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King's College London
cathydavies_2021

Dr Cathy Davies

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Research interests

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychology

Contact details

cathy.davies@kcl.ac.uk
cathy__davies

Biography

Dr Cathy Davies is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London. She is currently working with Prof Steve Williams and Prof Sukhi Shergill to investigate the neural circuitry of cognitive dysfunction in psychosis and depression.

 

Cathy’s research interests centre on using MRI and experimental medicine to (a) better understand the neurobiological mechanisms driving the onset of psychosis, and (b) develop novel treatments that better target the underlying pathophysiology.

 

Previously, Cathy completed her PhD in Biological Psychiatry (2016-2019) within the Department of Psychosis Studies, supervised by Prof Paolo Fusar-Poli and Prof Philip McGuire and funded by the IoPPN Excellence PhD Studentship. Her doctoral research investigated treatments for people at clinical high risk of psychosis using network meta-analysis, MRI and pharmacological challenge with oxytocin. More recently, as a postdoc, Cathy worked with Prof Sagnik Bhattacharyya to examine the effects of cannabidiol on cerebral perfusion, neurochemistry and fMRI readouts in patients with psychosis risk.

 

Cathy has received a number of prizes and awards, including the King’s Prize for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis, PhD of the Year Award, Early Career Paper of the Year Award, SIRS Early Career Award and the BAP Hannah Steinberg and Robert Kerwin Prizes. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/cathy.davies/prizes/

Research Interests

  • Neurobiology of Psychosis
  • Neuroimaging
  • Learning and Memory
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Clinical High Risk for Psychosis
  • Experimental Medicine

Research Groups

Teaching: 

Ad-hoc lecturer teaching brain imaging (Arterial Spin Labelling and MR-spectroscopy) and evidence synthesis in psychiatry on several BSc/MSc programmes.

 

Key publications:

 

Davies C et al, 2019. Oxytocin Modulates Hippocampal Perfusion in People at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis. Neuropsychopharmacology.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-018-0311-6

 

Davies C et al, 2018. Lack of evidence to favor specific preventive interventions in psychosis: a network meta-analysis. World Psychiatry.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/wps.20526

 

Davies C, Segre G, Estrade A et al, 2020. Prenatal and perinatal risk and protective factors for psychosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry.

https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2215036620300572

 

Davies C et al, 2020. A Single Dose of Cannabidiol Modulates Medial Temporal and Striatal Function During Fear Processing in People at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis. Translational Psychiatry.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-0862-2

 

Davies C and Bhattacharyya S, 2019. Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Psychosis. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology.

https://doi.org/10.1177/2045125319881916

Full list of publications available at: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/cathy.davies/publications/

 

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