Investigating the origins of the co-occurrence of neurodevelopmental and disruptive behaviour disorders in youth

• Primary Supervisor: Dr Margherita Malanchini
• Co-Supervisor(s): Dr Giorgia Michelini and Dr Jessica Agnew-Blais
• Funding: China Scholarship Council (CSC)
• Deadline: 29th January 2025

Project Overview

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) and Disruptive Behaviour Disorders (DBD) are significant health concerns, affecting approximately 15% and 8% of youths, respectively, across the world. NDD are characterized by challenges in cognition, communication, and psychomotor skills, while DBD are typified by underlying features of impulsivity, aggressiveness, and pathological rule breaking. Despite sharing several common features, such as their developmental onset, their partly overlapping cognitive and affective profiles, and clinical observations of their co-occurrence, the overlap between NDD and DBD is critically under-researched.

This project bridges this major gap in our knowledge. Leveraging data from six longitudinal cohorts, we aim to map the co-occurrence of all NDD and DBD in youth and their shared genetic and environmental risk. First, we will map associations across all neurodevelopmental and disruptive behaviour disorders. Second, we will apply advanced modelling techniques to deliver a new understanding of the structure of the co-occurrence between NDD and DBD. Third, we will use statistical genetic methods to identify the structure of genetic risk, creating new tools to quantify transdiagnostic genetic risk in independent samples. Studies into the co-occurrence between NDD and DBD have mostly been limited to ADHD, autism, and conduct disorder, leaving other highly prevalent conditions—for example, developmental language disorder and oppositional defiant disorder—underexplored. Our project will rebalance research efforts, generating new knowledge that will empower clinicians and educators

Research Environment

The successful candidate will join Dr. Margherita Malanchini’s research laboratory, the Cognition, Development, and Education (CoDE) lab (www.codelab.science) and will benefit from the many research and training activities organized by CoDE lab. For example, the successful candidate will join the Cognition and Neurodevelopment in Youth (CANDY) research group at QMUL, a joint initiative across several labs at QMUL focused on child development. The successful candidate will also join the CoDE Network group at King’s College London, a joint initiative across three research laboratories (PIs: Malanchini, Rimfeld, and Plomin) focused on individual differences, genomics and gene-environment interplay.

Find out more about the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences on our website.

Keywords: Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Disruptive Behavior Disorders, Co-Morbidity, Gene-Environment Interplay, Genetics, Genomics

Entry Requirements

We are looking for candidates to have or expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree and a Master’s degree in an area relevant to the project such as Developmental Psychology, Bioinformatics, Biomedical Sciences and related disciplines

Knowledge of Neurodevelopmental disorders, Structural Equation Modelling, Statistical genetic methods would be highly advantageous but are not required.

You must meet the IELTS requirements for your course and upload evidence before CSC’s application deadline, ideally by 1st March 2025. You are therefore strongly advised to sit an approved English Language test as soon as possible, where your IELTS test must still be valid when you enrol for the programme.

Please find further details on our English Language requirements page.

How to Apply

Formal applications must be submitted through our form by 29th January 2025 for consideration. Please identify yourself as a ‘CSC Scholar’ in the funding section of the application.

Applicants are required to submit the following documents:

• Your CV
• Personal Statement
• Evidence of English Language e.g.) IELTS Certificate
• Copies of academic transcripts and degree certificates
• References

Find out more about our application process on our SBBS website.

Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Dr Margherita Malanchini AT m.malanchini@qmul.ac.uk Admissions-related queries can be sent to sbbs-pgadmissions@qmul.ac.uk

Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a formal interview by the supervisor. If you are successful in your QMUL application, then you will be issued an QMUL Offer Letter, conditional on securing a CSC scholarship along with academic conditions still required to meet our entry requirements.

Once applicants have obtained their QMUL Offer Letter, they should then apply to CSC for the scholarship with the support of the supervisor.

For further information, please go to the QMUL China Scholarship Council webpage.

Apply Online

Funding & Eligibility

Queen Mary University of London has partnered with the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to offer a joint scholarship programme to enable Chinese students to study for a PhD programme at Queen Mary.  Under the scheme, Queen Mary will provide scholarships to cover all tuition fees, whilst the CSC will provide living expenses and one return flight ticket to successful applicants.

Applicants must:

·      Be applying for CSC funding. 

·      Be a citizen and permanent resident of the People’s Republic of China and hold a Chinese passport.

·      Satisfy all eligibility criteria set out by the CSC and must refer to the CSC website for full details.

·      Apply to QMUL by 29^th January 2025. Late applications will not be considered. 

·      Submit ALL required documentation, including evidence of their English Language ability ahead of the CSC application deadline. 

CSC application rules differ slightly for domestic applicants (students applying from China) and overseas applicants (students applying from overseas). Therefore, ALL applicants are advised to see the CSC website for full details on eligibility and conditions on the scholarship.