Wikus Barkhuizen

Wikus Barkhuizen is a Research Fellow and Postdoctoral Researcher at the Genes Environment Lifespan (GEL) Lab, part of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development within the Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck, University of London. His research focuses on environmental risk factors for adolescent psychotic experiences using behavioral genetics, quantitative methods, and epidemiological designs. He investigates genetic overlaps between psychotic experiences and environmental factors using datasets like Twins Early Development Study (TEDS), UK Biobank, ALSPAC, and CATSS.

Education:

• PhD Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London (2016–2020)
• MSc Early Intervention in Psychosis (Distinction), King’s College London (2015–2016)
• BSc (Hons) Psychology (First Class), Birkbeck, University of London (2009–2013)

Research Themes: Environmental risk factors for psychosis, behavioral genetics, twin studies, genetic epidemiology, and adolescent mental health. His work combines epidemiological data with genetic analyses to explore how environmental exposures interact with genetic predispositions.

Funding: Supported by the Camara-Rijvers David PhD Studentship.

Lab & Supervision: Conducts research in the GEL Lab under supervisors Dr Angelica Ronald and Dr Emma Meaburn. Current projects involve participant-level genetic data from large cohorts to elucidate mechanisms linking environmental exposures to psychosis.