Our experts

Area of expertise

• Neurodevelopmental disorders

Background

Grainne McAlonan is Professor of Translational Neuroscience based in the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London. She studied medicine at University of Cambridge and Imperial College London and completed a PhD in behavioural neuroscience at University of Cambridge. 

After clinical and research posts in the UK, she worked for over a decade in the University of Hong Kong before returning to the IoPPN. She uses MRI as a translational tool to link brain and behaviour in people with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD); and to ‘back’ (and ‘forward’) translate to laboratory models. 

Her current research is informed by her work in the National ADHD and Autism Service for Adults at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust where she is also Head of Research. In addition, she is the Clinical Disorders Cluster Lead for the NIHR-Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the Trust and IoPPN. Prof. McAlonan is a group leader within the MRC Centre for neurodevelopmental disorders at IoPPN and is a lead investigator within the EU-AIMS-2-TRIALS consortium – a European network hosting the world’s largest grant for autism research. She is responsible for fetal/neonatal/infant brain imaging studies of children vulnerable to neurodevelopmental conditions and for pharmacology studies in adults with ASD. 

Education and training

• BA (University of Cambridge) 1990
• PhD (University of Cambridge) 1994
• MBBS (Imperial College) 1996

Publications

For Prof McAlonan's publications please visit her profile on the King's College London research portal.