Dr Udita Iyengar is a Lecturer in Psychosis Studies at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN). She holds roles in the Department of Psychosis Studies and teaches on MSc Mental Health Studies and MSc Early Intervention in Psychosis programmes. Udita completed her PhD in 2016 at University College London (UCL) on maternal attachment and trauma neuroscience under Prof. Peter Fonagy and Dr. Lane Strathearn. She transitioned from postdoctoral research at Baylor College of Medicine (USA) to King’s in 2016, coordinating projects like c-VEDA and the Best Services Trial. She co-leads the Basic Mental Health and Women’s Mental Health module and pioneered the IoPPN’s first Lived Experience module, co-produced with experts by experience. Education: MSc from University College London and Yale University; PhD in Neuroscience of Attachment from UCL (2016). Research focuses on maternal-infant attachment, perinatal mental health, and integrating lived experience into education. Udita leads CORE-UNITY, a student advisory group for racially minoritized students, enhancing student wellbeing. Awards include KCL Public Engagement Awards (2017 and 2023). She actively engages in public talks, such as the 2025 ‘Voices of Experience’ event addressing mental health stigma. Her recent research spans extreme heat’s mental health impacts, postpartum psychosis advocacy, and neurocognitive effects of arsenic exposure. She contributes to global mental health initiatives and co-authored over 15 peer-reviewed articles, emphasizing translational research and policy implications.
