynote biographies
Click on a name for a biographical sketch.
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Prof. Ann Le Couteur
Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Clinical
Medical Sciences,
University of Newcastle |
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Ann Le Couteur works within a multidisciplinary
clinical academic team that provides specialist clinical services
for children and young people with complex neurodevelopmental disorders
including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Current research interests
include the aetiology of ASD; evaluation of interventions for children
and families; and the promotion of models of assessments and treatment.
She chaired the work of a national working party that led to the
publication of The National Autism Plan for Children (2003) and
is involved with a number of UK charities for children and young
people with complex needs.
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Prof. Tony Charman BA, MSc (C.
Clin. Psychol), PhD
Professor of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Behavioural and Brain
Sciences Unit,
Institute of Child Health, London |
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Tony Charman read Natural Sciences at Cambridge
University before completing his clinical psychology training and
a PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London. He was
then a Lecturer in Clinical Psychology in the Psychology Department,
University College London before moving to the Behavioural &
Brain Sciences Unit at the Institute of Child Health, University
College London in 1998. He is an Honorary Clinical Psychologist
at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust where he
works in a diagnostic service for children with complex neurodevelopmental
conditions. His main research interest is the investigation of early
social cognitive development in children with autism and the clinical
application of this work via screening, early intervention and epidemiological
studies. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Child Psychology
and Psychiatry; an Associate Editor of the Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders and is on the Editorial/Advisory Boards
of Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, the
Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, the British Journal
of Developmental Psychology and Research into Autism Spectrum Disorders.
He has served on a number of expert panels for the Medical Research
Council in the UK and NIH in the USA. He is a scientific member
of the Advisory Group to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism.
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Prof. Jean Golding
Emeritus Professor of Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, University
of Bristol |
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Jean Golding is Emeritus Professor of Paediatric
and Perinatal Epidemiology and is based in the University of Bristol
within the Department of Community Based Medicine. Initially trained
as a mathematician, she spent 3 years as a research fellow in the
Department of Human Genetics and Biometry at UCL where she carried
out epidemiological research into the aetiology of birth defects.
Thereafter she worked on a number of large population cohort studies
firstly in the Unit of Clinical Epidemiology within the Department
of the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford and since 1980 in
the University of Bristol. As initiator and designer of the Avon
Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) she is particularly
concerned with the interplay of genetic and environmental exposures
in affecting health and development. She is principal investigator
of the Autism project within the ALSPAC study and also the Editor-in-Chief
of the international journal Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology.
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Prof. Anthony Bailey BSc, MBBS
Cheryl and Reece Scott Chair of Psychiatry (Autism), University
of Oxford |
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Anthony Bailey holds the Cheryl and
Reece Scott Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford and
his research centres upon the study of autism. He took a BSc in
Experimental Pathology at the London Hospital Medical College, graduated
in Medicine and before moving to Oxford in 2002 was an MRC Clinical
Scientist at the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry
Research Centre, as well as Senior Lecturer in Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry. His main research has
been concerned with investigating the neurobiological basis of autistic
disorders, using genetic, neuropathological and neuroimaging approaches
in an attempt to understand the mechanisms involved in the development
of autistic behaviour. His interest in this field was stimulated
by participation in the second UK study of same sex twins with autism,
which demonstrated both the strength of genetic influences on the
development of autism yet also the considerable variability in its
manifestations. He coordinates the International Molecular Genetic
Study of Autism Consortium: a large international team of clinical
and laboratory scientists brought together in 1995 by Michael Rutter
and Tony Monaco to identify susceptibility genes for autism; this
group published the first complete genome scan of autism and has
been at the forefront of the UK’s contribution to understanding
the genetic basis of autism. Professor Bailey is a Trustee of the
Prior’s Court Foundation and the Oxford Playhouse and is a
Professional Advisor to TreeHouse. He is an Editor of the Journal
of Neural Transmission and Editor-in-Chief of the International
Journal of Autism Research. |
Prof. Patrick Bolton BSc, MA, PhD, MBBS,
FRCPsych
Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry,
London |
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Patrick Bolton studied psychology
and medicine at London University and Guy’s Hospital. He trained
in psychiatry at St George’s Hospital, London, and in child
psychiatry at the MRC Child Psychiatry Unit at the Institute of
Psychiatry and Maudsley Hospital. After completing his training,
he was appointed Lecturer and Honorary Consultant at the Institute
of Psychiatry and, subsequently, Senior Lecturer at Cambridge University.
In 2003, he was appointed Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
at the Institute of Psychiatry and Honorary Consultant Child and
Adolescent Psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital, where he leads
the National Specialist Clinical Service for children with autism
spectrum and related disorders. His research has focused on identifying
the causes of autism and related disorders of social function and
communication. His research is supported by awards from the MRC,
Wellcome Trust, NAAR, Tuberous Sclerosis Association and other research
charities. |
Dr. Sabine Bahn MD, PhD, MRCPsych
Director, Cambridge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Research, Institute
of Biotechnology, and Director of Proteomics and Metabonomics, Autism
Research Centre, University of Cambridge |
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Sabine Bahn is a practising clinician (she holds
an Honorary Consultant position in General Adult Psychiatry at Addenbrookes
Hospital, Cambridge); she is also a leading research scientist,
Director of the CCNR at Cambridge University and a research fellow
of Clare Hall College. Her main research interests are to understand
the molecular basis of neuropsychiatric/ neurodevelopmental disorders,
with a focus on the major psychotic disorders, schizophrenia and
bipolar disorder. For more than 12 years, she has pursued parallel
interests in medicine and molecular neurobiology. She strongly believes
in the strength of empirical, "bottom up" research as
a way to attempt to understand the complex and intricate molecular
mechanisms that govern neuronal function which are the basis of
any given cognitive process. Dr Bahn has published numerous articles
in high impact journals over the last years. Dr Bahn has received
considerable public recognition of her achievements: (i) In 2004
she was selected to represent the “Human Face of Science in
Europe” by the European Commission; (ii) Recently she was
interviewed by TIME magazine as opinion leader in the functional
genomics field; (Iii) an academic profile of Dr Bahn has been published
in a recent issue of the Times Higher Education Supplement.
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Dr. Gordon Bell BSc, PhD
Project Leader, Nutrition Group, Institute of Aquaculture, University
of Stirling
Gordon Bell is a senior lecturer in the Nutrition Group of the
Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling. The Nutrition
group has particular expertise in the nutrition and biochemistry
of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, fat soluble vitamins and carotenoid
pigments. Dr. Bell is a biochemist with particular interest and
expertise in lipid nutrition and has published more than 120 papers
in peer-reviewed journals. While the reputation of the Nutrition
Group is primarily on the study of nutrition and lipid metabolism
in the aquatic environment, our knowledge of polyunsaturated fatty
acid metabolism, coupled with expertise in complex lipid analysis
has seen activities develop in the field of human nutrition and
disease, particularly neurological conditions. Pilot studies on
fatty acid compositions of red blood cell (RBC) phospholipids from
patients on the autistic spectrum have suggested that a significant
proportion of ASD patients have reduced percentages of highly unsaturated
fatty acids (HUFA), in particular arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) and
eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) compared to adult control samples.
Dr Bell is currently involved in a Scottish Executive funded study,
in conjunction with Prof. Anne O’Hare of Edinburgh University
and Dr Donald MacDonald of the South Glasgow University Hospitals
NHS Trust, investigating the RBC and plasma fatty acid compositions
and phospholipase A2 concentrations in patients with autism, and
developmental delay compared to age-matched controls. The Nutrition
group has also been involved in studies on schizophrenia, dyslexia,
bipolar disorder and adenoleukodystrophy, with the latter leading
to the development of Lorenzo’s oil.
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Prof. Declan Murphy MBBS, FRCPsych, MD
(USA)
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Declan Murphy undertook his clinical training at the Maudsley
Hopsital. His research training was firstly at the Institute of
psychiatry (IOP); and then at the National Institute on Aging (National
Institutes of Health, USA). Following this he returned to the UK
to his research position at the IOP. Professor Murphy’s main
research interest is in the biological determinants of brain development
and ageing; and how abnormalities in this process lead to neuropsychiatric
disorders. He developed (together with colleagues at the IOP, and
in Oxford and Cambridge) the MRC funded UK autism imaging multicentre
study (MRC UK A.I.M.S. program). Also he is the clinical and research
director for adults with autism spectrum disorders at the South
London and Maudsley NHS Trust. His team is supported by grants from
MRC, Wellcome Trust, NIH, Cure Autism Now, Autism Speaks, and the
Department of Health.
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Dr. Martin Bax MD, FRCPCH
Emeritus Reader in Child Health, Imperial College Chelsea &
Westminster Hospital Campus
Martin Bax has been a paediatrician for over 40 years. He was
one of the pioneers of community paediatrics and brought a scholarly
approach to the subject. He has inspired many paediatricians and
has developed an active and productive research group. Dr Bax was
also for many years senior editor of Developmental Medicine and
Child Neurology. He is chairperson of the European Academy of Childhood
Disability and President of the Society For the Study of Behavioural
Phenotypes (SSBP). He is editor of the Arts magazine ‘Ambit’.
He has carried out research for UNICEF on health services for children
with disabilities in Eastern Europe. His current research projects
are: (i) The European Cerebral Palsy Study which is a multicentre
study involving 8 European centres (500 children) looking at the
causes of cerebral palsy and possible strategies for prevention
(see JAMA, October 4, 2006: Vol 296, No.13, pp 1602-68): (ii) Autism
and Epilepsy, studying the possible differences between children
with autism only and those with autism and epilepsy. 120 children
have been studied and some of the findings will be presented. |
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Dr. Elizabeta Mukaetova-Ladinska MD,
MSc, PhD, MRCPsych
Senior Lecturer/Honorary Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry, University
of Newcastle
Elizabeta Mukaetova-Ladinska graduated at the Medical School in
Skopje, Macedonia, where she completed her clinical training in
neuropsychiatry and obtained a Masters degree in Clinical Psychiatry.
Following her move to the UK, she obtained a PhD in Psychiatry at
the University of Cambridge and completed higher specialist training
in Old Age Psychiatry. She joined the Institute for Ageing and Health,
University of Newcastle, in 2000, and since 2005 has worked within
the newly established Liaison Service for Older Adults in Newcastle.
Her research interests are the molecular pathology of dementia,
ageing and neurodevelopmental disorders, and clinical phenomenology
of mental health problems in the acutely medically ill. |
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Dr. Christoph Schmitz MD, (Priv.Doz. Dr.med.)
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology,
Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Following graduation in medicine at RWTH Aachen University (Aachen,
Germany) in 1993 and a one-year junior house officership in the
department of surgery at a local district hospital in Germany in
1994, Christoph Schmitz was trained as a board-certified anatomist
in the departments of anatomy of the universities of Frankfurt/Main,
Aachen and Rostock (in Germany) under the supervision of Profs.
H. Braak, H. Korr and N. Ulfig, respectively. In 2003 Dr. Schmitz
joined the Department of Neuroscience at Maastricht University (Maastricht,
The Netherlands) where he holds a tenured position as Assistant
Professor. Dr. Schmitz is an expert in quantitative histologic analysis
of the central nervous system of rodents and humans, has developed
several novel tools in high precision design-based stereology and
published over 80 papers in international peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Schmitz' current research is focused on subtle cytoarchitectural
alterations in the brains of patients with schizophrenia and autism
as well as on mechanisms of neurodegeneration in transgenic mouse
models of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Schmitz is one of the principal
investigators of the Autism Brain Atlas Project supported by Autism
Speaks. |
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Dr. Payam Rezaie BSc, MSc, PhD
Department of Biological Sciences, The Open University
Payam Rezaie graduated with a BSc. (Hons.) in Physiology from
King’s College London in 1993, where he received the Davson-Danielli
Prize for Physiology. Following this, he undertook an MSc. in Neuroscience
and subsequently obtained his PhD in Neuropathology and Neuroimmunology
from the Institute of Psychiatry in London. At the Institute, he
worked with Prof. David Male in the Department of Neuropathology
on studies addressing microglia during development, funded by the
Wellcome Trust, then with the Head of Department, Prof. Peter Lantos,
first as principal research co-ordinator, then as project partner
on studies investigating the neuropathology and pathogenesis of
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, funded by the European Union. He took
up his present tenured appointment at the Open University in 2003,
where he currently leads the Neuropathology Research Laboratory
and is responsible for Histology facilities in the Department of
Biological Sciences. His subject specialities are in clinical and
experimental neuropathology and neuroscience. Dr. Rezaie has a number
of ongoing international research collaborations, including with
Dr. Schmitz in the Netherlands. His current research centres on
the following key areas: (i) understanding the neurobiology of autism,
(ii) determining the origin and cell lineage of microglia, (iii)
characterising neurogenic stem cells in normal human brain development
and in neurodegenerative disorders, and (iv) examining the pathogenesis
of Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases using experimental
models. His studies into the neurobiology of autism have been funded
by the National Alliance for Autism Research/Autism Speaks (USA).
He presently serves on the Committee of the British Neuropathological
Society, and has held an Honorary appointment as Lecturer in Neuropathology
at the Institute of Psychiatry since 2001. |
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Dr. Kate Plaisted BSc, PhD
Principal Researcher, Laboratory for Research into Autism,
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
Kate Plaisted received a BSc in Psychology in 1991 from the Department
of Psychology, University College London and became a post-graduate
student at King’s College. She was awarded a PhD from the
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge in
1994 and was awarded the New Investigator Award by the American
Psychological Society for the research conducted for her PhD. After
a Research Fellowship at St. John’s College, she took up her
lectureship at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University
of Cambridge in 1998. Her research interest in autism was sparked
by the fascinating cognitive strengths shown by many individuals
with autism. These include exceptional abilities to process fine
details, better discrimination abilities compared to typical individuals
and an ability to show highly focused attention. An important question
is whether these cognitive strengths provide the key to understanding
some of the difficulties for individuals with autism, such as theory
of mind and aspects of linguistic processing. More specifically,
it raises the question of whether the differences in psychological
mechanisms which result in exceptional abilities play a causal role
in affecting the development of social information processing and
language in autism. However, this question can only be tackled by
first understanding the mechanisms which cause the cognitive strengths.
Kate's research interests therefore focus on mechanisms of perception
and attention that may be different in autism compared to typical
individuals. Kate is a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, where
she is Director of Studies in Experimental Psychology and Evolution
and Behaviour. She is also Associate Editor of the Quarterly Journal
of Experimental Psychology. She is currently funded by a Career
Establishment Award from the MRC.
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Dr. Emma Weisblatt BChir,MB,MRCPsych
Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Laboratory for Research
into Autism, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of
Cambridge
Emma Weisblatt is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist.
She initially studied Medicine and Experimental Psychology at Cambridge
University, followed by clinical medical training in London. She
then trained in general psychiatry in London and Cambridge, including
a period of research leading to a PhD in psychiatric genetics (candidate
gene studies in schizophrenia), before specialising in child psychiatry.
Her higher training was as a developmental neuropsychiatrist. She
has undertaken autism research for a number of years in Cambridge,
initially in the area of genetics (as a member of IMGSAC, the International
Molecular Genetic Study of Autism Consortium) and family studies.
Her interest in sensory perception, and links with the Department
of Experimental Psychology, then led to the development of collaborative
research with the Auditory Perception Laboratory in Cambridge University,
undertaking novel research into auditory processing in autism spectrum
disorders. Initial work used psychophysical tests to confirm experimentally
the presence of difficulties hearing speech in background noise,
reported frequently by people with autism spectrum disorders. Further
studies have been undertaken to identify mechanisms by which this
difficulty may occur, in collaboration with Dr José Alcántara’s
group in the Laboratory for Research into Autism in Cambridge. Until
2005 her clinical work was within the Asperger’s Outreach
Service in Cambridge, and since 2005 she has worked as a Consultant
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at University College Hospital
in London. She takes a very active role in teaching psychology and
psychiatry, at all stages from first year undergraduates to specialist
child psychiatric trainees.
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Dr. José Alcántara BSc,
PhD
Principal Researcher, Laboratory for Research into Autism,
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
José Ignacio Alcántara received a BSc in 1984 from
the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne. He also holds
a postgraduate diploma in Audiology (1985) and a PhD (1991), from
the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Melbourne, in tactile
speech communication. As a Research Fellow in the Department of
Otolaryngology in Melbourne, he worked on the evaluation of speech
processing strategies for tactile communication aids, cochlear implants
and digital hearing aids. In 1992, he was awarded a post-doctoral
travelling fellowship, from the National Health and Medical Research
Council, to work with Professor Brian Moore at the University of
Cambridge. He is currently a University Lecturer in the Department
of Experimental Psychology, and a Principal Investigator in the
Laboratory for Research into Autism (LaRA) at the University of
Cambridge. His primary area of research is the role of low-level
auditory processing in speech perception. His research includes
the psychoacoustics of normal and hearing-impaired individuals,
and children with developmental disorders, such as autism and Asperger's
Syndrome. His other research interests include the neurobiology
of speech perception, and digital signal processing algorithms to
alleviate speech in noise perception difficulties. He is a Fellow
of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he holds the offices of
College Lecturer in Experimental Psychology, Tutor, and Director
of Studies in Natural Sciences (Biological). He is a member of the
Audiological Society of Australia, British Society of Audiology,
Acoustical Society of America, British Society for Neuroscience,
and the International Society for Autism Research.
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Prof. Peter Hobson PhD
Tavistock Professor of Developmental Psychopathology, Tavistock
Clinic, and
Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, Institute of Child Health,
London
Peter Hobson is Tavistock Professor of Developmental Psychopathology
in the University of London, and is based at the Tavistock Clinic
and the Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, Institute of Child
Health, University College London. He has a PhD in experimental
psychology from the University of Cambridge. He is also an adult
psychiatrist and a psychoanalyst. Peter’s overriding interest
is in the contribution of personal relations to early human development,
and the developmental psychopathology of autism and other conditions
in which social development has been compromised. His research includes
studies of mother-infant relations when the mothers have borderline
personality disorder, infants with Down syndrome, young children
with congenital blindness, and attachment-related and psychodynamic
aspects of adult borderline personality disorder. In the field of
autism, where he and his colleagues have mainly employed experimental
methods, Peter has focused upon affected individuals’ social
perception, social relations and social understanding. He argues
that we need to appreciate the developmental significance of limitations
in emotionally configured personal relations if we are to understand
the development of autism. He has written two books, Autism and
the Development of Mind (Erlbaum, 1993), and a more reader-friendly
book, The Cradle of Thought (PanMacmillan, 2002 and Oxford University
Press, US, 2004) |
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Prof. Jill Boucher LCST BA PhD PhD
Department of Psychology, University of Warwick
Jill Boucher worked as a speech and language therapist before
becoming an academic psychologist. On completion of her PhD she
worked first as a researcher at a child psychiatric clinic, and
then in the Department of Psychology at Warwick University. From
there she moved to Sheffield University to head up a unit which,
at the time, was devoted exclusively to training speech and language
therapists. She developed the unit into a multidisciplinary department
of Human Communication, before returning to Warwick to concentrate
on research. Her investigations of autism have always been grounded
in neuropsychology, and have covered aspects of memory, generativity,
and language. These areas of interest have come together in a theory
of the nature and origins of language and intellectual disability
in people with lower functioning autism, which is the topic of her
conference presentation.
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Dr. Ayla Humphrey PhD
Consultant Clinical Psychologist & Head of Cambridge Child and
Adolescent Psychology, Section of Developmental Psychiatry, University
of Cambridge
Ayla Humphrey is Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Affiliated
Lecturer in the Autism Research Centre and the Cambridge Tuberous
Sclerosis Clinic. She is Head of Cambridge Child and Adolescent
Psychology and a clinician based at Brookside Family Consultation
Clinic (Cambridge and Peterborough Mental Health Trust). Her research
interests include specific learning disorders in children referred
to mental health services and remedial and supportive approaches
for children with Asperger’s and High Functioning Autism.
She has a special interest in the social and cognitive impairments
associated with Tuberous Sclerosis and the affects of epilepsy on
infant and early childhood development.
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Prof. Dermot Bowler BA, MSc, PhD
Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, City University,
London
Dermot Bowler, received a BA in Natural Sciences from Trinity
College Dublin, and his MSc and PhD from the University of London
Institute of Education. He worked as a research assistant at the
Thomas Coram Research Unit and was a Post Doctoral Scientist at
the MRC Social Psychiatry Unit. Since 1990 his appointments have
been as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor of Psychology
at City University, London. His work has been supported by the Wellcome
Trust, Nuffield Foundation, MRC and ESRC. Prof. Bowler was a visiting
professor at McGill University and the Université de Montréal,
and is currently an adjunct professor at McGill. Prof. Bowler’s
research interests lie in the developmental neuropsychology of autistic
spectrum disorders. He has written one book (Autism Spectrum Disorders:
Psychological Theory and Research) published by Wiley and has co-edited
with Jill Boucher a collection of articles (Memory in Autism) published
by Cambridge University Press. He is also joint editor of the journal
Autism.
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Prof. Jonathan Green MA, MBBS, DCH, FRCPsych
Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Manchester
and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the Manchester Children’s
Hospitals.
Jonathan Green did general medical training in Cambridge and University
College London, then trained in Paediatrics and Developmental Paediatrics
at Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children, Nuffield Hearing and Speech
centre and the Thomas Coram Foundation; before Child Psychiatry
in Oxford and Manchester. He has a long standing clinical and research
interest in autistic spectrum disorders. He runs a Regional Specialist
Social Development Clinic undertaking assessment and treatment innovation
with ASD and other impairments of social development. He co-led
the UK’s first study in to ICD Asperger Syndrome and has published
on social and language development in autism, co-morbidity and treatment
intervention. Currently Professor Green leads a number of clinical
trials into child and adolescent mental health interventions; including
the MRC Preschool Autism Communication Trial (PACT), which is a
large early intervention RCT for autism. His other interests are
in the methodology of treatment trials, in which he works in an
MRC study to develop better methods of measurement and causal analysis;
therapeutic alliance and treatment process, in which he investigates
non specific aspects of treatment effectiveness; and developmental
studies into the consequences of early parent child relationships
for child social development. He serves on the Editorial Boards
of Advances in Psychiatric Treatment and European Journal of Child
& Adolescent Psychiatry, and on the NW advisory Board of the
Mental Health Research Network.
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Prof. Rita Jordan, BSc, MSc, MA, PhD, CPsychol
Professor in Autism Studies: Autism Centre for Education & Research,
University of Birmingham
After a Psychology degree, Rita Jordan started a nursery and toy
library for children with special needs and taught in mainstream
and special schools, including one for Autism Spectrum Disorders
where she was deputy Principal for 8.5 years. She has an MSc in
Child Development and an MA in Linguistics. She has taught in Higher
Education on special needs, language development, clinical linguistics,
education, and cognitive science (all at the University of Hertfordshire).
Her doctorate was on pronouns in autism. Since 1993, she has developed
and run a range of programmes in Autism studies at The University
of Birmingham, including a web-based one. She has written about
and researched many aspects of autism and has been involved in training
events, consultations and conferences all over the world. She has
served on national and international task forces and working parties
to review evidence and offer advice in relation to ASDs. She is
editor of Autism: the International Journal of Research and Practice
and serves on the Editorial Board of 3 other journals. She is currently
the consultant to the expert committee on the education of children
with autism spectrum disorders for the Council of Europe.
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Prof. Patricia Howlin BA, MSc, PhD, FBPS
Professor of Clinical Child Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry,
London
Patricia Howlin is Professor of Clinical Child Psychology at the
Institute of Psychiatry, London. This is the first Chair in Clinical
Child Psychology in the UK. She is a chartered clinical psychologist
with a PhD in Psychology and a Fellow of the British Psychological
Society. Her principal research interests focus on autism and other
developmental disorders. She has conducted evaluations of a variety
of different intervention programmes, including comparative studies
of home and school based treatments; control trials of communication
training programmes, and longer term studies of the impact of early
interventions. She has also been involved in research on the transition
to adulthood by people with autism and individuals with Williams
syndrome, developmental language disorders and Fragile X. Patricia
is Chair of the UK Association of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
and the Chair of the Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes.
She is also a Vice President and Specialist Councillor of the National
Autistic Society, a member of the NAS Ethics Committee and Trustee
of the affiliated Inge Wakehurst Trust. From 2001-2004 she was Appointed
Advisor for the International Association for Child and Adolescent
Psychology and Psychiatry. Other advisory roles include: Scientific
advisor to the “Research Autism” Trust; DVLA Advisory
Panel on Driving and Psychiatric Disorders (Advisor on Learning
Disability); Professional Advisory Panel, Williams Syndrome Foundation;
National Centre for Autism Studies, Strathclyde University. From
1996-2006 she was joint editor of the journal Autism: The International
Journal of Research and Practice; currently she is associate editor
of the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities
and is on the editorial board of a number of other journals including
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry; Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders; Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review;
Focus on Autism and Developmental Disabilities, International Journal
of Language and Communication Disorders. Her books and articles
on autism and Asperger syndrome have been translated into a number
of different languages including Japanese, Spanish, Hungarian, Italian,
Romanian, Swedish and Korean. Current or recently completed collaborative
research projects include a long-term follow-up of adults with autism;
a study of autobiographical memory in adults with autism and Asperger
syndrome a randomised control trial of the use of the Picture Exchange
Communication System; an evaluation of early intensive interventions
for young children with autism, a randomized control trial of a
pre-school communication programme for children with autism, and
a study of factors related to self injurious behaviour in children
with specific genetic disorders. Other projects have included the
assessment of autistic features in individuals with Cohen syndrome;
a follow-up of young men with Fragile X; the effects of sexual abuse
on individuals with learning disabilities; a cost benefit analysis
of specialist supported employment projects for people with autism;
and a long-term follow-up of adults with Williams syndrome.
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Prof. Anne O’Hare
Consultant Paediatrician in Community Child Health and Honorary
Consultant to Department of Child Neurology, Royal Hospital for
Sick Children, Edinburgh
Anne O’Hare is a consultant paediatrician working in Community
Child Health and Neurosciences in the Department of Child Life and
Health, Reproductive and Developmental Medicine at the University
of Edinburgh and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh.
Her research interests lie in paediatric neurodisability and include
autism spectrum disorders, specific language impairment, neurological
visual impairment and developmental co-ordination disorder and specific
learning disorders. In the field of autism, she conducts research
in collaboration with colleagues in a wide number of other centres
including Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh; Stirling,
Glasgow, Strathclyde and Newcastle upon Tyne Universities, and with
collaborators in Oxford and London through the SLI Consortium and
further afield in Northern America and Europe. She is presently
conducting research into biomedical aspects which include fatty
acid metabolism, the role of diet in autism and the role of opioid
peptides and dipeptidyl peptidase form. She is also presently conducting
research with colleagues in Queen Margaret University College into
the role of prosody in the acquisition of language in autism and
is developing research in a number of areas for intervention in
autism. Her present research grants are supported by the Chief Scientist
Office, Scottish Office Surestart Programme, Action Against Autism,
NHS Quality Improvement and Sick Kids Endowment Fund, and Royal
Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh.
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Prof. Anthony Monaco MD, PhD
Director and Head of Neurogenetics Group, Wellcome Trust Centre
for Human Genetics
Anthony P. Monaco received his undergraduate degree from Princeton
University in 1981 and his MD-PhD from Harvard Medical School in
the Medical Scientist Training Program. At Harvard, he did his PhD
studies in the Program in Neuroscience and his doctoral thesis involved
the isolation of the gene responsible for X-linked Duchenne and
Becker muscular dystrophy in the laboratory of Louis M Kunkel. He
was a post doctoral fellow in Hans Lehrach's laboratory at the ICRF
in London working on the human genome project followed by four years
as an ICRF senior scientist and head of the Human Genetics Laboratory
at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford. In 1995, he was
awarded a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship and joined
the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford working on
the genetic basis of neurological and psychiatric disorders including
autism, specific language impairment and reading disorders (dyslexia).
In 1998 he was appointed as Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre
for Human Genetics which has a focus on the genetics of common disease
and includes multidisciplinary research in genetics, functional
genomics, bioinformatics and structural biology.
http://www.well.ox.ac.uk/monaco/ |
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Prof. Steve Swithenby
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Open University
Steve Swithenby started as a (very pure) instrumental physicist
at Oxford, but has evolved during nearly 30 years at the Open University,
through involvement in the development of medical imaging instruments
to a present interest in both clinical and fundamental neurophysiology.
He was one of the early developers of the SQUID detectors and instruments
that are at the heart of present day MEG systems and was also deeply
involved in generating algorithms that map back from the MEG data
to the brain activity. For some years, he has collaborated with
Prof Tony Bailey (Oxford) in using these techniques in neurophysiological
studies of autistic adults and children. Their aim has been to link
behavioural deficits with neurophysiogical differences, and they
have had some success, particularly using face processing and language
protocols. The insights offered by MEG centre on its good time resolution
and we are only at the beginning of harnessing this technique to
explore effectively the neurophysiological correlates of autism.
Alongside this research, Prof. Swithenby has been Dean of Science
at the Open University and is very involved in pedagogical development.
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Prof. Peter Mitchell BA, PhD
Head of School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
Peter Mitchell obtained his PhD from the University of Liverpool.
Following this, he spent three years as a Research Fellow at Birmingham
University, prior to appointments as a Lecturer in University of
Wales, Swansea and in Birmingham between 1990 and 1998. He first
took up his appointment at Nottingham University as Reader in 1998,
and subsequently as Chair of the BPS Developmental Psychology Section
(2004-2006), and Professor of Cognitive Development. He has been
Head of School of Psychology since 2005. Peter is currently Editor
of the British Journal of Psychology, Editorial Board Member for
the journals Autism (2006-200), Infant and Child Development (2004
– present) and has served as Associate Editor for the British
Journal of Developmental Psychology (1995-2005). He is also a member
of the British Psychological Society, the Society for Research in
Child Development, Experimental Psychology Society, and the Association
for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. His research interests include,
gradual development in understanding the mind, visual cognition
in autism, cognitive aspects of the development of communication
abilities, cognitive aspects of social function in autism and perspectives
in mental models. In particular, his research concerns the development
of an understanding of the mind in normal and autistic development
and visuo-spatial abilities in autism.
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Dr. Ilona Roth MA, DPhil (Oxon.)
Department of Biological Sciences, The Open University
Ilona Roth is senior lecturer in psychology in the Department
of Biological Sciences at the Open University. She studied Psychology,
Physiology and Philosophy at Oxford University, and completed a
D.Phil. on visual attention in the Department of Experimental Psychology.
Her contributions to teaching materials include published textbooks,
television programmes and audio-visual materials which have been
extensively used in both Open University courses and the wider academic
domain. A key emphasis of her research is alterations of cognitive
and socio-cognitive functioning in neuropsychiatric conditions,
notably autism spectrum disorders and dementia. Two attributes of
mind, self-awareness and imagination are central to this work. She
is co-investigator, with colleagues at Bangor, Hull and the Institute
of Psychiatry, in a 3 year ESRC-funded project investigating awareness,
and its socio-cognitive and biological substrates, in early stage
dementia. She has recent funding from the British Academy for research
into imagination and awareness of self in autistic spectrum poets,
and is planning further work on special talents in autism. Her interest
in the interface between science and the arts led her, in 2004,
to convene a British Academy symposium on ‘Imaginative Minds’,
with distinguished contributors from disciplines including philosophy,
psychology, cognitive science, musicology, anthropology and evolutionary
studies. Her edited volume based on this symposium will be out later
this year. |
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Prof. Colwyn Trevarthen MSc, PhD, DPsych,
Hon DPsych
Emeritus Professor of Child Psychology and Psychobiology, University
of Edinburgh
Colwyn Trevarthen is Professor (Emeritus) of Child Psychology
and Psychobiology at The University of Edinburgh. His research focuses
on the innate motives in children for sharing experience, the effects
of disorders, such as autism and depressive illness, and how parents,
teachers and clinicians can support children's development. His
current work investigates the rhythms and expressions of 'musicality'
in vocal and gestural movement, which are the foundation for emotional
regulations and communication with children, and the development
of their cognitive abilities, knowledge and skills. He has an honorary
Doctorate in Psychology from the University of Crete, and is a Fellow
of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Member of the Norwegian Academy
of Sciences and Letters, and a Vice-President of the British Association
for Early Childhood Education.
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Dr. Gavin Malloch PhD
Programme Manager for Mental Health and Addiction, Medical Research
Council (MRC)
Gavin Malloch received his PhD from the University of Kent, UK
in 1985. He is Programme Manager for Mental Health and Addiction
at MRC Head Office. He has worked for the MRC for two years after
11 years at the Wellcome Trust. His portfolio responsibilities at
the MRC include autism, addiction, depression and psychosis. He
is MRC contact for the international Autism Genome Project and first
point of ‘scientific’ contact for those seeking support
for autism research from the MRC. |
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Dr. John Williams PhD
Programme Manager for Neuroscience and Mental Health, The Wellcome
Trust
John Williams trained as a neuroscientist at the National Institute
for Medical Research, London, gaining a PhD in Neuroscience, in
1991. He then undertook postdoctoral training at Stanford and Duke
Universities where he carried out work that built on his interests
in synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. Dr Williams joined the
Trust in 1998. He is currently a Manager in the Neuroscience and
Physiological Sciences Department. He has responsibility for the
Trust’s Clinical Research Initiatives, which provide investment
in both people and research infrastructure, an activity that aims
to facilitate and maintain the strong tradition of clinical research
in the UK. In addition, Dr Williams co-ordinates the Trust's Neuroscience
and Mental Health Strategy Committee. |
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Michelle Dodson
Research Development Leader, ESRC Research and Development Directorate
Michelle Dodson is a Research Development Leader and Deputy Team
Head based in the ESRC’s Research and Development Directorate.
Michelle oversees ESRC’s award portfolio in a number of key
areas including Psychology and Mental Health, and her current commissioning
activities include building Social Neuroscience Research Capacity
and establishing National Centres of Excellence in Public Health
Research. Much of her responsibilities involve working in collaboration
with other funding agencies on interdisciplinary ventures which
contribute to our understanding of individual behaviours and population
change. Michelle is the ESRC representative on the National Autism
Research Co-ordination Group. |
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Mr. Richard Mills
Director of Research, National Autistic Society
Richard Mills is Director of Research for the National Autistic
Society (UK) and Research Director and Honorary Secretary for Research
Autism. He joined the NAS in 1991 and as Director of Services oversaw
the successful and significant growth of the services division.
Additionally, he played a key role in the establishment of the early
intervention programme, “Earlybird”, the supported employment
programme “Prospects” and the Hayes Independent Hospital,
Bristol, the first independent hospital offering secure facilities
for adults with Asperger syndrome. Richard is currently involved
in a number of diverse research projects, including effects of early
diagnosis and intervention, the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders
in the criminal justice system, autism and self injury, sleep problems
in autism and sensory issues. He has represented the NAS and Research
Autism on various government initiatives and working parties, is
Associate Editor of the Autism Journal and since 1995 has been the
consultant to the autism programme at the Eden Foundation, Malta. |
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Dr. Jenny Longmore PhD, FBPharmacolS
Director of Research and Programmes (Europe), Autism Speaks
Jenny Longmore is currently Director of Research and Programmes
(Europe) for Autism Speaks Inc, one of the world’s largest
non-government funders of biomedical autism research. Jenny is a
pharmacologist by training and has 25 years of experience in neuroscience
- spent in academia (University of Manchester) and the pharmaceutical
industry. As a senior R&D scientist at Merck’s Neuroscience
Research Centre, Jenny made contributions to the success of bringing
Maxalt (migraine) and Emend (emesis) from ‘benchside to bedside’.
Jenny also has experience in developing early stage biotechnologies
through proof of concept towards commercialisation.
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Dame Stephanie Shirley
Founder - The Shirley Foundation and UK Chair of Autism Speaks
Dame Stephanie Shirley (73) is an IT entrepreneur turned ardent
philanthropist. The Shirley Foundation has gifted more than £35m
to autism sector projects (£50m overall). Her only child,
Giles, died in 1998. The strategy of pioneering projects with the
potential to really make a difference led to several new charities
(Kingwood, Prior’s Court, Autism Cymru, etc) which were each
taken to sustainable independence. Perhaps it was inevitable that
Dame Stephanie should be finishing with research. Since 2001 she
has focused proactively on “what do we have to do to determine
the causes of autism by 2014 and halve its global cost by 2020?”
Previously a trustee of NAAR, she now chairs Autism Speaks in the
UK with the mission: To raise funds to accelerate biomedical research
to determine and understand the causes of autism spectrum disorders;
and through that understanding, to discover and promote new ways
of improving the quality of life for all those affected.
http://www.steveshirley.com/ |
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