Job Title
Associate Professor
Department
WMS - Health Sciences
Email
Web Link
Research Interests
Mental health, wellbeing and digital health in chronic illness, neurodiversity, workplaces, schools, colleges and higher education.
Biography
Carla Toro studied for her PhD in Neuroscience and continued as a Research Fellow at the Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester investigating disease mechanisms of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. Since joining the University of Warwick Sept 2018, Carla's research has focused on furthering our understanding of mental wellbeing for different groups including those living with chronic illness (e.g., type 1 diabetes), neurodiversity and work-related stress. Within work, school or university settings, Carla leads the development and delivery of digital interventions to improve mental wellbeing. This research has been funded by research councils (EPSRC and MRC) charities (People's Health Trust, Rosetrees Trust, Hotung Mills Foundation) industry (The Crown Estate and National Grid) the NHS (Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust and NIHR West Midlands CRN) and government (DWP and DHSC). Carla is Deputy Pro Dean (Research) at Warwick Medical School and Deputy Director for the Warwick Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing Research.
- Tout, Amber F., Tang, Nicole K. Y., Sletten, Tracey L., Toro, Carla T., Kershaw, Charlotte, Meyer, Caroline, Rajaratnam, Shantha M., Moukhtarian, Talar R., 2024. Current sleep interventions for shift workers : a mini review to shape a new preventative, multicomponent sleep management programme. Frontiers in Sleep, 3
- Toro, Carla T., Payne, Agatha S., Jackson, Tabitha, Russell, Sean, Daly, Guy, Waller, Glenn, Meyer, Caroline, 2023. Evidence for feasibility of implementing online brief cognitive?behavioral therapy for eating disorder pathology in the workplace. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 56 (6), pp. 1254-1268
- Nickson, David, Meyer, Caroline, Walasek, Lukasz, Toro, Carla T., 2023. Predicting depression using electronic health records : a systematic review. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making
- Nickson, David, Singmann, Henrik, Meyer, Caroline, Toro, Carla T., Walasek, Lukasz, 2023. Replicability and reproducibility of predictive models for diagnosis of depression among young adults using Electronic Health Records. BMC Diagnostic and Prognostic Research, 7
- Chandler, Laura, McEnery, Katharine A. M., Toro, Carla T., Singh, Swaran P., Meyer, Caroline, Tang, Nicole K. Y., 2023. Do mental health symptoms during the pandemic predict university non-completion in a sample of UK students? A prospective study. Education Sciences, 13 (12)
- Patel, Krishane, Moukhtarian, Talar Rita, Russell, Sean, Daly, Guy, Walasek, Lukasz, Tang, Nicole K. Y., Toro, Carla T., Meyer, Caroline, 2022. Digital cognitive behavioural therapy intervention in the workplace : study protocol for a feasibility randomised waitlist-controlled trial to improve employee mental well-being, engagement and productivity. BMJ Open, 12 (12)
- Tang, Nicole K. Y., McEnery, Katharine A. M., Chandler, Laura, Toro, Carla T., Walasek, Lukasz, Friend, Hannah, Gu, Sai, Singh, Swaran P., Meyer, Caroline, 2022. Pandemic and student mental health : mental health symptoms among university students and young adults after the first cycle of lockdown in the UK. BJPsych Open, 8 (4)
- Ahmed, Arfan, Aziz, Sarah, Toro, Carla T., Alzubaidi, Mahmood, Irshaidat, Sara, Serhan, Hashem Abu, Abd-alrazaq, Alaa A., Househ, Mowafa, 2022. Machine learning models to detect anxiety and depression through social media : a scoping review. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine Update, 2
- Abd-Alrazaq, Alaa, Alajlani, Mohannad, Alhuwail, Dari, Toro, Carla T., Giannicchi, Anna, Ahmed, Arfan, Makhlouf, Ahmed, Househ, Mowafa, 2022. The effectiveness and safety of serious games for improving cognitive abilities among elderly people with cognitive impairment : systematic review and meta-analysis. JMIR Serious Games, 10 (1)
- Abd-Alrazaq, Alaa, Alhuwail, Dari, Schneider, Jens, Toro, Carla T., Ahmed, Arfan, Alzubaidi, Mahmood, Alajlani, Mohannad, Househ, Mowafa, 2022. The performance of artificial intelligence-driven technologies in diagnosing mental disorders : an umbrella review. Digital Medicine, 5 (1)
- Abd-Alrazaq, Alaa, Al-Jafar, Eiman, Alajlani, Mohannad, Toro, Carla, Alhuwail, Dari, Ahmed, Arfan, Reagu, Shuja Mohd, Al-Shorbaji, Najeeb, Househ, Mowafa, 2022. The effectiveness of serious games for alleviating depression : systematic review and meta-analysis. JMIR Serious Games, 10 (1)
- Moukhtarian, Talarrita, Patel, K., Toro, Carla T., Russel, S., Daley, G., Walasek, Lukasz, Tang, Nicole K. Y., Meyer, Caroline, 2022. Effects of a hybrid digital Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia and Emotion Regulation in the workplace (SLEEP) : study protocol for a randomised waitlist-control trial. BMJ Open, 12 (7)
- Matas, Emmanuel, John Francis William, Deakin, Toro, Carla T., 2021. Abnormal expression of post-synaptic proteins in prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia. Neuroscience Letters, 745
- Toro, Carla T, Eliassen, Eva, Prusty, Bhupesh K, 2019. Does infection of cerebellar Purkinje neurons with human herpes virus 6A or 6B (HHV-6) increase the risk of developing mood disorders?. Future Microbiology, 14 (2), pp. 85-88
- 'Prusty, Bhupesh K., 'Gulve, Nitish, 'Govind, Sheila, 'Krueger, Gerhard R. F., 'Feichtinger, Julia, 'Larcombe, Lee, 'Aspinall, Richard, 'Ablashi, Dharam V., 'Toro, Carla T., 2018. 'Active HHV-6 infection of cerebellar purkinje cells in mood disorders. Frontiers in Microbiology, 9
- Nahar, Sharifun, Ahmed, Minhaz Uddin, Safavieh, Mohammadali, Rochette, Annie, Toro, Carla T., Zourob, Mohammed, 2015. A flexible and low-cost polypropylene pouch for naked-eye detection of herpes simplex viruses. The Analyst, 140 (3), pp. 931-937
- Hoyle, D., Juhasz, G., Aso, E., Chase, D., del Rio, J., Fabre, V., Hamon, M., Lanfumey, L., Lesch, K.-P., Maldonado, R., Serra, M.-A., Sharp, T., Tordera, R., Toro, Carla T., Deakin, J. F. W., 2011. Shared changes in gene expression in frontal cortex of four genetically modified mouse models of depression. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 21 (1), pp. 3-10
- Dunham, J. S., Deakin, J. F. W., Miyajima, F., Payton, A., Toro, Carla T., 2009. Expression of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptors in Stanley consortium brains. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 43 (14), pp. 1175-1184
- Toro, Carla T., Hallak, Jaime E., Dunham, Jason S., Leite, João P., Sakamoto, Américo C., Guarnieri, Ricardo, Fong, Vivian, Deakin, John F. W., 2007. The NR1 N-methyl-d-aspartate subunit and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in temporal lobe epilepsy hippocampus : a comparison of patients with and without coexisting psychiatric symptoms. Epilepsia, 48 (12)
- Toro, Carla T., Deakin, J. F. W., 2007. Adult neurogenesis and schizophrenia : a window on abnormal early brain development?. Schizophrenia Research, 90 (1-3), pp. 1-14
- Toro, Carla T., Hallak, Jaime E. C., Dunham, Jason S., Deakin, John F. W., 2006. Glial fibrillary acidic protein and glutamine synthetase in subregions of prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia and mood disorder. Neuroscience Letters, 404 (3), pp. 276-281
- Toro, Carla T., Deakin, J. F. W., 2005. NMDA receptor subunit NRI and postsynaptic protein PSD-95 in hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex in schizophrenia and mood disorder. Schizophrenia Research, 80 (2-3), pp. 323-330
- Toro, Carla T., Sousa, Catia, Tannahill, David, 2010. Axon growth. eLS, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
- 'Toro, Carla T., 'Jackson, Tabitha, 'Payne, Agatha S., 'Walasek, Lukasz, 'Russell, Sean, 'Daly, Guy, 'Waller, Glenn, 'Meyer, Caroline, 2022. 'A feasibility study of the delivery of online brief cognitive?behavioral therapy (CBT?T) for eating disorder pathology in the workplace. International Journal of Eating Disorders, John Wiley & Sons, pp. 723-730
- Hurley-Wallace, A., Moukhtarian, Talarrita, Patel, K., Toro, Carla T., Russel, S., Daley, G., Walasek, Lukasz, Tang, Nicole K. Y., Meyer, Caroline, 2022. Process evaluation protocol for the SLEEP study : a hybrid digital CBT-I intervention for working people with insomnia. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
| Title | Funder | Award start | Award end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validation of a Screening Measure for Detecting Eating Disorders in Women with Type 1 Diabetes | Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust | 01 Mar 2024 | 31 Aug 2027 |
| Going beyond HbA1c for type-1 diabetes using health-apps: What's available, what works, and how do they address patient's unmet needs? | Hotung Mills Education Foundation | 01 Oct 2023 | 30 Sep 2026 |
| Barriers and Facilitators to adoption of mobile health in key stakeholders | ORCHA | 01 Oct 2021 | 31 Mar 2026 |
| MRC PHIND Reducing university student loneliness by supporting social connectedness via the 'LunchChat' app with a peer promotion element | Medical Research Council (MRC) | 01 Jun 2024 | 31 May 2025 |
| Exploring challenges to mental wellbeing for supply chain construction workers | The Crown Estate | 06 Oct 2024 | 05 Nov 2024 |
| Sleep management intervention for shift workers and their employers | MRC | 15 May 2023 | 14 Jun 2024 |
| IFA Wellbeing Research Project | National Grid Gas Plc | 01 May 2022 | 28 Feb 2024 |
| Ensuring rapid access to brief, effective treatment for adolescents with eating and body concerns: Determining the feasibility of an intervention programme in schools. | Rosetrees Trust | 01 Feb 2023 | 30 Nov 2023 |
| Midlands Engine Tender. Improving productivity via enhancing mental health | Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 01 Jul 2019 | 30 Sep 2023 |
| Health Impact of Uplift to Real Living Wage (costed extension for 74110) | Peoples Health Trust | 01 Apr 2023 | 30 Jun 2023 |
| UKRI/MTSC: Improving our understanding of rare diseases through collection of app-based real-world data: Exploring needs and requirements among patients and healthcare professionals | UK Research and Innovation | 02 Jan 2023 | 30 Jun 2023 |
| Digitising the set up, delivery and management of clinical research | National Institute for Health Research (NIHR DoH) | 01 Apr 2021 | 28 Feb 2023 |
| Health Impact of Uplift to Real Living Wage | Peoples Health Trust | 18 Jul 2022 | 17 Nov 2022 |