Virginia Carter Leno

Virginia Carter Leno is a Wellcome Trust Career Development Award Fellow and Research Fellow at King's College London, focusing on neurodevelopmental and mental health mechanisms in children. Her work combines EEG, neurocognitive paradigms, and statistical models to study autism spectrum disorders and comorbid mental health conditions. She has led projects totaling over £2.3 million in funding, including major awards from the Wellcome Trust and NIHR. Her research emphasizes translational science, with a recent public engagement project exploring neurodivergent identities through sound (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/a-sonic-exploration-of-neurodivergent-identities-1).

Research Interests: Dr. Leno's research spans neurodevelopmental disorders, child psychiatry, and cognitive neuroscience. Key areas include:

• Neurobiological underpinnings of autism spectrum disorders
• Comorbidity of mental health issues in autistic youth
• Electrophysiological markers of developmental trajectories
• Public engagement and accessibility in scientific communication

Funding & Awards:

• Wellcome Trust Career Development Award (2023-2031, £2,052,013)
• Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship (2019-2023, £300,000)
• National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) grants (2018-2019, £49,705)

Key Research Themes: Her publications address EEG correlates of autism, longitudinal mental health outcomes, and sensory processing in infants. Recent work highlights the role of cognitive flexibility in mitigating stress impacts and explores pathways to adaptive functioning in autistic adolescents.

Labs & Collaborations: Active in interdisciplinary teams including EDEN & STAARS cohorts, the Pathways in ASD Study Group, and the BASIS Team. Engages with clinical populations through randomized controlled trials (e.g., ASTAR project).