Calendar of events

Host: Professor Kim Wade

Title: Sexual and Gender Minority Identity and Mental Health: Measurement, Impacts, and Solutions

Abstract: Dr. Cramer will provide an overview of his work on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and diverse (LGBTQ+) identity and health. The session begins with presentation of psychometric assessment work on LGBTQ+ identity and related measures. Emphasis is placed on suicide disparities in U.S. and U.K. contexts. Illustrating a steady stream of community-engaged research, Dr. Cramer then summarizes anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime victimization impact and jury perception studies. Shifting to solutions, Dr. Cramer will review his work with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to develop an LGBTQ+ health education program. The talk also features examples of hate crime law policy analyses among transgender adults in the United States. It will conclude with an interactive discussion and exploration of cross-national research collaboration.

Host: Dr Adrian Von Muhlenen

Title: From neuroscience to ultra-brief treatments for anxiety and depression

Abstract: Anxiety disorders and depression are disabling and increasingly common mental health problems, but about half of the patient population do not respond to even the most effective existing treatments. There is an urgent need for the development of more targeted, accessible interventions. A crucial starting point for treatment innovation is to precisely characterise the basic mechanisms that drive illness and recovery, so that these can be targeted more directly for improved efficacy. This talk, suitable for non-specialists, clinicians and experienced academics, will summarise how the brain works differently in anxiety disorders and depression, and how these brain changes are affected by existing treatments. It will then highlight how novel pharmacological strategies targeting these mechanisms more effectively may help lead to more effective treatments as brief as one session.

Title: Sequence length and time-course reveal limits of statistical learning theories

Abstract: Statistical learning – identifying coherent groups/sequences of information based on their co-occurrence in information streams – is a fundamental learning mechanism. However, most paradigms test performance at the end-point of learning, lacking sensitivity to long sequences and ignoring time-course behaviour that differentiates competing theoretical accounts. We remedy these problems using a new mouse-tracking visual statistical learning paradigm that records time-course behaviour and trains participants on a broader range of sequence lengths. Across six pre-registered online studies (N = 216) with uniform (2-, 3-, or 4-item) and mixed length sequences (2+4, 3+4, 2+3), we found: shorter sequences were learned more easily than longer ones (length effect); sequences were learned better in shorter contexts (e.g., 3-item sequences in mixed vs uniform designs) (context effect); and a trend for later items in a sequence to be learned more easily than earlier ones (order effect). We further tested these data against three prominent computational accounts (SRN, PARSER, TRACX). None fully reproduced relative differences across experiments, and all showed either absent or inconsistent order effects. We discuss how models might be refined to capture the dynamics of human statistical learning.

Bio: Francesco Cabiddu is a postdoctoral researcher at Nottingham Trent University, working on a Leverhulme-funded project led by Professor Gary Jones that examines the mechanisms underlying the time course of human statistical learning. He previously worked at University College London on a project led by Professor Gabriella Vigliocco, investigating the role of multimodal teacher input in word and concept learning in both adults and children. He completed his PhD at Cardiff University, where he studied usage-based learning mechanisms in language development and processing. Francesco’s research interests centre on statistical learning and, more broadly, on usage-based approaches to language learning, which he has explored in both children and adults using experimental and computational methods.

Host: Professor NicoleTang and Lauren Wilkinson

Title: Pain in Autism

Abstract: Autistic people appear to be at greater risk of developing pain which requires management in complex multidisciplinary management. However research to understand why autistic people might be at risk of developing pain, and their experiences of pain, is currently very limited. Assumptions are often made about autistic people’s pain which might be based on different modes of communication of their pain states, as well as challenges with disclosure of pain coming from distrust of the healthcare system. These miss-assumptions are particularly concerning as pain may be the first or only sign of illness or injury and neurodivergent individuals may be at greater risk of injury or illness than their peers, being twice as likely to be seen in A&E and their neurotypical peers.

This talk will consider evidence from bench the bench to applied clinical research, considering evidence for difference in pain perception in neurodivergent populations (both adults and children). Here we will discuss the needs to look for signs of pain in autistic people and challenges in accessing pain management in primary care. This talk will also consider the beginnings of research we are undertaking which is designed to explore how autism might alter the experience of chronic pain management. Critically, there will be a discussion of the gaps in current knowledge and insights into what is needed to better understand neurodivergent peoples pain and to better support neurodivergent people in pain.

Bio:

David Moore is a Reader in Pain Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University and a co-founder of the Somatosensory and Affective Neuroscience Research group. David’s research interests include somatosensation in autism (pain and gentle touch) as well as the cognitive impact of pain. His recent work has been seeking to examine the pain experiences and expressions of autistic people and examining how to better provide pain education and management for autistic patients. He is interested in the experiences of pain in neurodivergent people and potential links with hypermobility and is a pain adviser to the SEDS connective charity.

David Moore | About | LJMU profiles

F1000: A “Whole Child Approach” to Early Brain Development

Dr Michelle Fernandes, MBBS MRCPCH DPhil(Oxon)^1,2,3

¹F1000 Research Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford

²Newborn Care Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford

³Oxford Maternal & Perinatal Health Institute, NDWRH & Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, Oxford

ABSTRACT

Background

The first 1000 days of life (F1000), from conception to age 2, are foundational to brain development. During this period, the developing brain is highly sensitive to environmental influences, both positive and adverse, with lifecourse health and neurocognitive effects. >80% of developmental delays are preventable if identified early, however one in three children globally do not achieve their full developmental potential by 5 years, primarily due to delays in recognition and intervention.

Methods

My research employs a translational neuroscience strategy to neonatology and child health by applying a “whole-child approach” to early brain development (EBD). Using interdisciplinary methods and large international cohorts, I (i) investigate mechanistic pathways underpinning typical and atypical EBD; (ii) develop scalable, standardised tools for global identification of at-risk children; (iii) evaluate family-centred interventions; and (iv) build global capacity for EBD surveillance.

Results

Mechanistic findings from INTERGROWTH-21st (n=4,607 healthy, low-risk mothers and infants from 8 countries) and INTERBIO-21st (n=3,598 high and low risk mother-infant dyads from 6 countries) demonstrated <10% between-site variation in fetal brain and neurodevelopmental outcomes in healthy populations, supporting international standards. Five atypical fetal growth trajectories predictive of later neurodevelopmental delays were identified, alongside a normative digital atlas of fetal brain maturation. Methodological innovations include the INTER-NDA, a rapid, low-cost neurodevelopmental assessment toolkit now applied in >40,000 children across 26 countries, with companion newborn and infant toolkits (Neo-NBA and OX-NDA). Community-based trials in Grenada and Slovakia showed responsive caregiving interventions significantly improved outcomes in high-risk children, independent of health or nutritional inputs. Capacity building has included three regional EBD centres and training of >400 assessors worldwide.

Ongoing work and next steps

My current work, BRAINENDEVR, integrates metadata from >5,000 children across 13 countries to generate a point-of-care developmental risk-profiling calculator. Collectively, these efforts advance early identification, intervention, and global equity in child neurodevelopment.

Dr Michelle Fernandes, MBBS MRPCH DPhil(Oxon) is a Clinical Lecturer at the Oxford University Department of Paediatrics where she leads the F1000 Research Group. Her research applies cross-disciplinary methodologies to study brain growth, health and development during the first 1,000 days of life in at-risk and healthy children globally, with specific focus on mechanistic, measurement, intervention and implementation science research. She is the Director of Early Brain Science at the Oxford Maternal and Perinatal Health Institute.

 Dr Fernandes has co-led a number of research projects (including INTERGROWTH-21^st, INTERBIO-21^st, and BRAINENDEVR) that have yielded novel mechanistic insights into pathways leading to typical and atypical brain development. She has developed three novel early child development (ECD) assessment toolkits, most notably the INTER-NDA, now implemented in >40,000 children across 26 countries; the first international ECD standards; and a normative fetal brain atlas. With international collaborators, she developed evidence-based interventions to rescue neurodevelopment in at-risk children, and is extending this work to NICU populations. She is passionate about ECD-focussed capacity development and advocacy having co-founded three regional ECD centres in Grenada, East Africa and the US, with ongoing work in Eastern Europe, India and Nigeria. She holds an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship for BRAINENDEVR, a multi-country project using advanced data science approaches for ECD risk-profiling at population level.

Michelle is a scientific advisor to the WHO Global Scales of Early Development Initiative; research lead of NeoTRIPS, and serves on the editorial committee of Archives of Disease in Childhood. She is a Fellow at Green Templeton College, Oxford and holds honorary research fellowships at the Universities of Turku and Southampton, and WINDREF, Grenada.

The impact of her work has been recognized internationally, including at the MRC Impact Prize Ceremony in 2024. She has received support from leading funders, including the MRC, NIHR, NIH, USAID, and the Gates Foundation and has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications.

E: michelle.fernandes@paediatrics.ox.ac.uk

X: @Dr_MCFernandes

Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/michelle-fernandes-17b6351a

W: https://www.paediatrics.ox.ac.uk/About/team/michelle-fernandes-1

W: https://www.paediatrics.ox.ac.uk/research/f1000-days

Host: Maria Robinson

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Host: Chiara Gambi

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Host: Charlotte Gannon

Title: University Press Strategic Review

Abstract: In the past decade the number of new, open-access scholar-led institutional presses in the UK, hosted by universities themselves has been slowly rising: in part as a response to the increasingly unsustainably commercialised publishing landscape as well as shifts to more open publishing. While the University of Warwick Press (UWP) was established some time ago and hosts some journals and a very modest monograph publishing programme already, following an outline review in '23, a yearlong strategic review project is currently evaluating and exploring new paradigms and configurations of operation by a newly created role: the Press Manager. This work will culminate in creating a business case with a range of future models for the University to decide upon. As crucial part of informing this work the Press Manager is engaging in a range of community consultations, talking with scholars and practitioners about how their own publishing aspirations, insights and experiences might be reflected in a future iteration of the Press. As such, this brief talk will give insights into UWP’ current operations, the ongoing project and provide a focus for informal discussions to help inform the thinking around this work.

Host: Professor Fiona MacCallum

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