Thalia EleyView profile
Professor
Professor Thalia Eley is Professor of Developmental Behavioural Genetics at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. She serves as Head of the Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre and leads the Emotional Development, Intervention and Treatment (EDIT) Lab. Professor Eley is also Director of the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS), the largest longitudinal twin birth cohort in the UK, and co-leads the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study. Professor Eley's educational background includes: Bachelor of Arts in Social and Political Sciences with a focus on psychology from Trinity College Cambridge PhD in the role of genetic and environmental influences on depression and anxiety in young people from the Institute of Child Health, University College London Professor Eley's research focuses on understanding the interplay between genetic and environmental factors in the development and treatment of anxiety and depression, particularly in youth. She is transforming efforts toward personalized medicine through 'therapygenetics,' studying genetic effects on psychological treatment response. Her work creatively combines longitudinal, genetic, experimental, and clinical approaches to explore mechanisms underlying mental health disorders. A key aspect of her research examines why anxiety and depression tend to run in families and whether this is due to shared environments or genetic factors. Professor Eley's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on integrating genetic approaches with clinical psychology to understand mental health conditions. Her work spans anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, and neurodevelopmental conditions, with particular emphasis on how genetic factors influence treatment response. She has been instrumental in large-scale studies like the GLAD Study, which is the largest single study of anxiety and depression ever undertaken, and TEDS, which has followed twins from birth into early adulthood. Professor Eley has received numerous prestigious awards for her contributions to the field: Fellow of the British Academy (2025) Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2021) James Shields Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Twin Studies (2017) King's Graduate School IoPPN Supervisory Excellence Award (2017) King's University Research Project of the year for the GLAD Study (2019) Lilly-Molecular Psychiatry Award (2004) Spearman Medal from the British Psychological Society (2002) Professor Eley is passionate about mentoring early career researchers and has chaired the Research and Innovation Committee for over five years, developing initiatives to support this group. Her research has been supported by substantial grants including MRC funding for TEDS, Wellcome Trust funding for anxiety treatment prediction research, and MRC/ESRC funding for the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration. She actively promotes diversity in scientific research both in terms of researchers and study participants. Professor Eley leads the Emotional Development, Intervention and Treatment (EDIT) Lab, which consists of postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and undergraduate and master's students. The lab is based at the Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre at King's College London. She also co-leads the GLAD Study, which recruits participants through media and social media, and has developed digital tools like the FLARe (Fear Learning and Anxiety Response) app for remote fear conditioning experiments.
