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Dr Nadia Micali
Clinical Senior Lecturer
Population, Policy & Practice Dept
UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
- Joined UCL
- 1st Apr 2011
Research summary
I have a specific interest in adolescent psychopathology, especially focusing on eating disorders. I lead a team of students and researchers.
My current research interests include the aetiology and epidemiology of eating disorders, the transgenerational pattern of transmission of eating disorders, as well as the role of genetic and environmental risk factors for eating disorders.
My PhD focused on pregnancy, perinatal and infant outcomes in women with lifetime eating disorders using data from the ALSPAC cohort.
My current research projects include studying growth, psychological development and eating and feeding habits of children born to mothers with Eating Disorders across several birth cohorts; investigating risk factors for eating disorders behaviours in early and mid-adolescence. Integrated within this is a separate study looking in detail at the relationships between maternal eating disorders behaviours lifetime contributing to adolescent development.
My NIHR Clinician scientist award focuses on trajectories of adolescent eating disorders and eating disorders behaviours.
I have a specific interest in the epidemiology of eating disorders across the lifespan. I collaborate with several research groups in the UK and abroad in relation to the epidemiology of eating disorders.
I co-lead a study focusing on empirical approaches to the classification of eating disorders (with Dr. A Field, Boston, USA) thanks to a collaborative grant from NIMH. I am also leading a study to investigate the effects of maternal eating, nutrition and stress in pregnancy on the developing foetus and infant.
I have several collaborations with research centres outside the UK: Denmark: Copenhagen County Cohort (CCC2000), Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC), the Netherlands: Generation R, USA: Growing Up Today Study (GUTS); the North Finland Birth Cohort (NFBC); and in the UK: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, KCL.
Teaching summary
Together with Dr Pal Robinson I have recently established a new Master's programme at UCL in Clinical and Public Health Nutrition: Eating Disorders. I am co-tutor on this.
I would be interested in supervising PhD students with interests in the following topics:
Adolescent mental health and eating disorders: risk factors and epidemiology
Eating disorders in pregnancy and post-partum
Developing and testing interventions for adolescent mental health
Childhood feeding and eating disturbances
Education
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Other higher degree, Master of Science | 2011
- King's College London
- Doctorate, Doctor of Philosophy | 2009
- King's College London
- Other Postgraduate qualification (including professional), Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education | 2005
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Doctorate, Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists | 2002
- Universita degli Studi di Messina
- Doctorate, Doctor | 1998
Biography
I graduated in Medicine at the School of Medicine, University of Messina, Italy before moving to the UK to train as a psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital; where I was a Senior House Officer. I obtained the Royal College of Psychiatry Membership in June 2002. Between 2003 and 2008 I was a Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Specialist Registrar in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, KCL where I completed my PhD.
Between 2009 and 2011 I was NIHR clinician scientist inin the department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, KCL and consultant psychiatrist in eating disorders on the eating disorders in-patient unit, South London and Maudsley trust. I completed an MSc in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine in 2011.