Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou GRRAND Director, Associate Professor, UCL
Founder and Director of GRRAND, Flow Unlocked co-founder
Doctor in Developmental Psychology and Mental Health, , BACP Psychotherapist, Accredited Autism Consultant
Coproduction and codeliveriy of neurodiversity and mental health research. Currently developing feasibility studies to improve adhd and autistic mental health across different community settings.
Dr Myrofora (Myrto) Kakoulidou, GRRAND Deputy Director, Research Fellow NIHR Department of Primary Care and Population Health
Doctor in Developmental Psychology in ADHD and motivation
Innovative and child centred mixed methodologies to generate knowledge that may have an impact in real life settings.
Professor Spiridon Soulis. University of Ioannina,Greece
Authority in SEND education, child development, school relationships.
Research associate of the Panhellenic Federation of Societies of Parents and Guardians of Disabled People (P.O.S.G.A.me.A.).
Dr Amy Pearson, Assistant Professor in Psychology, University of Durham
Member of Experimental Psychology Society and International Society for Autism Research
Social determinants of autistic wellbeing, in particular the role of interpersonal relationships and the impact of masking/stigma on identity.
Carol Rivas, Professor of Health and Social Care, UCL
Carol is truly transdisciplinary, which has given her an edge in both purposeful and innovative applied health services research. Most recently she has been developing work with and for vulnerable and marginalised people, using collaborative and participatory approaches, and including those with non-apparent conditions and disabilities and migrants, and championing human rights issues. This has been part-fuelled by personal circumstance.
Dr Ana Maria Butura, Research Fellow, King IoPNN
Ana-Maria Butura is a researcher with a particular interest in ADHD in women, combining academic insight with lived experience of neurodivergence. She recently completed her PhD on ADHD in women, focusing on the importance of subjective childhood experiences and the impact of masking and she is currently an Honorary Research Associate at King’s College London. She is passionate about creating more inclusive, compassionate mental health services for neurodivergent people.
Dr. Nina Polytimou, Assistant Professor, UCL
Nina has background in experimenal psychology
She is interested in whether musical engagement can have a positive impact on language, cognitive and socio-emotional development over and above the effect of other types of enrichment activities across a range of populations.
Dr. Christina Malamateniou, Reader in Radiography at St George's and City University
Actively involved in improving professional practice and research capacity in radiography with autistic and adhd people of all ages through her many leadership positions and research networks.
Dr Nadia Ladopoulou, MD, Lecturer of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece
Director, Athens Community Mental Health Centre for Children and Adolescents, and Department of Mental Health
Athens General Children’s Hospital “Pan. & Agl. Kyriakou”
Interests: Psychotherapy, Trans-cultural Psychiatry, Neurodevelopmental differences, brief mother- infant support interventions
Alexis Quinn, International Expert, Author and Trainer
Alexis Quinn is a is a psychotherapist and works as Manager of the Restraint Reduction Network. She is a former school teacher, professional athlete and author of two books: her ground-breaking memoir, Unbroken, and Autistic & Expecting, a guide for autistic parents to be. Alexis is international expert on neurodivergence, trauma, restraint, solitary confinement and mental well-being.
Dr Vasilis Sideropoulos, Senior Research Technician, UCL
Expertise in addiction, SEND, anxiety, siblings
Jon Adams. Independent Researcher, trainer
Jon supports research that involves autistic people from inception looking at issues within the autistic community but not research that seeks to heal or cure us. Jon is not sure if he is a scientist who likes drawing or an artist with an interest in sciences but puts him not in a unique position as a translator and innovator for both sides.
Kieran Rose, Independent Researcher, Autism trainer, Author and Advocate
Kieran Rose was diagnosed as Autistic in 2003 and is parent to three children, two of whom are diagnosed Autistic. He is a published Mainstream and Academic Author and International Public Speaker, whose essays at www.theautisticadvocate.com have been read by over 1.5 million people. With a background in both SEND Education and service delivery for Autistic children and adults, Kieran delivers his own specialist Autism trainings to families and Professionals; and provides private consultancy for charities and organisations across the UK and the world. Kieran has lectured at Universities across the UK and has a specialist interest in Autistic Masking, Identity, Culture and the impact of stigma on all those things.
Lynnete Morgan, Hons Lecturer University of East Anglia
Lynette is a late diagnosed adult nurse and parent to autistic children. She has has midwifery training and worked in neonatal intensive care, and perinatal mental health. She is a steering group member of MARG (Maternity Autism Research Group). In 2024 she completed a large project reviewing health inequity for autistic adults commissioned by BLMK ICB (Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board). She is currently working as a clinical nurse manager for the BLMK Adult Autism Diagnostic service.
Catherine Asta, Psychotherapist, Author, Psychotherapist, Autism trainer
Catherine is an author, psychotherapist, and former NHS strategist dedicated to creating spaces where stories can be heard. In 2022 she founded “The Late Discovered Club,” which is a social impact podcast and community that amplifies the voices of late-discovered autistic women and marginalized groups. It has an ever growing global community currently in over 125 countries. Her therapeutic practice is grounded in a trauma-informed, experience-sensitive, and deeply compassionate approach.
In February 2025, she published her first book, “Rediscovered,” which is a compassionate and courageous guide for late discovered autistic women (and their allies) and her next book, “When The Body Says Enough,” is scheduled for publication in 2026, and will explore burnout and chronic pain among late-discovered autistic women.
Maciej Matejko, Youth researcher and advisor, content creator
Maciej is an autistic tutor of English working with neurodiverse students. He is an autism advisor and researcher, member of Youth Researcher Panel in the RE-STAR project at King's College London, and content creator.
Elaine Mc Greevy, Speech and Language Therapist, Author, Trainer
Elaine is a neurodivergent Speech and Language Therapist, who works with Autistic children and young people. She is passionate about dismantling ableism in Speech and Language Therapy practice and has a particular focus on expanding understanding and acceptance of the diversity in communication. In addition to independent practice as an SLT, she is co-founder of Divergent Perspectives and offers training to support practitioners to transform their practice to align with the principles of the Neurodiversity Paradigm.
Nellie Allshop, Trainer and Advisor
Nellie is a self-employed trainer and consultant and shares their expertise and lived experience via numerous projects across sectors, spending their time working with professionals ranging from A and E staff to employees of large scale tech organisations. Their background includes several years working for the National Autistic Society, where they also received their autism diagnosis in 2020 at the age of 25, as well as training in web development and a first class degree in Linguistics from the University of York. In their work, Nellie is particularly interested in the experiences of late diagnosed autistic siblings who also have caring responsibilities for their autistic sibling, as well as the relationships neurodivergent people have with the objects they own, collect and discard.
