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UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health

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Dr Nadia Micali

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.

Publications