Myrofora (Myrto) Kakoulidou, PhD
About Me
I am a mixed-methods psychology researcher specialising in mental health, education and neurodiversity, with a focus on Autism and ADHD. I am committed to participatory research that actively involves neurodivergent people across all the phases of the research cycle to improve educational and mental health services and ensure that research is meaningful, impactful, ethical and inclusive.
I am passionate about collaborating with a range of stakeholders and community groups including experts with lived experiences of neurodivergence, activists, clinicians, school practitioners and charity leaders.
I hold a PhD from UCL Institute of Education that explored the role of motivation and interest in supporting ADHD and non-ADHD primary-aged readers. This was funded by A.G. Leventis Foundation. Prior to this, I completed an MA in Educational Psychology at UCL Institute of Education and before that a BA in Primary Education Studies at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece).
I am currently a Research Fellow and Advisor in the NIHR Research Support Service (RSS), based at the UCL Department of Primary Care and Population Health. In this role, I am providing consultation to applied health, public health and social care researchers on the design and delivery of research, patient and public involvement (PPIE) and research inclusion and the development of research funding applications.
I am the Deputy Director of the Group for Research in Relationships And NeuroDiversity (GRRAND), based at the UCL Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology. I am also a Co-Investigator in the PRIDA research project, funded by UCL Grand Challenges, which explores the lived experience of depression, recovery and interpersonal therapy experiences in Autism in the UK.
I teach on neurodevelopmental and intellectual differences/disabilities, child development, mental health and education. I also supervise undergraduate and postgraduate psychology students.
Between 2021 and 2025, I worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in the £3.3 million UKRI-funded Regulating Emotions-Strengthening Adolescent Resilience (RE-STAR) research programme at King’s Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. This programme is led by Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke and aims to reduce the risk of adolescent depression in Autistic and ADHD adolescents by developing a co-produced, universal and neurodiversity-informed school-based intervention. As part of this, I led and co-led co-produced studies using a range of methodologies such as interviews, focus groups, surveys and questionnaires.
In 2020, I received a UCL Train and Engage Award to co-lead a series of public engagement activities around school well-being with children, teachers and parents/carers. In 2019, I received the Student’s Union Academic Representative of the Year award for UCL Institute of Education.
GRRAND
GRRAND stands for Group for Research in Relationships And NeuroDiversity. I am the Deputy Director of GRRAND, which was founded by Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou.
We are a diverse collective of researchers, experts by experience, scholars, art activists, advocates, service users, NHS professionals, and health consultants united by a shared commitment to human development and neurodiversity.
GRRAND is proudly based in the Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London’s Faculty of Brain Sciences.
To find out more about GRRAND, head to our website here or email me at myrofora.kakoulidou@ucl.ac.uk
⭐⭐Check the GRRAND webinars on our YouTube channel here. Over 2000 people have registered for these! ⭐⭐
Publications
I am deeply grateful to all the young people, parents/carers, school staff and clinicians who kindly offered their time to take part in my research. Thank you for your support, enthusiasm and all the important things my colleagues and I have learnt — and continue learning — from you.
Watch out this space as more papers will be published soon!
Kakoulidou, M., Pavlopoulou, G., Chandler, S., Lukito, S., Matejko, M., Jackson, I., Balwani, B., Boyens, T., Poulton, D., Harvey‐Nguyen, L., Glen, Z., Wilson, A., Ly, E., Macauley, E., Baker, S., Bullen, G., & Sonuga‐Barke, E. J. S on behalf of the RE-STAR team (2024). Deepening the participation of neurodivergent youth in qualitative mental health research: Co‐development of a general approach and the evaluation of its implementation in a study on emotion. JCPP advances, 4(4), e12287-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12287
Sonuga-Barke, E.J.S., Chandler, S., Lukito, S., Kakoulidou, M., Moore, G., Cooper, N., Matejko, M., Jackson, I., Balwani, B., Boyens, T., Poulton, D., Harvey-Nguyen, L., Baker, S., Pavlopoulou, G. on behalf of the RE-STAR team (2024). Participatory translational science of neurodivergence: model for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Autism research. British Journal of Psychiatry, pp. 1-5. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2023.151
Kakoulidou, M., Pavlopoulou, G., Filippi, R., & Hurry, J. (2023, December 23). Hooked on Books: A Deep Dive into the Reading Motivations of ADHD and Non-ADHD Children. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/2bzvr
Kakoulidou, M., Al-Jayoosi, H., Kambouri, M., & Pavlopoulou, G. Involving Children, Teachers, and Parents/Carers in Dialogues Around Child Wellbeing in Schools. Research for All, 7, pp. 1-18, 10.14324/RFA.07.1.12
Kakoulidou, M., Le Cornu Knight, F., Filippi, R., & Hurry, J. (2021). The effects of choice on the reading comprehension and enjoyment of children with severe inattention and no attentional difficulties. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-021-00835-8
Talks & Presentations (selected)
Kakoulidou, M., Pavlopoulou, G., Baker, S., Chandler, S., Lukito, L., Balwani, B., Boyens, T., Glen, Z., Harvey-Nguyen, L., Jackson, I., Ly, E., Matejko, M., Poulton, D., Wilson, A., & Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S. and the RE-STAR team. (2024). My Emotions and Me: A Co-produced Qualitative Study Exploring the Everyday Emotional Experiences of ADHD and Autistic Adolescents. European Association for Research in Adolescence, September 2024
Sonuga-Barke, E.J.S, Kakoulidou, M., Lukito, S., & Chandler, S. (2024). RE-STAR: A Research Adventure to Paradigm Flipping. Dyslexia Guild Annual Conference, July 2024
Kakoulidou, M., Pavlopoulou, G., Chandler, S., Lukito, S., Baker, S., Sonuga-Barke, E., & Youth Researcher Panel (Y-RP) (2023). My Emotions and Me: A Co-Produced Student on Emotion Responses With Autistic Young People to Inform the Development of a New Self-Report Measure. International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), Stockholm, Sweden, May 2023
Kakoulidou, M. (2022). My Emotions and Me: Qualitative Interviews. London ADHD Research Forum (LARF), King’s College London, United Kingdom, February 2022
Kakoulidou, M., Hurry, J., & Knight, F. (2019). The Role of Choice Making in the Reading Comprehension and Enjoyment of Year 4 Students with Broad Attention Difficulties. BPS Cognitive Psychology Section & Developmental Psychology Section Joint Conference, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom, September 2019
Public Engagement (selected)
Lukito, S., Johnson, A., Jackson, I., Boyens, T. Low, L., Funnell, E., Matejko, M., & Kakoulidou, M. on behalf of the RE-STAR team (2024). Experts by Experience: Who Knows Best? Exhibition, Science Gallery London, April 2024-present.
Kakoulidou, M., & Lukito, S. (2023). Smells like Teen Spirit: a Dive Into Teen Mental Health. Pint of Science Festival, May 2023
Pavlopoulou, G., & Kakoulidou, M. (Lucinda Powell). (2023, September 20). Understanding the Impact of the School on the Emotions of Neurodiverse Pupils. In Psychology in the Classroom Podcast Series. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/re-star-understanding-the-impact-of-school-on/id1523865853?i=1000628506867
Kakoulidou, M., Boyens, T., & Matejko, M. (2022). Neurodiversity and the Holiday Season. Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, December 2022
Baker, S., Pavlopoulou, G., Chandler, S., Lukito, S., Kakoulidou, M., Sonuga-Barke, EJS, & Youth Researcher Panel (Y-RP). (2022). My Emotions and Me: A Journey Behind the Mask. Being Human Festival, Science Gallery London, November 2022
Contact Me
I would love to collaborate with people who are passionate about research on Autism, ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence to improve educational and mental health services for neurodivergent people, their families and professionals who work with them. I am also very interested in supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students who share similar research interests.
Whether you have an academic or non-academic background, I would like to hear from you and chat about future collaborations.
📧 Feel free to email me at myrofora.kakoulidou@ucl.ac.uk or fill out ✍️ the contact form below!