معرفی
Dr. Hannah Pickard is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Birkbeck, University of London, working within the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre under the School of Mental Health & Psychological Sciences. She is currently a member of the CINELab where she contributes to the Nuffield Foundation-funded Bedtime Boost Trial, and is affiliated with the ReSpect Lab led by Professor Francesca Happé.
Her educational background includes a PhD in Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry from King's College London (2016-2020), an MSc with Distinction in the same field from King's College London (2015-2016), an MSc with Distinction in Research Methods in Psychology from University College London (2013-2014), and a First Class BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Roehampton (2010-2013).
Dr. Pickard's research focuses on understanding the behavioral and cognitive mechanisms underlying mental health problems in both autistic and non-autistic individuals. She investigates how cognitive development pathways contribute to mental health issues in children with neurodevelopmental conditions, and examines environmental factors that influence cognitive development across childhood. Her work emphasizes community engagement to make research more inclusive, accessible, and meaningful.
Her publication record demonstrates significant contributions to understanding social anxiety in both autistic and neurotypical populations, with recent work expanding into sleep patterns, screen use effects, and quality of life impacts during the pandemic. Her research shows a clear trajectory from foundational work on social anxiety mechanisms to more applied research examining environmental interventions.
Dr. Pickard is actively engaged in public outreach through initiatives like Aut2Engage, which builds participatory frameworks for early career autism researchers. Her research has been widely disseminated, with publications picked up by news outlets, blogged about, and shared across social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
