Funding for the Executive Dean’s PhD Studentship. A Comprehensive Characterisation of Mentally-Disordered Offenders and Prediction of Treatment Outcomes

The team of Prof Veena Kumari, Dr Ignazio Puzzo and Dr Rachel Bennetts at Brunel University London is offering a fully funded PhD studentship to comprehensively characterise clinical, cognitive and emotion processing profiles of mentally-disordered men and women with challenging behaviour residing in secure mental health facilities, and examine how these characteristics predict therapeutic engagement and clinical outcomes. This PhD project will help to identify therapy targets for certain patient groups who do not show good clinical outcomes with current treatment and management strategies.

Based in and funded by the College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, this studentship offers a full-time annual London rate stipend estimated at £21,237 (including London weighting) and Home tuition fees, for a maximum of 36 months.

The Department of Life Sciences holds a Silver Athena SWAN Award and is committed to equality of opportunity and advancing women’s careers.

The start date will be 1 October 2024.

Overview

Forensic mental health patients, the majority of whom have schizophrenia and/or antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), tend to have highly variable outcomes, with some experiencing lengthy stays and high rates of reoffending following discharge. Knowledge of the patient characteristics which are associated with good or poor clinical outcomes would serve to identify areas of unmet need and potential treatment targets. Throughout this doctoral programme, the student will develop proficiency in mental illness and personality disorder symptomatology assessment, neuropsychological testing, cognitive and experimental psychology methodologies, brain imaging techniques, and advanced statistical analyses.

The selected candidate will receive comprehensive supervision from a team of expert researchers and clinicians with diverse backgrounds, ensuring thorough training for the research endeavour.

For informal discussions, please contact Prof Veena Kumari on Veena.Kumari@Brunel.ac.uk (https://www.brunel.ac.uk/people/veena-kumari)

Eligibility

Candidates should have an undergraduate degree (first or upper second class) or equivalent qualification in psychology or a related field. A Masters qualification in a relevant area is desirable but not essential. Previous Experience in mental health research, forensic psychology, neuropsychology, or cognitive neuroscience methods are desirable criteria. Applicants who have not been awarded a degree by a University in the UK will be expected to demonstrate English language skills to IELTS 7.0 (minimum 6.5 in any section).

How to apply

If you wish to apply, please e-mail the following to chmls-pgr-officestaff@brunel.ac.uk by 10 June 2024.

An up-to-date CV.
A single-page A4 single-spaced personal statement describing why you are a suitable candidate (i.e. outlining your qualifications and skills).
One example of your academic writing (e.g. an essay, a section from a dissertation).
A summary of your teaching experience or your willingness to support teaching activities.
Names and contact details for two academic referees.
A copy of your highest degree certificate and transcript.
A copy of your English language qualification, where applicable.

Short-listed applicants will be required to attend an interview week commencing 1 July 2024.

For further information about how to apply, please contact the College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences Postgraduate Programmes Office on chmls-pgr-officestaff@brunel.ac.uk.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Veena Kumari - Professor Veena Kumari obtained a PhD in Psychology from Banaras Hindu University, India in 1993 prior to joining the Institute of Psychiatry, London for post-doctoral research. She became a Beit Memorial Research Fellow in 1999, a Wellcome Senior Fellow in Basic Biomedical Science in 2002, and a Full Professor in 2006 at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (formerly known as the Institute of Psychiatry), King’s College London, UK. She left King’s College London in 2016 to join the Sovereign Health Group (USA) as the Chief Scientific Officer and returned to the UK in 2018 to join Brunel University London as Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Centre for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience (CCN). Her research interests include the neurobiological effects of pharmacological and psychological treatments in psychosis, neurobiology of violence in mental illness, psychobiology of addiction, and personality and brain functioning. Prof Kumari has over 300 publications in reputed psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience journals and received various national and international awards for her research including the Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance of Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, USA (1999), research fellowship from BEIT Memorial Foundation (1999-2002), the BAP (British Association of Psychopharmacology) Clinical Psychopharmacology Prize (2002), Wellcome Senior Fellowship in Basic Biomedical Science (2002-2009), the prestigious Humboldt Research Award (2014), and most recently a Bonn International Fellowship (2020/21). Professor Kumari has supervised a large number of post-graduate and doctoral students and served in editor or editorial board member roles for a number of psychology and psychiatry journals.

Ignazio Puzzo - I graduated in Experimental Psychology at the University of Padua (Italy) in 2004. Then obtained a MSc in research methods (2007) and a PhD (2010) in Psychology at the University of Essex (UK). Prior to joining Brunel University of London as a Lecturer, I held a lecturer post at City University of London. Before then I worked as a senior clinical scientist post at Broadmoor Hospital, West London Mental Health NHS Trust from 2015 to 2018. My current research focuses on understanding the interplay between affective, neurocognitive and social factors contributing to the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviour in children and adolescents as well as in adults mentally disordered offenders.