Dr Abby Russell

About me:

Abby is a Senior Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Mental Health based within the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Research Collaboration (ChYMe), that sits within the Department of Public Health and Sports Sciences, in the Medical School.

Abby's research focuses on the causes and consequences of child and adolescent mental health difficulties, and the role that schools play in preventing, identifying and managing mental health difficulties.

Abby is currently conducting a programme of research that aims to explore and ameliorate the impact of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in schools. She is carrying out a 5 year NIHR Advanced Fellowship, developing and conducting initial evaluation of a school-based intervention for young people with impairing traits related to ADHD. Abby is working with children, parents and schools to co-design a toolkit of evidence-based behavioural strategies with extensive patient and public involvement. She plans to extend this approach to developing evidence-based public health interventions to other mental health problems, such as strategies to help school staff manage young people who self-harm.

Abby also collaborates on a variety of projects centering on child and adolescent mental health. ADHD and neurodevelopmental conditions, self-harm and suicide, and dimensional measures of mental health have been the main focus of her work thus far. She has expertise in a variety of research methods, including epidemiology (social and genetic), trials and intervention development and evaluation, as well as qualitative research and evidence synthesis. Abby completed her postdoctoral training with Dr Becky Mars at the University of Bristol, exploring biological mechanisms linking early adversity and adolescent self-harm, and exploring the genetic epidemiology of self-harm and suicide using big data. Her PhD explored the association between parental socioeconomic disadvantage and ADHD in children and young people.

Prior to her research career, Abby has worked in learning disability support services, child and adolescent mental health services, and at a school for children with special educational needs.

Interests:

Abby has research interests in mental health, with a focus on children and adolescents. The main aim of her work is to better understand the causes of mental health difficulties in young people, and to ameliorate the negative consequences of these difficulties.

Abby's work thus far has explored social, environmental and biological causes of mental health difficulties in children and adolescents, largely working with cohort and other large epidemiological datasets. Alongside ongoing epidemiological research, Abby is now moving into the field of developing and evaluating public health interventions that promote positive outcomes for children and young people with mental health difficulties.

Abby is currently carrying out a 5-year NIHR Advanced Fellowship (July 2020-July 2025) to work alongside schools, young people and parents in order to develop and evaluate a toolkit for primary schools which aims to improve school for children and young people with impairing traits of inattention, impulsivity or hyperactivity.

Qualifications:

PhD Medical Studies

BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences (Psychology)

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice

Career:

Senior Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2021-current

University of Exeter Medical Schoool, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2020-2021

University of Exeter College of Medicine and Health

Senior Research Associate in Epidemiology 2018-2020

University of Bristol Medical School

Postdoctoral Research Fellow: secondary data analysis

University of Exeter Medical School 2018-2018

Postdoctoral Research Associate: Child Mental Health Group

University of Exeter 2017-2018

Postdoctoral Research Associate: Shared decision making in mild to moderate dementia

University of Exeter Medical School 2017-2017

Postdoctoral Research Associate: Self-harm and suicide in schools project

University of Exeter Medical School 2016-2016

Associate Research Fellow: Collaborative Care for Depression randomised controlled trial

University of Exeter Medical School 2012-2013

Associate Research Fellow: Fathers in Focus study 2012-2012

Mood disorders centre, Psychology, University of Exeter

Teaching Assistant at Summit School, Canada 2010-2012

Honorary Assistant Psychologist at CAMHS, Edinburgh 2009-2010

Support worker for ENABLE Scotland 2006-2010