معرفی
Jane Waite is a Reader at Aston University, based within the School of Psychology and its Applied Health Research Group at the Aston Institute of Health & Neurodevelopment. Since 2017 she has progressed from lecturer to Reader and, in 2020, became Co-Director of the Cerebra Network for Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
Education:
- PhD — “The cognitive and behavioural phenotype of Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome”, University of Birmingham (2007–2011, awarded 2012)
- Doctorate of Clinical Psychology — “Parental Perceptions of Challenging Behaviour”, University of Birmingham (2010–2013, awarded 2013)
- Postgraduate Certificate, Aston University (2017–2018, awarded 2018)
Research Interests:
Dr Waite’s work centres on understanding and improving mental-health outcomes for individuals with intellectual disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly those who are minimally verbal. Key themes include:
- Development and validation of anxiety-assessment tools (e.g., ClASP-ID)
- Behavioural phenotyping of rare genetic syndromes (e.g., Rubinstein-Taybi, SATB2-associated, Wiedemann-Steiner)
- Mechanisms underlying behaviours that challenge, sleep disturbances and pain
- Parent- and caregiver-led intervention development
- Knowledge translation via www.findresources.co.uk
Research Output Trends:
Across 52 outputs (2015–2025) the work clusters into three broad trajectories: (1) psychometric development and validation of mental-health measures for people with severe–profound intellectual disability; (2) detailed behavioural phenotyping and cross-syndrome comparison studies; and (3) systematic reviews and international consensus statements that synthesise evidence to guide clinical practice.
Awards & Recognition:
- Co-Director, Cerebra Network for Neurodevelopmental Disorders (2020–present)
- Lead developer, FindResources online knowledge portal for rare genetic syndromes
- Honorary Clinical Psychologist roles with NHS Trusts (2018–present)
PhD Supervision & Capacity Building:
Dr Waite currently mentors three doctoral researchers:
- Georgie Edwards – anxiety correlates in minimally verbal autistic people with intellectual disability
- Lauren Shelley – behavioural phenotype of SATB2-associated syndrome
- Jess Mingins – validation of anxiety measures in rare genetic syndromes
Laboratories & Networks:
Her team operates within the Aston Institute of Health & Neurodevelopment, collaborates extensively across the Cerebra Network, and maintains strong NHS links via University Hospitals Birmingham and Birmingham Women’s NHS Foundation Trust.
