Professor in Biological and Experimental Psychology
Contact Details
School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
Email: r.bedford@qmul.ac.uk
Research Interests
Autism, Neurodevelopment, Mental health, Screen Time, Infancy
My research programme aims to understand transdiagnostic mechanisms underlying emerging developmental conditions and co-occurring mental health, through the integration of experimental methods with large-scale data. In particular, I am interested in identifying and testing modifiable environmental factors as potential intervention targets. My research vision is to build an evidence base which can inform more personalised treatment and guidelines, based on individual developmental profiles.
I lead the Queen Mary Child Development Lab: www.seresearch.qmul.ac.uk/cbb/research/wellbeing/babylab/
Research Group
Research Staff
PhD Students
Elena Sofia Bertini
Children’S Media and The Neurodivergent Mind
Daniel Gill
“Identification of Differences in Haptic Interaction For Autistic Adults and Children.”
Publications
Brief report: joint trajectories of anxiety and depression symptoms in an inception cohort of autistic youth
Animating Minds Project: Triangulating The Age-Appropriate Impact Of Children’s Media
Sound asleep: Sensory decoupling during sleep depends on an infant’s sensory profile
Profiles of parent–teacher discrepancy on autistic children’s adaptive functioning
Developmental pathways from childhood neurodevelopmental traits to early adolescent psychiatric dimensions: the role of environmental and lifestyle factors
Grants
Grants of specific relevance to the Centre for Brain and Behaviour
UKRI Cross-Research Council: ANIMATING MINDS: Triangulating the age-appropriate impact of children’s media
Rachael Bedford
£319,763 Medical Research Council
Grant Summary
01-02-2025 – 31-01-2027