The Wong Lab

Contents

• About us
• Research projects
• Lab members
• Related links
• Join us 

About us

Using large datasets and participatory methods, international birth cohort studies in Mauritius, US, and the UK, we produce research evidence, co-create resources with, and for, various populations (e.g., schoolchildren, adolescents, adults in the general population, and patients with schizophrenia) and improve the preventive interventions of crime and mental illness to maximise policy impact.

Our research is funded by the Youth Endowment Fund, UKRI, ESRC, British Science Association, and the British Academy. It has contributed to government policy documents and informed discussions in the UK on child and adolescent mental health, Labour’s Safer Streets Mission, and the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) Foresight projects on the Future of Childhood and Adolescence. 

Research projects

Our past and present research projects range from understanding the causes of crime and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (schizotypy and psychosis), to co-producing research evidence and resources with vulnerable marginalised populations in the community-based and clinical settings (e.g., school children and young people, young people not in education, employment, training (NEET), youth justice, cancer patients). We also work directly with civil servants and policy-makers in translating evidence into and throughout government. See below to find out more.

Current projects

Our current projects are supported by ESRC, YEF, British Academy, DSIT, and UCL totalling £925,670.

• Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology Fellowship ‘Future of Childhood & Adolescence’ (2025–2027, PI)
• UKRI Research England: ‘Creativity for All’: An impact evaluation study of community-based creative education on young people’s mental health outcomes in the UK (2025–2026; PI)
• Grassroots Project: Evaluating efforts to reduce school bullying in the UK, funded by the Youth Endowment Fund (2023–2027; Co-I)
• Visible Co-Space’ Study: Evaluating the physical space of youth hubs and community centres on young people who are not-in-education, employment, and training and their mental health and wellbeing (2024–2025, PI)
• UCL Knowledge Broker Academy (2025–2026, PI)

Completed research projects

These projects were supported by the British Science Association, UKRI Research England, NERC, Cambridge & UCL.

• UKRI ESRC Policy Fellowship: Working with the UK Home Office to research and influence policy (2023–2025, PI)
• ‘Aspiration and opportunity: A new vision for post-prison education, training and employment’ (2024–2025, Co-I)
• British Academy Early Career Network: Founding committee member for a network focusing on early career researchers (2023–2025, PI)
• UCL Innovation Network Fund: Expanding the UCL Centre for Education and Criminal Justice (2024–2025, PI)
• British Science Association Research Award: Supporting research with societal links (2024)
• Grand Challenges ECR Development Fund: Supporting early career researchers (2024)
• UCL-Penn Global COVID Study: An online survey on the impacts of COVID-19 on health and social trust, which has influenced UK policy (2020–2024)
• Empower-Islington: Partnered with Islington Council to help young people gain skills in employability, education, and mental health (2022/23)
• Social Mistrust Scale: Validating a tool to measure childhood paranoia in different languages and settings (2022/23)
• Humanizing Hospitals: Researching how hospital environments affect cancer patients’ mental health (2022/23)
• Supper Club: A series of career engagement events for staff and students (2022/23)
• Education Innovation & Edupreneurship Society: Supporting EdTech student entrepreneurs (2021/22)
• ARTS Mental Health: Using art to challenge the stigma around mental disorders (2020/23)
• CUES Study: Enhancing student-staff engagement in career development (2021/23)
• COPE-WELL: Addressing Covid-19’s impact on the mental health of BME adolescents through workshops (2021/22)
• TEACH-WELL: Developing mental health resources for trainee teachers during the pandemic (2021/22)
• Vax-Pac: Exploring vaccine hesitancy and support in UK and Japan families (2021/22)
• BEST-EdCrim: Seminar series on education within the criminal justice system (2021/22)
• BE-Well Network: Connecting researchers in built environment and health (2021/22)
• Social Trust and Behavioural Understanding using VR, Cambridge Betty Behrens Research Fellowship (2015–2018) 

Lab members

Director

• Dr Keri Wong 

PhD students

• Chrystal Cunningham (PT PhD, 2025–2031)
• Angel Wong (PhD, 2025–2028)
• Sheleena Samra (DClinPsy, 2024–2027)
• Mia Johnson Hall (MSc, 2025–2026)
• Tom Milson (part-time PhD, 2019–2026)

Completed doctoral students

• Rosalind Robshaw (Wellcome PhD Rotation, 2025)
• Dr Pengjie Yang (PhD, 2020–2024)
• Dr Abbey Jones (DClinPsy, 2022–2024)
• Dr Rhiannon Hurley (DEdPsy, 2021–2024)
• Dr Tammy Hung (DClinPsy, 2021–2023)
• Dr Abigail Burgess (PhD, 2020–2023)

Previous members and affiliates

• Dr Valerio Zaccaria (2023–2024; Postdoc – Università di Roma Sapienza)
• Chloe Reeves (2025; Summer Placement High School Student)
• Heran Daniel (2025; Summer Placement High School Student)
• Alan Liao (2021–2022)
• Henry Wang (2021–2022) – MSc Developmental and Educational Psychology UCL
• Chloe Wang (2021–2022) – MPhil at Oxford
• Dairu Meng (2021–2022)
• Evans Feng (2021–2022)
• Angelina Vlasenko (2021–2022) – MSc at Anna Freud Centre
• Romane Lenoir (2021–2022) – PGDL, Master’s in Human Rights Law
• Sally Mao, BSc (2020–2021)
• Can He, BSc (2020–2021)
• Annie Fung, BSc (2020–2021) – MPhil in Faculty of Education, Cambridge
• Lucile Bottein, BSc (2020–2021) – MSc in UCL Neuroscience
• Yan Han, BSc (2020–2021)
• Daisy Woods, BSc (2020–2021)
• Diqiao Liang, BSc (2020–2021), MPhil Nanyang Technological University for Mphil Communication Studies (2022–2023)
• Jiayi Zhu, BSc (2020–2021)
• Ioane Ene, BSc (2020–2021), in Human Sciences
• Alex Bray, BSc (2019–2020) – MSc in Mental Health KCL.
• Keya Prabhu, BSc (2019–2020) – NHS Intern helping disadvantaged young people in Camden & Assistant Psychologist supporting young people under the criminal justice system. Intend to apply for a master’s in Criminology and go on to a clinical doctorate.
• Marni Andrews, BSc (2019–2020) – Graduate student in Medicine at Barts and The London School of Medicine.
• Teja Kemp-Smith, BSc (2019–2020), Wellbeing Team Leader at Norfolk & Suffolk, Mental Health Practitioner
• Muna Hassan, BSc (2019–2020)
• Maryam Farooq, BSc (2019–2020)
• Sam Whatall, BSc (2019–2020) in Human Sciences, “What makes Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia Distinct from the Adult-Onset Manifestation, and how can the Differences be Taken into Account in our Management Strategies?”
• Dr Silvia Gini, BSc (2018–2019) – PhD University of Trento Italy (2022–2025), MRes in Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology UCL (2019–2021)
• Dr Tak Hei Lo, BSc (2018–2019) – DClinPsy at IoPPN King’s (2022–2025), Former Associate psychologist (Singapore)
• Tirso Martin Sanchez, BSc (2018–2019) – MPhil in Management at Cambridge Judge Business School Cambridge (2019–2020)
• Dr Marion Perez, BSc (2018–2019) – MPhil/PhD in Medical Sciences in Clinical Neuroscience, University of Cambridge (2020–2023)
• D’arcy McGuiness, BSc (2018–2019) – UCL Student Union Activities Officer (2019–)
• Chloe Lim, BSc (2018–2019) – MSc in Song Writing, Institute of Contemporary Music Performance.
• Farhana Begum, BSc (2018–2019), DEdPsy (2022–2025)
• Maira Khan, BSc (2018–2019)
• Zahra Kharye, BSc (2018–2019)
• Mandeep Bhachu, BSc (2018–2019)
• Reshma Nandha, BSc (2018–2019)

Cambridge PBS Students (2010–18)

• Dr Grace Huffer completed her NST degree (1st) and went on to complete her degree in medicine (Cambridge)
• Dr Renate Fromson completed her NST degree (1st) and went on to complete her degree in medicine (UCL)
• Dr Damian Aries completed his NST degree and went on to become a Social Worker.
• Dr Serena Tianyou Qiu completed a PBS degree (1st) and went on to complete her DClinPsych (Canada)
• Sara Silvonen completed her PBS degree (1st) followed by a MSc in Industrial Organization Psychology (KCL)
• Dr Sarah Glew completed PBS degree (1st) followed by an Assistant Psychologist role and is now a Clinical Psychologist trainee. 

Related links

• External lab website
• Centre for Education and Criminal Justice, co-directed by Dr Keri Wong
• We have contributed to the House of Commons Committee report on children and young people’s mental health