Dr Hilary Toulmin

Hilary Toulmin is an Assistant Professor and Honorary Specialist Neurodevelopmental Paediatrician (SAS) in NHS Community Paediatric services, North East London Foundation NHS Trust (NELFT).

Following an NIHR academic clinical fellowship (ACF), she completed a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship at the Centre for the Developing Brain (KCL) where she studied fetal brain development in the third trimester of pregnancy and the neurodevelopmental outcomes of children born preterm. She implemented novel functional neuroimaging methods (fMRI) to see whether brain connectivity is associated with outcomes in motor, language or cognitive domains at 2 years old.

Earlier work concentrated on supporting individuals with lived experience of serious mental illness to define the agenda for research and deliver interventions to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

Her current research project, which is in development, has 3 strands: understanding and addressing inequities in access to services for families from different communities, understanding the needs and the trajectory of needs of autistic children, and improving physical health outcomes for children with neurodevelopmental differences. She focuses on the importance of the parent and child's lived experience to inform this project.