Northumbria-Newcastle Developmental Psychology Initiative
We are a large group of individuals from the School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University and Department of Psychology, Northumbria University. Our aim is to promote teaching and research into developmental psychology and provide a supportive environment for postgraduate students working within this domain of psychology. Across members of the group we have a thriving community of professors, lecturers, researchers, research assistants and postgraduate students who are interested in typical and atypical child development. We are interested in diverse aspects of development, from child language and theory of mind in typical development to the impact of attending breakfast clubs and cognition in neuro-developmental disorders. Across the group we hold funding from Industry and Research Councils and we work closely with a large number of local schools as well as local clinical services who are involved in our research programmes.
Members:
To find out about individual projects and research interests please follow the link for each member.
Debbie Riby, Greta Defeyter, Gwyneth Doherty-Sneddon, Gill Case, Rachel Cole-Fletcher, Tascha Radford, Jacqui Rodgers, Colin Hamilton, Joanna Greer, Pamela Graham, Lorraine Howards, Marion Farmer, Michael Smith, Donna Berry, Nooraini Darus and Nicola Jones
Announcements:
Williams Syndrome Research Group
Please find information regarding our very active ' Williams Syndrome' Research in Newcastle' group which also involves researchers from both Newcastle and Northumbria Universities, many of whom are members of NNDPI.
BPS Developmental Section Conference 2011 
In September 2011 the group hosted the Annual Conference of the BPS Developmental Section. This was a huge success and we had a fantastic mix of national and international speakers on a wide variety of topics related to developmental psychology. Here is a note of support and feedback on the success of the conference from Professor Sue Leekam, Cardiff University:
"Congratulations and thanks for a superb conference. The programme was absolutely terrific! The talks and symposia were very stimulating with many high quality presentations. The venue was perfect in every way, the poster sessions were so well attended and vibrant. The food was delicious and the venue for the conference dinner was a brilliant choice. The conference really showcased the strength and innovation of a large body of research in the North East generated by your teams as well as well representing other excellent work across the UK. I think everyone who hadn't been to Newcastle before thought that the city was completely stunning (especially those beautiful new Northumbria buildings!)"
Grant News
Dr Debbie Riby has been awarded a seminar series grant with colleagues at Kingston University and the Institute of Education. Newcastle University will host a one day seminar on the use of eye tracking to explore aspects of cognition and behaviour in neuro-developmental disorders in March 2012. Please follow this link to find out more about the seminar series: http://www.neurodevelopmentaldisorders-seminarseries.co.uk
Dr Jacqui Rodgers has been awarded funding from NUTH NHS trust and NTW NHS Trust for studies investigating anxiety, decision making and responses to rule violation in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Knowledge Exchange Conference
Dr Greta Defeyter and Mrs Pamela Graham recently organised an ESRC funded Knowledge Exchange Conference. The Conference was a huge success and attracted over 170 delegates. For further information please vist the web page and facebook or contact Greta Defeyter.
Teacher / Practioner Workshop
In June 2011 the group hosted a workshop for local schools, educational psychologist and academics to disseiminate information on ongoing / recently completed research projects. During the event Professor Doherty-Sneddon and Dr Riby provided a summary of key outcomes at the end of their 3 year ESRC funded project exploring gaze behaviours in typical and atypical development.
Other News
Congratulations to Rachel Cole-Fletcher for winning £100 for the 'Best Poster' award at the North East Postgraduate conference, November 2010.
