Principle Investigator
Dr Kirsty Dunn (Lancaster University)
Dr Kirsty Dunn is a Lecturer in Developmental Psychology at Lancaster University. She arrived at Lancaster in 2009 on a 1+ 3 ESRC studentship to investigate measures of infant understanding of the physical world principals surrounding objects, e.g. that they continue to exist when out of sight.
Co Investigators
Dr Tom Barber (University of Warwick)
Dr Barber is an Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant Endocrinologist at University of Warwick and UHCW. Dr. Barber has a research background in the genetic and metabolic features of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome that led to the award of DPhil from the University of Oxford, and the prestigious ‘Society for Endocrinology Clinical Prize Lecture’ and ‘University of Oxford Medical Sciences Divisional Research Prize’ in 2009.
Prof. Gert Westermann (Lancaster University)
Gert Westermann is Professor of Psychology at Lancaster University. His research focus is a multi-method approach to understanding how infants learn about the world, how they acquire language, and the interaction between these processes. Currently, he is especially interested in how infants actively shape their learning process through their curiosity and if and how this intrinsically motivated exploration benefits learning.
Professor Ponnusamy Saravanan (University of Warwick)
Professor Saravanan is a Professor and Honorary Consultant Physician in Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick & George Eliot Hospital, Nuneaton. He is the Co-Lead for Diabetes division for the NIHR Clinical Research Network, West Midlands. He is the Founder-Director of international Doctoral Training Programme, which focusses on research capacity building activities in low- and middle-income countries.
Research Associates
Dr Rebecca Hall (Lancaster University)
Dr. Rebecca Hall completed her Psychology undergraduate degree at Lancaster University and her Master’s in Clinical and Health Psychology at Bangor University, before returning to Lancaster for her PhD. Her PhD research investigated the relationship between self-regulation and condition management in type 1 diabetes, and how deficits in self-regulatory control play a role in the development of insulin omission and disordered eating.
Dr Charlotte Rothwell (Lancaster University)
Dr Charlotte Rothwell completed both her Psychology undergraduate and PhD degrees at Lancaster University. She began her research career as an undergraduate research assistant at Lancaster Babylab in 2016, and continued this as an ESRC funded intern, so has a wealth of experience carrying out developmental psychology research with babies and children.
Advisory Board Members
Kirsty Kitchen (Birth Companions)
Kirsty Kitchen is Head of Policy and Communications at Birth Companions, a national charity focused on the needs and experiences of women facing inequality and disadvantage during pregnancy and early motherhood.
Professor Debbie Riby (University of Durham)
Debbie Riby is a Professor of Developmental Psychology and Co-Director of the Centre for Neurodiversity and Development at Durham University. Debbie has previously been elected Chair of the Developmental Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society and she is an elected Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.
Professor Thijs van Rens (University of Warwick)
Thijs van Rens (PhD Princeton 2005) is a Professor Economics at the University of Warwick. His current research focuses on the economics of the food system and its effects on health and the environment.
Professor Peter Tymms (University of Durham)
Peter Tymms is an Emeritus Professor at Durham University. His main research areas are educational and include monitoring student progress, ADHD, standards over time and research methodologies.
Dr Diane Farrar (The Bradford Institute for Health Science)
Diane Farrar is senior research fellow at the Bradford Institute for Health Research. She has a clinical midwifery background with a PhD in reproductive endocrinology.
