Diana Tan

Diana Tan is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Psychological Science at The University of Western Australia. She also holds a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position at Macquarie University (since 2021) and is an Honorary Research Associate at The Kids Research Institute Australia (Telethon Kids Institute, since 2020). Her research focuses on autism spectrum disorder, facial morphology, and neurodevelopmental traits.

Education:

• PhD in Psychology (2018): 'The face predicts the brain: An investigation of facial morphology associated with autism' at UWA
• BSc (First Class Honours) in Psychology (2013): 'The association between autistic traits and sexually dimorphic facial and vocal features' at UWA

Research Interests: Diana explores links between facial morphology and autism, prenatal testosterone exposure, and quality of life factors in neurodivergent individuals. Her work bridges physical anthropology and clinical psychology, with a focus on early diagnosis and community engagement in autism research.

Publications: Recent work includes studies on auditory environments' impact on autistic traits, validity of autism assessment tools, and systematic reviews on societal perceptions of autism.

Awards:

• School of Psychological Science Community and Engagement Award (2017)
• H L Fowler Award (2012)

Grants & Projects:

• Leading a project on post-diagnostic support programs for autistic adolescents (2023-2025)
• BrightSpark Foundation-funded study on biological markers of autism (2019)

Collaborations: Active in interdisciplinary teams, including work with Macquarie University and Telethon Kids Institute on autism diagnosis and intervention strategies.