معرفی
Dr. Kelly Diederen is a Reader in Behavioural Neuroscience and Mental Health at King's College London, affiliated with the Department of Psychosis Studies within the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN). She holds a Senior Lecturer title and has held roles at the University of Cambridge and Utrecht University. Her research focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms and behavioral correlates of psychosis, auditory hallucinations, and decision-making processes in mental health. She leads modules in Social and Community Mental Health and Research Methods, contributing to both academic and clinical education.
Education: BSc in Neuro and Rehabilitation Psychology (Radboud University Nijmegen, 2004), MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience (2006), and a PhD in Psychiatry (University of Utrecht, 2011). Postdoctoral work included roles at the University of Cambridge under Prof. Wolfram Schultz and Prof. Paul Fletcher.
Research Interests: Her work explores learning deficits in mental health, neuroimaging-based biomarkers, and the role of expectation in reward processing. Key projects include computational models of auditory hallucinations and automated speech analysis for psychosis diagnosis. She has been awarded a £4.1M Wellcome Trust grant (2025) for research on cortical circuits in auditory hallucinations.
Awards: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2019) and contributor to the Research in Film Awards 2018-winning documentary Correspondence O. Her work integrates clinical research with public engagement through science fairs, podcasts, and educational outreach programs.
Grants & Projects: Current grants include Wellcome Trust funding for hallucination modeling and MRC support for speech analysis in psychosis risk. She co-leads initiatives like the iLab school outreach program.
Labs/Teams: Active in interdisciplinary collaborations within the IoPPN and global consortia like ENIGMA, focusing on neuroanatomical studies of schizotypy and psychotic symptoms.
