Meet the Team
Meet the Team
![Childrem](/sites/default/files/2023-03/children.jpg)
Co-Director of the Youth Resilience Unit
- Jennifer completed her BSc in Psychology at UCL and PhD at King's College London, before undertaking research positions at the National Institute of Mental Health in the US, University of Oxford, King’s College London. Now, she co-directs the Youth Resilience Unit at Queen Mary, University of London.
- Her research interests lie in the development and early intervention of mood and anxiety problems. Jennifer is a mother of two, and in her spare time, she enjoys travelling, reading crime novels and drinking wine. o Jennifer is the Principal Investigator on the DEER Study.
View Jennifer's full profile here - https://www.qmul.ac.uk/wiph/people/profiles/lau-jennifer.html
- Co-Director of the Youth Resilience Unit
- Dennis graduated from a medical school in Ukraine in 1998 and came to England to undertake his postgraduate training. He completed his higher training in child and adolescent psychiatry at Guy’s and Maudsley Hospitals and is currently a consultant in child and adolescent psychiatry. In September 2021, Dennis was appointed to co-lead the Youth Resilience Unit at Queen Mary, University of London.
- His main professional interests include the prevention of borderline personality disorder and effective interventions for self-harm in young people. When he is not busy with research, he loves cold water swimming, especially after a long run. Dennis has also climbed lots of mountains, including Mount Everest!
- Dennis is the Chief Investigator of an NIHR-funded research study comparing two alternative pathways for the care of young people aged 12 to 18 requiring hospitalisation: treatment as usual (TAU), comprising inpatient adolescent unit admission, and intensive community care service (ICCS), an experimental care pathway.
View Dennis' full profile here - https://www.qmul.ac.uk/wiph/people/profiles/ougrin-dennis.html
- Research Fellow
- Francois van Loggerenberg has a PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, having trained as an experimental psychologist in South Africa. He is a Chartered Psychologist with nearly 20 years' experience working in Global Health, initially on the behavioural aspects of HIV infection, and more recently on mental health.
- He has an interest in efficient and effective ways of addressing the mental health treatment gap, especially in the primary care setting or in HIV infection, or for adolescents and young people.
- He is a Research Fellow in the Youth Resilience Unit, and also a Global Health Research Fellow at the Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry and the Principal Investigator on an ESRC-Newton grant exploring mental health interventions in schools in post-conflict Colombia and considering the COVID pandemic.
Full Francois full profile here - https://www.qmul.ac.uk/wiph/people/profiles/van-loggerenberg-francois-.html
- Research Assistant
- Milena graduated with her BSc in Psychology from Queen Mary, University of London. She has previously worked for MIND and has experience working with children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Before coming back to work at Queen Mary, Milena worked in the NHS, in an adult acute inpatient mental health service as an assistant psychologist, and in a community outpatient physical health setting.
- Her previous research experience includes working with trauma and cognitive biases in forced migrants, as well as the psychology of teaching and learning.
- Milena is interested in researching addictive behaviours in children, their causes, and how these may impact them later in life. She is also interested in the links between neurodivergence and resilience.
- She loves baked goods - both eating them and making them! Her signature bake would be her triple chocolate brownies (the secret is adding coffee to the mixture!). She also adores cats.
View Milena's full profile here - https://www.qmul.ac.uk/wiph/people/profiles/nikolajeva-milena-.html
- Research Assistant
- Daniele completed his BSc in Psychology with Cognitive Neuroscience at Goldsmiths University of London, where he had the opportunity to work on a research project which explored how brain stimulation can affect cognition. He also completed an MSc in Affective Disorders at King’s College London where he studied the origin and treatments of depressive, anxiety and bipolar disorders. His MSc thesis explored how personality, autistic traits and affective symptoms (depression and anxiety) can affect how we build interpersonal relationships. His personal research interests lie in understanding what causes affective disorders, especially anxiety disorders, as well as exploring what factors may allow people to manage their emotions better and improve their resilience.
- His favourite hobby is playing football! You may find him playing football in the South-East London area where he often plays with friends and strangers. He is friendly and loves to talk about all things psychology, so do not hesitate to have a chat with him if you see him around.
View Danielel's full profile here - https://www.qmul.ac.uk/wiph/people/profiles/porricelli-daniele.html
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