Visiting researcher
Cambridge Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Group
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge.
Email: kem60@medschl.cam.ac.uk
My research over the last few years at CIDDRG has been with individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) – a rare neurodevelopmental disorder of genomic imprinting. My current research falls into three main themes:
- Characterising the structure and functional connectivity of the brain in young adults with PWS using MRI imaging and exploring the relationships with varying clinical phenotypes.
- Investigating the efficacy of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (t-VNS) as a potential intervention to improve maladaptive and aggressive behaviour.
- Understanding the mechanisms that underpin the high propensity to psychosis in one of the genetic subtypes of PWS. Studying this difference between the genetic subtypes in PWS and the candidate mechanisms identified through the genetic similarities and differences may also provide a window for insights into some of the mechanisms responsible for psychosis in the general population.