The Wong Lab

We study the underlying psychological causes of antisocial behaviour, schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and mental health across the lifespan. We use large datasets, international birth cohort studies both in Mauritius and the UK, and participatory methods to co-create resources with, and for, various populations (e.g., schoolchildren, adolescents, adults in the general population, and patients with  schizophrenia).

Read our latest papers here.

Projects

‘Humanizing Hospitals’ is a UCL Grand Challenges funded project measuring the built environment factors that contribute to cancer patients’ wellbeing and mental health. This is a collaboration with Dr Lusi Morhayim (PI; Bartlett School of Architecture), cancer patients, and psychologists. The project will run from 2022 to 2023.

Assessing the Social Mistrust Scale (SMS: Wong et al., 2014) in Italy is a Global Engagement funded project with the Sapienza University of Rome where we will be validating the SMS in school children and patients in Italy. The project will inolve a knowledge exchange component consisting of study visits from the Italy team.

‘EMPOWER-Islington‘ is a UKRI Research England project with Islington Council and its BAME young people where we will co-create new ways to enhance employability, education & mental health in BAME young people of Islington through workshops with UCL academics and experts.

BEST-EdCrim ‘Blue Sky Thinking’ Seminar Series (2022) Funded by UKRI Research England, this new virtual seminar series on Education and Criminal Justice (BEST-EdCrim) aims to facilitate new connections and collaborations between researchers and practitioners as part of my efforts to relaunch the Centre for Education and Criminal Justice (ECJ) as co-Director. The seminars took place over four Wednesdays in June involving one academic and non-academic in conversation on a key issue or question on education and criminal justice.

(c) UCL Centre for Education and Criminal Justice. Funded through UCL Enhancing Reesarch Culture Programme as part of UKRI Research England.

BE-Well Network UCL (2022) Funded by the UKRI Natural Environment Research Council Discipline Hopping Fund and in partnership with Dr Lusi Morhayim (Bartlett School of Architecture; co-I), I led a networking event between researchers in built environment and health in April 2022 and built a network for ECRs in this space to facilitate new collaborations.

COPE-Well Study (2021-22) Funded by the (UKRI Higher Education Innovation Fund, this is a knowledge exchange research project with Jamal Edwards Delve (JEDelve) charity to support and co-create mental health and life-skills resources with, and for, BAME young people.

(c) UCL-JEDelve CopeWell Study. Funded through HEIF UKRI Research England.

Vax-PaC Study (2021-22) Funded by the UCL-Osaka Strategic Partnership Grant and partnering with Osaka University (Prof. Asako Muira; co-I) to examine the reasoning and consequences of vaccine hesistancy in families (e.g., parents with underaged children, <18 years).

(c) UCL-Osaka VaxPac Study. Funded through UCL Global Engagment Fund as part of the UCL-Osaka University Strategic Fund.

TEACH-Well Study (2021-22) Funded by the UCL CTTR Seed Grant and partnering with Dr Eleanor Kitto (co-I) to explore the impact of COVID-19 on early years trainee teachers’ mental health.

(c) UCL TeachWell Study. Funded by UCL’s IOE, Faculty of Education and Society  Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research. October 2021 to July 2022.

CUES Study (2021-22) Funded by the UCL ChangeMakers Grant, this is a study of undergraduates’ access to UCL’s careers support and development services, which aims to improve existing IOE department and wider UCL careers services policies and support on offer.

View study findings here. Funded by UCL ChangeMakers.

UCL-Penn Global COVID Study (2020-22) Funded by the UCL Global Engagement Fund, this is a three-wave online survey examining the impact of COVID-19 on individual’s social trust, mental health and physical health with collaborators from 5 institutions (University of Pennsylvania, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Trento, Nanyang Technological University, Chinese Academy of Sciences).

(c) UCL-Penn Global Covid-19 Study. Partially funded by the UCL Global Engagement Fund.

ARTSMH (2020-21) Funded by the UCL Changemaker Grant, this is a staff-student  project looking at destigmatising mental health in the public through the arts.

Collaborators

International

Chinese Academy of Sciences (Prof Raymond Chan, Dr Wangyi), Hong Kong Education University (Dr Zhenlin Wang), Chinese University of Hong Kong (Dr Suzanne So, Dr Florrie Ng, Dr Qian Wang), Nanyang Technological University/University of Trento (Prof Gianluca Esposito), University of Trento (Prof Gianluca Esposito, Dr Andrea Bizzego), University of Rome (Dr ignazio Ardizzone), Orebro University (Dr Catherine Tuvblad), Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences (Prof. Andrea Samson), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (Prof. Melzer Leipzig), University of Pennsylvania (Prof Adrian Raine, Prof Jianghong Liu), University of Massachusetts Lowell (Dr Jill Portnoy), University of Virginia (Prof Sara Rimm-Kaufman), University of Osaka (Professor Asako Miura, Dr Kei Hirai, Dr Mao Yagihashi).

UK

University of Cambridge (Prof Maria Ttofi, Prof Michelle Ellefson, Prof Claire Hughes), University of Oxford (Prof Daniel Freeman), University of Birmingham (Dr Rory Devine), Liverpool John Moores University (Prof Simon Bennett), University of York (Prof Peter Venables), University of Warwick (Dr Olympia Palikara), King’s College London (Dr Julia Ouzia, Dr Eleanor Dommett), IOE UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society (Prof Eirini Flouri, Dr Marta Francesconi, Dr Amy Harrison, Dr Steven Papachristou, Dr Emily Midouhas, Dr Jo Van Herwegen, Professor Phil Jones, Dr Joseph Mintz, Dr Eleanor Kitto, Professor Eleanore Hargreaves, Dr Guy Roberts-Holmes, Dr Carol Davies), UCL (Prof Nichola Raihani, Dr Vaughan Bell, Dr Lusi Morhayim).

Industry Collaborators

The World Bank, ByteDance, JEDelve Charity, Zerone Education and Training Ltd, Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Computing – ARM, Wharton Club UK, Penn Club UK, US Alumni Club UK, Because Mental Health, Earthlings Productions, Elizabeth’s Smile

Students

  • Abbey Jones (DClinPsy, 1st, 2022-2025)
  • Tom Milson (PhD, 1st, 2019-24)
  • Tammy Hung (DClinPsy, 1st, 2021-24)
  • Abigail Burgess (PhD, 2nd, 2019-23)
  • Pengjie Yang (PhD, 2nd, 2019-23)
  • Rhiannon Hurley (DEdPsy, 2021-24)

Current BSc students (2022-23)

  • TBC

Past UCL Students

  • Alan Liao (2021-22)
  • Henry Wang (2021-22) – MSc Developmental and Educational Psychology UCL
  • Chloe Wang (2021-22) – MPhil at Oxford
  • Dairu Meng (2021-22)
  • Evans Feng (2021-22)
  • Angelina Vlasenko (2021-22) – MSc at Anna Freud Centre
  • Romane Lenoir (2021-22) – PGDL, Masters in Human Rights Law
  • Sally Mao, BSc (2020-21)
  • Can He, BSc (2020-21)
  • Annie Fung, BSc (2020-21) – MPhil in Faculty of Education, Cambridge
  • Lucile Bottein, BSc (2020-21) – MSc in UCL Neuroscience
  • Yan Han, BSc (2020-21)
  • Daisy Woods, BSc (2020-21)
  • Diqiao Liang, BSc (2020-21), MPhil Nanyang Technological University for Mphil Communication Studies (2022-23)
  • Jiayi Zhu, BSc (2020-21)
  • Ioane Ene, BSc (2020-21), 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 masters 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?”
  • Silvia Gini, BSc (2018-2019) – PhD Univesity of Trento Italy (2022-25), MRes in Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology UCL (2019-21)
  • Tak Hei Lo, BSc (2018-2019) – DClinPsy at IoPPN King’s (2022-25), Former Associate psychologist (Singapore)
  • Tirso Martin Sanchez, BSc (2018-2019) – MPhil in Management at Cambridge Judge Business School Cambridge (2019-20)
  • Marion Perez, BSc (2018-2019) – MPhil/PhD in Medical Sciences in Clinical Neuroscience, University of Cambridge (2020-23)
  • 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 (2022-25)
  • 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)

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