About
Research
Email: kate.lawrence@stmarys.ac.uk
Tel: 020 8240 4354
Biography
Dr Lawrence is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. Kate’s research specialises in neurodevelopmental disorders with a particular focus on Nutritional Psychology. Her current research explores dietary and microbiome influences on mental health and cognitive function. She holds a first-class BA in Psychology from the University of Oxford and was awarded her PhD in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience from UCL whilst working at Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Institute of Child Health. Kate is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
She has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals, lectures widely on her research, and is a reviewer for numerous academic journals. Kate is also enthusiastic about the public communication and dissemination of science. Since 2017, she has worked as a Research Editor for the British Association of Nutritional and Lifestyle Medicine, Nutritional Evidence Database (NED). She formerly worked as a research editor for Foods Matter, has written for a children’s science journal, and regularly gives talks to patient support groups and schools. She enjoys the challenge of applying science in multidisciplinary teams and has recently joined the Scientific Advisory Board for Chuckling Goat.
Teaching
Kate teaches on the Psychology BSc and Chronic Disease Management MSc. She also supervises dissertations at PhD, MSc, MRes, and BSc level.
Kate teaches these modules:
- Psychopathology and Deviant Behaviour
- Everyday Psychology
- Research Methods
- Health Psychology
- Behaviour Change.
Research
Research profile
Kate is actively engaged in interdisciplinary research, combining the fields of psychology, nutrition, genetics, and neuroscience to understand psychological function and impairments across the life course. She specialisies in neurodevelopmental disorders, with a particular interest in socio-emotional development and the influence of nutrition on mental health and cognitive function.
Publication metrics
- Total indexed publications 37
- H-index 20
- Sum of times cited 2161
- Average citations per item 58
(Retrieved from Google Scholar, 3rd May 2023)
Grant funding and current projects
Recent external grants awarded as Principal Investigator for research exploring dietary interventions in children with ADHD and autism.
- 13th December 2022 - The Waterloo Foundation - £6,413.64
- 15th December 2022 - UK Research & Innovation - £11,300
- 21st June 2021 - The Waterloo Foundation – £15,966.00
- 20th November 2020 - The Strategic Priorities Fund at St Mary’s - £11,000
- 28th June 2018 - The Waterloo Foundation - £60,000
Recent grants awarded as Co-Investigator for research exploring the motor signature of autism.
- 2022-2023
- UK Research & Innovation - £1,250
- QR Fund - £1,000
- SWIFT Seed Fund - £1,000
Selected publications
For a full list, please view Kate's Google Scholar profile.
- Morales-Muñoz, I., Upthegrove, R., Lawrence, K., Thayakaran, R., Kooij, S., Gregory, A. M., & Marwaha, S. (2023). The role of inflammation in the prospective associations between early childhood sleep problems and ADHD at 10 years: findings from a UK birth cohort study. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 10.1111/jcpp.13755.
- Lawrence, K., Myrissa, K., Toribio-Mateas, M., Minini, L., and Gregory, A.M. (2022). Trialling a microbiome-targeted dietary intervention in children with ADHD – the rationale and a non-randomised feasibility study. Pilot and Feasibility Studies. 23;8(1):108. doi: 10.1186/s40814-022-01058-4. PMID: 35606889; PMCID: PMC9125862.
- Lawrence, K., Campbell, R., & Skuse, D. H. (2016). Can Children See Emotions in Faces? Frontiers for Young Minds, 4.
- Lawrence, K., Campbell, R., & Skuse, D. H. (2015). Age, gender, and puberty influence the development of facial emotion recognition. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 761.
- Skuse, D. H., Mandy, W., Steer, C., Miller, L. L., Goodman, R., Lawrence, K., Emond, A., & Golding, J. (2009). Social communication competence and functional adaptation in a general population of children: preliminary evidence for sex-by-verbal IQ differential risk. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48, 128–137.
- Lawrence, K., Bernstein, D., Pearson, R., Mandy, W., Campbell, R., & Skuse, D. (2008). Changing abilities in recognition of unfamiliar face photographs through childhood and adolescence: Performance on a test of non-verbal immediate memory (Warrington RMF) from 6 to 16 years. Journal of Neuropsychology, 2, 27–45.
- Salter, G., Seigal, A., Claxton, M., Lawrence, K., & Skuse, D. (2008). Can autistic children read the mind of an animated triangle? Autism: the international journal of research and practice, 12, 349–371.
- Lawrence, K., Jones, A., Oreland, L., Spektor, D., Mandy, W., Campbell, R., & Skuse, D. (2007). The development of mental state attributions in women with X-monosomy, and the role of monoamine oxidase B in the sociocognitive phenotype. Cognition, 102, 84–100.
- Lawrence, K., Campbell, R., Swettenham, J., Terstegge, J., Akers, R., Coleman, M., & Skuse, D. (2003). Interpreting gaze in Turner syndrome: impaired sensitivity to intention and emotion, but preservation of social cueing. Neuropsychologia, 41, 894–905.
- Lawrence, K., Kuntsi, J., Coleman, M., Campbell, R., & Skuse, D. (2003). Face and emotion recognition deficits in Turner syndrome: a possible role for X-linked genes in amygdala development. Neuropsychology, 17, 39–49.
Selected presentations
- ‘Diet and nutrition: impact on behaviour, cognition and sleep in ADHD’ Lambeth ADHD Support Group, London (Feb 2023).
- ‘The microbiome and mental health: A therapeutic option for children with ADHD?’ Keynote speaker, The British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) annual conference (March 2019).
- ‘The microbiome and mental health’ The Royal Society of Medicine. CPD day for GPs, Psychiatrists and medical practitioners – The Microbiome: manipulations, application and reaction. (June 2018).
- ‘A family study of genetic susceptibility to autistic traits’ ‘Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation Autism symposium on Autism Susceptibility Genes’ Hotel Commonwealth, Boston, MA, USA (Sept 2005).
- ‘Genetic influences on socio-cognitive processing’ Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck college, London (May 2003)
- ‘Impaired processing of direction of gaze in Turner syndrome’. Experimental Psychology Society Annual Conference, Cambridge (July 2002).
- ‘X-linked genes influence social cognition and amygdala development’ Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, London (June 2002).
- ‘Impaired processing of direction of gaze in Turner syndrome – evidence for amygdala dysfunction’. Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual conference, San Francisco, USA (April 2002).
- ‘X-linked genes influence amygdala development and social cognition’ National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA (April 2002).
- ‘How to measure quality of life in children’. International Symposium - Quality of Life in Patients with Endocrine Diseases, Buenos Aires, Argentina (August 1998).