Francesca Mancino is a first-year PhD student at King’s College London with a background in psychology. I completed a BSc in Psychology with a professional placement year and an MSc in Developmental Psychology and Psychopathology at King’s. Prior to starting my PhD, I worked as a Research Assistant in the Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology Lab and as an Assistant Psychologist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. My research focuses on health inequalities in perinatal mental health, with a particular interest in the psychological and biological factors that influence parental wellbeing and early child development.

Research Interests

• Perinatal mental health
• Health inequalities in perinatal mental health
• Maternal and paternal mental health and wellbeing
• Paternal mental health and father involvement in early development
• Social and biological determinants of mental health across the perinatal period
• Early child development

Research Groups

Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology Lab

Section of Imaging and Neurobiology of Psychosis

Expertise and Public Engagement

Francesca contributes to public engagement in psychology as a writer and Assistant Editor for Inspire the Mind. In this role, she writes and edits articles that translate psychological research and mental health topics for lay audience.

Key Publications

HappyMums mobile application study protocol: use of a smartphone application to gather data predictive of antenatal depression