Alex is best known for her research into how nutrition (and particularly fatty acids) can affect behaviour, learning and mood, although her work also involves several large-scale collaborative programmes that include studies of epidemiology, genetics, brain imaging, biochemistry and nutrition as well as physiological and psychological functioning.
Her primary research interests include the role of nutrition in brain development and function, and its implications for behaviour, learning and mood. She also specialises in the biology of individual differences in personality, perception and cognition, particularly in relation to developmental and psychiatric disorders.
Alex’s research centres on the role of fatty acids in relation to both normal individual differences and developmental and psychiatric disorders such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism, depression and schizophrenia. It includes controlled treatment trials to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with fatty acids in relation to features of these conditions, experimental studies of possible underlying mechanisms, and collaborative investigations of the epidemiology and genetics of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Her primary research interests include the role of nutrition in brain development and function, and its implications for behaviour, learning and mood. She also specialises in the biology of individual differences in personality, perception and cognition, particularly in relation to developmental and psychiatric disorders.
Alex’s research centres on the role of fatty acids in relation to both normal individual differences and developmental and psychiatric disorders such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism, depression and schizophrenia. It includes controlled treatment trials to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with fatty acids in relation to features of these conditions, experimental studies of possible underlying mechanisms, and collaborative investigations of the epidemiology and genetics of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Alex's research has always been aimed at developing new methods of identification and management that will have real practical benefit. She has therefore always worked closely with a range of education and health practitioners as well as local and national support groups and charities. In addition to her role as a founder director of FAB Research, she also helped to found the Dyslexia Research Trust, was a co-opted Trustee and Scientific Advisor to the Dyspraxia Foundation, served on the Biomedical Research Committee of Autism Unravelled, and liaises closely with the Hyperactive Children's Support Group among many others.
Her work has received substantial media coverage, and she has given numerous interviews for the press, radio and TV both in the UK and abroad. She is the author of many research papers, and the book They Are What You Feed Them, that explains how and why children's diets can affect their behaviour, learning and mood.
Her work has received substantial media coverage, and she has given numerous interviews for the press, radio and TV both in the UK and abroad. She is the author of many research papers, and the book They Are What You Feed Them, that explains how and why children's diets can affect their behaviour, learning and mood.
