We use longitudinal data from the British birth cohorts, such as National Survey of Health and Development, National Child Development Study, 1970 British Cohort Study, and Millenium Cohort Study:

1) To define life course trajectories of mental health problems based on their onset, severity and recurrency; 

2) To examine effects of early life experiences on trajectories of mental health to identify risk and protective factors; 

3) To explore the role of genetic factors in individual susceptibility to negative and positive influences across the life course. 

We are involved in several collaborative projects on youth mental health around the globe:

CAMNet is an international network of researchers and practicioners working together to better understand and improve mental health of children and adolescents  in Central Asia (supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences).

RADIATE (Reducing anxiety and depression in teenage mothers) is an ongoing intervention project focusing on perinatal mental health of adolescents in Malawi, Africa (supported by the Commonwealth and Wellcome Trust).

PACT is an international collaboration project focusing on the effects of parenting influences on youth mental health.

Anxiety and depression are common mental health problems in older adults (age 65+) – yet we do not fully understand what affects vulnerability, who seeks support, or why people respond to treatments in different ways.

In this project, we use existing large datasets (both from clinical and general populations) and advanced statistical and machine learning techniques to understand factors that affect these aspects of mental health in older people.

This project is supported by the Mental Health Research UK.

ECODE is an interdisciplinary project that combines unique complementary data from several longitudinal studies in the UK:

1) To investigate the relationship betweem emotional problems (depression and anxiety) and positive wellbeing with cognitive capability and decline;

2) To explore biopsychosocial pathways and mechanisms that underlie this link

This project is funded by the ESRC, and more recently by the Alzheimer's Research, in collaboration with Dr Amber John (UCL).