Meet the Team

Farah joined Phase 30 of the E-Risk Study as the E-Risk Engagement Officer. Her role primarily involves research administration and online dissemination to support the the implementation of this new phase of data collection, as well as maintaining the study's website and social media presence. 

She is currently undertaking her PhD at King's College London, looking at ethnic inequalities in housing deprivation and mental health. Prior to this, Farah studied BSc Psychology and went on to complete an MSc in Population Health at University College London. Farah has also worked as a Research Assistant in the Health Inequalities Research Group led by Professor Stephani Hatch. 

Naila Ali is a committed psychology student and student ambassador at King's College London, expecting to graduate in 2025. Currently, she is a placement student contributing to the coordination of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, phase 30. In this role, Naila assists in various tasks such as formulating a co-informant questionnaire and information sheet, dispatching call-us letters, and creating leaflets for twin support services. Her academic interest lies in developmental psychology, particularly exploring mental health issues across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Beyond her studies and work, Naila is a well-rounded individual with diverse interests. She is dedicated to language acquisition, with a focus on languages such as Urdu and Arabic. Additionally, she enjoys exploring new cultures and cuisines through her love for traveling and cooking.

Beth joined Phase 30 of the E-Risk project as the Laboratory technician to help coordinate the biological samples and process them in the SGDP laboratory. She has a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from King’s College London, a MSc in Genomic Medicine from Queen Mary, University of London and is currently studying for an MSc in Bioinformatics at Birkbeck, University of London. Prior to this role, Beth worked as an Associate Scientist in research and development of breast cancer diagnostics and had a spell of processing COVID samples when the pandemic first hit. She enjoys doing various forms of circus arts outside of work including rope, trapeze, flying pole and aerial hoop, and is an aerial hoop instructor. She also loves live music, enjoys going to rock gigs and cannot live a day without coffee.

Flora is a postdoctoral researcher on the E-Risk Study at the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College London. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the Paris Cité University, focusing on child physical abuse, in particular its epidemiology and prevention, as well as its detection and diagnosis. Before embarking on a career in research, Flora was a hospital midwife in France. She loves everything related to the ocean, enjoys scuba diving, surfing and sailing, and is committed to protecting the environment

Avshalom is a co-founder and current co-investigator of the E-Risk Study. He grew up in Israel and received his professional education in the United States (BA at the University of California and his MA and PhD at Cornell University). His research spans the fields of psychology, epidemiology, and genetics. His current work is concerned with three broad questions: (1) how do childhood experiences shape the course of health inequalities across the life span? (2) How do genetic differences between people shape the way they respond to their environments? (3) What are the best ways to assess and measure personality differences between people? Furthermore, Avshalom has served on the Executive Council of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, and is involved in international teaching and training initiatives in developmental psychopathology. Avshalom is always ready to travel to far-flung places, enjoys photography, and tends to his farm.

Jay is a Clinical Reader in Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology at King's College London and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist with South London & Maudsley NHS Trust. She is a co-investigator of Phase 30 of the E-Risk Study and is overseeing the linkage to health and administrative records. She has led work which uses large-scale routine data and data linkages, informed by qualitative methodologies, to understand mental health inequalities, over the life course. She has a keen interest in maximising the potential of datasets to understand mental health inequalities, through a range of approaches including data linkage and secondary data analysis. Her main areas of expertise relate to inequalities at the physical/ mental health interface and particularly mortality in severe mental illnesses, and she has a particular interest in understanding ethnic inequalities in mental health. She has led work for the WHO, leading to guidelines for the management of physical health in people with severe mental illnesses, she is an advisor the UK Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys, and has worked in an advisory capacity for the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (previously Public Health England). With Professor George Ploubidis (Director of CLS, UCL) she co-leads a platform on cohorts and quantitative methods, for the ESRC Centre For Society and Mental Health, at King's College London.

Helen is a Professor of Developmental Psychopathology in the SGDP Centre and ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health at King’s College London and is Principal Investigator of Phase 30 of the E-Risk Study. She completed a BSc Psychology at the University of Surrey, then a Masters in Research Methods in Psychology at UCL, followed by a 1+3 PhD in Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry at King’s College London. For her PhD research on the interplay between childhood trauma and genetic susceptibility in the onset of psychotic disorder she received the Outstanding Doctoral Research Contributions to Psychology prize from the British Psychological Society. She was subsequently a postdoctoral fellow within the SGDP Centre for 5 years funded by fellowships from the MRC and ESRC before taking up a position as a Lecturer within this Centre in 2014. She subsequently held an MQ Fellows Award and a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship.

Helen started conducting analyses with E-Risk data in 2011 and became a co-investigator of the E-Risk Study in 2012. She has supervised several PhD students and postdocs to utilise E-Risk data and obtained funding for a range of spin-off projects. Her multidisciplinary programme of research focuses on the role of social, psychological, biological, and wider environmental factors in the development, course, and prevention of mental health problems in children, adolescents, and young adults. Additionally, she is passionate about collaborating with artists and young people with lived experience to find creative ways to engage the public in discussions about mental health. She has been involved in 4 theatre productions, a sold-out immersive exhibition on hearing voices, and a Mental Health Audio Tour of the National Gallery in London. Helen is also completely obsessed with penguins and sausage dogs!

Becky shares the Project Coordinator role for Phase 30 of the E-Risk Study with Jo. She received a BSc (Hons) Psychology from University College London and joined the team in 1999, at Phase 5 as one of the Research Workers who visited homes and carried out interviews and assessments. She remained with the project for Phase 7 and after a break (where she was busy with her own 2 children and ran her own childcare business), re-joined the team as Project Leader for Phase 18 and 26 (survey phase). In-between data collection phases of the E-Risk Project, Becky works in a secondary school supporting students with their wellbeing and access to education. In her spare time, Becky tries to keep up with her young adult children by regular strength and cardio training and dog walking whilst listening to Dance, R&B and House music. Becky is animal mad and at one time homed 50 rescue animals (including dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hedgehog, ferret, chinchillas, gecko… the list goes on!).

Kirsty is a Research Assistant on the E-risk team who has joined for Phase 30. She has a BSc in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Reading and an MSc in Psychiatric Research from Kings College London. Before joining E-Risk, Kirsty worked as a Research Assistant for the NHS and in several Mental Health Support Worker roles. Kirsty is passionate about improving the availability, accessibility and efficacy of mental health support. She has a particular interest in understanding and improving support for self-harm. Outside of work, Kirsty loves being outdoors and around animals - especially horses. She volunteers at her local Riding for the Disabled Association, supporting disabled children to ride and enjoy the therapeutic benefits of horses. She also has a passion for bouldering and climbing.

Jo shares the Project Coordinator role for Phase 30 of the E-Risk Study with Becky. Jo completed her degree in Social Science in Nottingham and then spent several years working as an Evaluator with Sure Start, followed by managing an Outreach Team for families in Westminster, London. Jo first joined the E-Risk team at Phase 10 as a Research Worker and then continued as Project Coordinator on Phases 12 and 18. Jo went on maternity leave with her daughter towards the end of Phase 18 and then set up a café in her town. This means she can make an excellent cappuccino, but her absolute favourite is a flat white!  When not with the E-Risk team, Jo is either behind the counter at her café or on her allotment with her chickens and beehives. Perhaps the reason Becky and Jo work so well together is their mutual love of animals – Jo currently has four cats (six if you count the two feral cats on her allotment!)

Rachel is a postdoctoral researcher on the E-Risk Study and is based in both the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre and the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health at King’s College London. Rachel completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Sussex focusing on co-parenting in families with young twins. For this, she examined parents’ perceptions of the quality of their co-parenting as a critical context in which to explore the effects of harsh parenting on the development of children’s disruptive behaviour. Her current research focuses on individuals’ risk and resilience following experiences of childhood victimisation (e.g. abuse, neglect, exposure to domestic violence, and bullying).

Previously, Rachel has worked in frontline roles for Brighton and Hove Children’s Services supporting vulnerable families in the community and being responsible for the care planning of children in residential or foster care following experiences of abuse and neglect. She has also worked as a Research Intern at the Early Intervention Foundation with who she remains affiliated as an Associate Researcher, and as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at Goldsmiths. When not at work Rachel enjoys taking her little rescue dog, a Parsons Terrier called Layla, for walks on the Sussex Downs (followed by a pub lunch afterwards of course!)

We are thrilled that several members of the McPin Foundation’s Young People's Network have formed a Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG) to work with us on Phase 30 of the E-Risk Study. Their involvement is crucial to ensure the voices of young people with relevant lived experience shape this phase of the study. The McPin YPAG are meeting with the researchers regularly to input into key aspects of the project including advising on the most important areas of young adults’ lives to capture and how best to assess them, recruitment and training of researchers, designing a qualitative measure of young adults’ quality of life and hopes/fears for the future, coding data, promoting this resource, and producing a priority list of questions for researchers to answer with this data in the future. Their involvement is supported by the wonderful staff at McPin, specifically Rachel Temple, Emma Garavini, and Georgia Naughton.

Temi is a co-founder and current co-investigator of the E-Risk Study. Her research focuses on how genetic and environmental risks work together to shape the course of abnormal human behaviours and psychiatric disorders. Her particular interest is in antisocial and criminal behaviour, but she also studies depression, psychosis, and addiction. Currently, she is uncovering the consequences of a lifetime of mental and behavioural disorder on processes of aging. Temi completed a B.A in Psychology at the University of North Carolina and went on to study her M.A in experimental animal behaviour and a PhD in clinical psychology as the University of Southern California. Her Post Doc was in behavioural neuroscience at the University of California and furthermore she is a licensed clinical Psychologist after completing her clinical hospital training at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. She is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the American Society of Criminology, the British Academy, Academia Europa, Association of Psychological Science, and the National Academy of Medicine. Temi was awarded an MBE for services to social science in the first King’s Birthday Honours 2023. In her spare time, she works on her poison-ivy farm in North Carolina.

Shaeda is a research assistant on Phase 30 of the E-risk study. She has worked in Mental Health research for over 25 years, most recently at UCL on a 2 year follow up study investigating if people who have experienced a mental health crisis do better if they are given Open Dialogue or treatment as usual. In between working she has raised 3 children (who are now young adults) and a cockapoo Ralph who is treated better than any of her children ever were! She pretends to like exercise but will find any excuse not to go.

Bethan has joined the E-Risk team as a research assistant for Phase 30 of the study. She qualified as a registered mental health nurse from King’s College London in 2021. Before joining E-Risk, Bethan worked across several national and specialist psychological medicine services in South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, including acute perinatal and eating disorder services. In her spare time, Bethan likes to dance (so long as nobody is watching) and practice very amateur yoga – predominately the lying down on the floor relaxing part. Her ideal day involves a slow cup of coffee with a pastry and podcast, followed by a countryside walk in the woods.

Tami is a Research Assistant, joining the team for Phase 30 of the study. She has a background in Psychosis research, having most recently worked on a randomised controlled trial developing a psychological intervention for voice hearing experiences. She has also worked as an Assistant Psychologist in an Early Intervention in Psychosis Team within the North East London NHS Foundation Trust. She has an interest in understanding and addressing inequalities in mental health care provision for individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds. Outside of work, Tami enjoys travelling and musical theatre.

Stefan is the Data Manager for Phase 30 of the E-Risk Study. He is passionate about how data can act as a catalyst and driving force for meaningful social change. Stefan earned a B.A. in Political Science and History and an MPA from Clark University. Previously, he worked as a Data Manager for the Armed Services Trauma Rehabilitation Outcome Study (ADVANCE) at Imperial College London. He has also served as a Data Manager at the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), contributing to studies like REMAP-CAP. Stefan was also a Research Coordinator for Maintaining Independence and Sobriety through Systems Integration, Outreach, and Networking (MISSION) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he worked in the MISSION-Cape and Mission-BMetro studies. Born and raised in Peru and having had the opportunity to live in other countries such as Brazil and Paraguay, Stefan enjoys exploring new places trying different foods. He also loves to play and listen to music and is a big fan of iced coffee.

Aliyah is an undergraduate student on the BSc Psychology course at Kings’ College London. She is currently completing her professional placement year working on Phase 30 of the E-Risk study. Some of her responsibilities as a placement student have included assembling the new co-informant questionnaire, creating leaflets, and sending out tracing letters. In addition to her role at E-Risk, Aliyah also works as an A-Level Psychology tutor and part-time sales assistant. She hopes to go on to do a master’s degree once she graduates in 2025. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, oil painting and listening to music.

Louise is the Research Administrator for Phase 30 of the E-Risk Study and the fountain of all knowledge when it comes to finances, procurement, and grants! She joined our larger parent study the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) in August 1996 as a research support worker and has worked on that study ever since. We are extremely lucky that she has now agreed to help out with E-Risk too! She manages the E-Risk finances and many administrative aspects of the study including procurement, contracts, preparing grant applications, and reporting to funders.

Chloe is a Senior Lecturer in Epigenetics at the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London and received her PhD in Epigenetics from King’s College London, which included use of E-Risk data. She is a co-investigator of Phase 30 of the E-Risk Study and the Deputy Co-Lead for the NIHR Maudsley BioResource. She is highly passionate about research that enhances our current understanding of epigenetics, a fundamental biological mechanism that links between genes and the environment, in human health and disorders. Her multidisciplinary epigenetics research spans across the field of neuropsychology and psychiatry covering complex human diseases and traits including autism, psychosis, depression, anxiety, eating disorders and the impact of environmental effects and unique experiences on the epigenome. In her spare time, Chloe enjoys travelling, especially to Spain and South East Asia. Chloe's other ambition is to become a professional ballet dancer or run an ice-cream van during hot summer days, or both.