Laura Panagi

Research 

Research interests

• Psychobiology of type 2 diabetes
• The protective role of positive affect in type 2 diabetes
• How psychological factors interact with biological mechanisms to influence disease processes and health in type 2 diabetes

Current research

My PhD will explore the psychobiology of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. In particular I aim to better understand the protective role of positive affect in people with type 2 diabetes and potential biological mechanisms including cardiovascular, inflammatory and neuroendocrine pathways. I will also investigate the interaction between psychological factors and biological processes in relation to long-term health outcomes in people with pre-diabetes and/or established type 2 diabetes to better understand the trajectories of disease. I will be analysing data from the Diabetes Study, which involves laboratory and naturalistic measurements as well as data from nationally representative cohort studies such as the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). My PhD is being supervised by Professor Andrew Steptoe, Dr. David Batty and Dr. Lydia Poole.

Email

laura.panagi.16[at]ucl.ac.uk

Biography

Appointments

• 2016 - Present: Full-time PhD student funded by A.G. Leventis Foundation - Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London
• March 2016 - April 2016: Teaching Assistant - University of South Wales Online in partnership with the University of Nicosia

Qualifications

• 2013- 2015: MSc Stress Management and Health Promotion - Distinction, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
• 2009 - 2013: BA Psychology - First Class Honours, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Education, University of Cyprus