Measuring cognitive outcomes in people with intellectual disability

Summary:

Applications are invited for one of three fully-funded (fees + stipend) PhDs to begin in October 2025 on a large scale research programme developing measures of cognition for children with intellectual disability associated with rare syndromes. The successful candidates will be based at the University of Birmingham (x 2) or the University of Warwick (x 1) and will be co-supervised by Professor Caroline Richards, Dr Rory Devine and Dr Hayley Crawford. Applications will close on 31st March or when sufficient candidates have applied.

Project Description:

There are 1.5 million people with an intellectual disability (ID) in the UK and over half of these present with intellectual disability associated with either a rare genetic syndrome or a co-occurring condition such as autism. However, children and adults with ID and co-occurring conditions are often excluded from research pertaining to cognition, with 87% of autism psychology studies failing to include representative samples of people with ID. This is likely due to the complexities of involving people with ID in observational and experimental research. Where measures of cognition have been developed for populations with ID they often fail to capture performance across the full range of functioning. As such, there are few reliable and valid tools available to detect and track cognitive change in people with ID, particularly those with moderate to severe ID.

To improve clinical outcomes and support future clinical trials, there is a need for measures of cognition that are feasible and psychometrically robust to detect change in people with the full range of ID, especially those with moderate to severe ID. These measures should be geographically and language agnostic and acceptable to both carers and clinicians. Therefore, across three fully funded PhDs we will aim to:

1. Develop and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a novel battery of play based measures of executive functioning and cognition, for both carers and clinicians (lead supervisor Richards)

2. Assess quality of life across a spectrum of people with rare genetic syndromes, focusing on fragile X syndrome, to understand the potential impact that improvements in cognition might have on quality of life (lead supervisor Crawford)

3. Evaluate to what extent performance on the novel play-based measure of executive functioning capture educationally meaningful outcomes among participants with ID (lead supervisor Devine).

With your application, please provide a two-page project proposal for the PhD, outlining a plan for your PhD research within one or more of these areas. Within the two-page proposal, please include a 250 word lay-summary suitable for families of children with rare genetic syndromes, explaining the purpose and value of the research.

The Candidate:

The successful applicant will use subjective and objective behavioural measurements to evaluate cognition in children with ID. They will conduct relevant systematic and/or meta-analytic reviews to describe the current literature and inform their research. They will undertake advanced statistical and/or qualitative analyses to test their data. They will work with stakeholders to develop their research and ensure it is meaningful and acceptable to the communities the work benefits. They will communicate with families and stakeholders to ensure effective dissemination of the work, as well as traditional scientific communication via academic papers and conferences. They will join a team of PhD, Clinical Doctoral, Masters and Undergraduate students at the University of Birmingham and University of Warwick, in Richards Lab, Cerebra Network and the Social Cognitive Development Lab.

Required characteristics:

• At least a high 2.1 bachelor’s degree in Psychology or a related field, or on track to be awarded such a degree before October 1st 2025

• At least a high 2.1 grade in a research based dissertation conducted as part of an undergraduate degree, or equivalent research experience (e.g. through volunteering with a research team)

• A strong interest in research and a high level of motivation to develop research ideas.

• Excellent interpersonal and organisational skills

• Some knowledge of statistics and a willingness to learn more advanced methods

• English language proficiency

• Ability to work independently when required but to seek supervision appropriately

• Personal or professional experience working with individuals from vulnerable populations (e.g. children, individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders) and/or their families

• An understanding of how to work with stakeholder organisations to plan, develop or conduct useful research and demonstration of the skills necessary to do this well

Desirable (but not essential):

• A first class bachelor’s degree from a research intensive University in Psychology or a related field

• Experience of conducting research with individuals from vulnerable populations and/or their families

• Experience of working with organisations that hold stakes in the lives of individuals from vulnerable groups, either in a research or other professional context

• Ability to communicate complex information clearly

• Evidence of being able to disseminate research findings (e.g. via a seminar or conference presentation, or a journal publication)

For further information about the teams please see:

https://www.richardslab.org/

https://www.rorytdevine.org

https://www.cerebranetwork.com/