Academic staff

HomeAcademic staffDr Preethi Premkumar
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I am a Senior Lecturer in Psychology. I am also the School Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity, the Chair for the EquiNet staff race equality network and the School Chair of the Athena SWAN self-assessment team. I was a lecturer and senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University from 2010-2020 after obtaining my PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience of King's College London in 2011. Earlier, I helped to develop the national clinical guidelines for the treatment of mental disorders at the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

My expertise lies in the dynamics of family relationships and their neuroscience. I am interested to understand how criticism and rejection are perceived in family relationships and their impact on mental health. Designing novel experiments on family communication has allowed me to collect data using functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography, and discover how sensitivity to criticism and praise in families can link to schizotypy, depression, aggression and substance misuse. Analysing these data using Statistical Parametric Mapping, Brain Electrical Source Analysis and tensor factorisation with experts nationally and internationally has led to ground-breaking discoveries about attention to criticism, praise and rejection. My PhD was titled, ‘Neural, clinical and neuropsychological predictors of responsiveness to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Schizophrenia’.

A further area of research is to design a virtual-reality exposure therapy for social anxiety. This intervention uses biofeedback and machine learning to measure the level of arousal. I recently conducted a systematic review on disability and relationships/loneliness for the Cabinet Office.

I am supervising a PhD student on parental perceptions of play in education among Nigerian parents in Nigeria and the U.K. and another PhD student on the sustainability of plant-based packaging. I am also supervising an external PhD student on the role of perceived criticism and praise and sleep in schizotypal personality traits. I am keen to supervise on topics related to family relationships, mental health and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Being the Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for the School of Applied Sciences enables me to address staff and student experiences on protected characteristics, including race, gender and disability. Chairing the EquiNet staff network on racial equality gives staff a platform to express their lived experiences as an ethnic minority through bimonthly meetings and lunch-and-learn sessions.

Courses taught

Psychology - BSc (Hons)

Psychology (Child Development) - BSc (Hons)

Psychology (Clinical Psychology) - BSc (Hons)

Psychology (Forensic Psychology) - BSc (Hons)

Psychology with Criminology - BSc (Hons)

Mental Health and Clinical Psychology - MSc

Postgraduate Research Supervision
Current
Mr Marlon DavisDoctoral Research ProjectPhD
Mr Oluwaseun ObasaDoctoral Research ProjectPhD
Mrs Ekimiebi EsiriDoctoral Research ProjectPhD
Alice BetteridgePhD
BSc Zoology

Madras Christian College, University of Madras, India

1993
1996
MSc Health Psychology

City University, London, U.K.

1997
1998
MPhil Psychology

Goldsmith College, University of London, London, U.K.

2000
2004
Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology

Open University

2004
2005
PhD Psychology

Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London

2007
2011
Post-graduate Certificate in Higher Education

Nottingham Trent University

2011
2012
Level 5 Diploma in Leadership, Innovation and Management

Institute of Leadership and Management

2020
2021
Visiting Tutor in Psychology
Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths College, University of London

Conducting tutorials and marking coursework

2000
2001
Education
Research Assistant on NICE Clinical Guidelines for Depression, Self-harm and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, Royal College of Psychiatrists

I contributed to developing the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines for the treatment of depression, self-harm, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. I conducted Cochrane-based systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials. This involved conducting systematic literature searches, writing narrative reviews, and presenting the results of the literature reviews at Guideline Development Group meetings. I collaborated with members of the NICE guideline development group for obsessive-compulsive disorder to publish a systematic review on the effectiveness of pharmacological interventions.

2002
2005
Third sector/charities
Research Worker on project titled Neural Responsiveness to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Psychosis
Department of Psychology Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London

I administered clinical and neuropsychological assessments to patients with schizophrenia and healthy participants. Administering online experiments on face recognition, verbal self- monitoring and working memory during functional MRI scanning to patients with schizophrenia and healthy participants gave me insight into the neuropsychology of clinical symptoms of schizophrenia. I gained skills in analysing neuroimaging data from structural magnetic resonance imaging scans using both voxel-based morphometry and region-of-interest methods of analysis. I measured the concentration of cellular metabolites, namely N-actyle aspartate, creatine and choline, from magnetic resonance spectroscopy scans in schizophrenia patients and healthy individuals. I archived participant responses and maintained an up-to-date electronic database of participant responses. Preparing manuscripts for publication in leading international journals and giving talks at the IoPPN's Departments of Psychosis Studies and Psychology and international conferences helped me to disseminate the findings of my analyses.

2005
2009
Education
Associate lecturer on MSc module, Issues in Brain and Behaviour
Faculty of Science, Open University

I provided distance learning to postgraduate students on a MSc Science module titled, 'Issues in Brain and Behaviour'. Topics included the biological and psychological perspectives on addiction and ageing. I examined students' written assignments and poster presentations. Attending annual teaching committee meetings to decide the course curriculum and moderating end-of-year student coursework helped me to contribute towards the management of the module.

2005
2010
Education
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Psychology
Nottingham Trent University

Delivering lectures on Clinical Neuropsychology to level 6 students achieved a good level of overall student satisfaction of 4.2 out of 5. Delivering lectures on family communication to more than 700 level 4 students on Psychology Research in Context also achieved a similar level of overall student satisfaction. Delivering Research Methods lab classes to students at levels 4 and 5 (50 students per class) helped me to share my expertise in

experimental skills in empirical research. Supervising undergraduate and postgraduate project students helped to progress many students to complete their degrees.

By contributing to NTU's Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage (REACH) staff meetings about equal opportunities for BAME staff and students, I championed EDI in Higher Education. Raising issues about BAME staff being poorly represented in senior academic roles at these BAME staff network meetings and attending events commemorating the Black History month helped me to promote EDI in the university. Leading on online international

learning between NTU students and psychology students at the University of Madras, India, strengthened my efforts and initiatives to decolonise the Psychology curriculum.

Leading research funded by NTU Health and Wellbeing fund on a study titled, 'Self-guided virtual reality exposure therapy for social anxiety disorder' helped me to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of computer scientists and psychologists, conduct a randomised controlled trial and understand the psychophysiological mechanisms of this digital psychosocial intervention for mental health. Being a principal investigator

on a project titled, 'Attention to family communication in people with schizotypal experiences: A novel emotional oddball task for

electroencephalography', helped with collaborating with distinguished world-leading scientists in electrical signal processing and publishing the findings in a leading scientific journal.

2010
2020
Education
ProposalProjectRoleFunderStatusStatus last updated
What UK Nigerian parents think about play for their primary school childrenWhat UK Nigerian parents think about play for their primary school childrenPrincipal InvestigatorThe Spencer FoundationOPEN In preparationMar 2024
American Psychological Association
2022
British Society for the Psychology of Individual Differences
2023
Society for Clinical Neuropsychology of the American Psychological Association
2019
2020
Experimental Psychological Society
2010
2017
Frontiers in Psychiatry, section of Psychological Therapies

Editing and reviewing manuscripts for publication and producing special editions on a theme.

Associate editor
2019
Evidence to public body

May 2019

Public engagement event on vulnerability for psychosis and family relationships at the Pint of Science Festival, May 2019, Nottingham.


Reach and Impact

Medscape (Jan 2022)


The Conversation (Mar 2017)


British Broadcasting Corporation World Service (Feb 2023)


Multiscale Fluctuation Dispersion Entropy of EEG as a Physiological Biomarker of Schizotypy
Zandbagleh, A., Azami, H., Mirzakuchaki, S., Daliri, M. R., Sanei, S. and Premkumar, P. (2023). Multiscale Fluctuation Dispersion Entropy of EEG as a Physiological Biomarker of Schizotypy. IEEE Access. pp. 110124 - 110135. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3321868

The relationships between expressed emotion, cortisol, and EEG alpha asymmetry
Wang, G.Y., Crook-Rumsey, M., Sumich, A., Dulson, D., Gao,T. T. and Premkumar, P. (2023). The relationships between expressed emotion, cortisol, and EEG alpha asymmetry. Physiology and Behavior. 269 (114276). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114276

Enhancing biofeedback-driven self-guided virtual reality exposure therapy through arousal detection from multimodal data using machine learning
Rahman, M.A., Brown, D.J., Mahmud, M., Harris, M., Shopland, N., Heym, N., Sumich, A., Turabee, Z. B., Standen, B., Downes, D., Xing,Y., Thomas, C., Haddick, S., Premkumar, P., Nastase, S., Burton, A. and Lewis, J. (2023). Enhancing biofeedback-driven self-guided virtual reality exposure therapy through arousal detection from multimodal data using machine learning. Brain Informatics. 10 (14). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40708-023-00193-9

Reflecting on the experiential journey: Creating, developing and understanding leadership in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within a Faculty
Premkumar, P., Leadley-Meade, Z., Moorley, C., Rye, S., Clegg, D. and Alasia, S. (2023). Reflecting on the experiential journey: Creating, developing and understanding leadership in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within a Faculty. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Conference 2023: The Shoulders of Giants: Listening, Learning and Improving our Practice.

Tensor factorization approach for ERP-based assessment of schizotypy in a novel auditory oddball task on perceived family stress
Zandbagleh, A, Mirzakuchaki, S., Daliri, M.R., Premkumar, P., Carretié, L. and Saeid Sanei, S. (2022). Tensor factorization approach for ERP-based assessment of schizotypy in a novel auditory oddball task on perceived family stress. Journal of Neural Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-2552/aca69f

Conceptualising mental illness among University students of African, Caribbean and similar ethnic heritage in the United Kingdom
Dare, T., Jidong, D. E. and Premkumar, P. (2022). Conceptualising mental illness among University students of African, Caribbean and similar ethnic heritage in the United Kingdom. Ethnicity & health. 28 (7), pp. 522-543. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2022.2104817

What is next for the neurobiology of temperament, personality and psychopathology?
Trofimova, I., Bajaj, S., Bashkatov, S. A., Blair, J., Brandt, A., , Chan, R. C. K., Clemens, B., Corr, P. J., Cyniak-Cieciura, M., Demidova, L., Filippi, C. A., Garipova, M., Habel, U., Haines, U., Heym, N., Hunter, K., Jones, N. A., Kanen, J., Kirenskaya, A., Kumari, V., Lenzoni, S., Lui, S. S. Y., Mathur,A., McNaughton, N., Mize, K. D., Mueller, E., Netter, P., Paul, K., Plieger, T., Premkumar, P., Raine, A., Reuter, M., Robbins, T. W., Samylkin, D., Storozheva, Z., Sulis, W., Sumich, A., Tkachenko, A., Valadez, E. A., Wacker, J., Wagels, L., Wang, L.-L., Zawadzki, B. and Pickering, A. D. (2022). What is next for the neurobiology of temperament, personality and psychopathology? Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 45 (101143). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101143

Classification of Low and High Schizotypy Levels via Evaluation of Brain Connectivity
Zandbagleh, A., Mirzakuchaki, S, Daliri, M.R., Premkumar, P. and Sanei, S. (2022). Classification of Low and High Schizotypy Levels via Evaluation of Brain Connectivity. International Journal of Neural Systems. 34 (2). https://doi.org/10.1142/S0129065722500137

Rejection sensitivity and its relationship to schizotypy and aggression: current status and future directions
Premkumar, P. and Kumari, V. (2022). Rejection sensitivity and its relationship to schizotypy and aggression: current status and future directions. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101110

Editorial: The Use of Virtual-Reality Interventions in Reducing Anxiety
Premkumar, P., Heym, N., Anderson, P. L., Brown, D. and Sumich A. (2022). Editorial: The Use of Virtual-Reality Interventions in Reducing Anxiety. Frontiers in Virtual Reality. 3 (853678). https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2022.853678

Cortical and subcortical neuroanatomical signatures of schizotypy in 3004 individuals assessed in a worldwide ENIGMA study
Modinos, G., Kirschner, M., Hodzic-Santor, B., Antoniades, M., Nenadic, I., Kircher, T., Krug, A., Meller, T., Grotegerd, D., Fornito, A., Arnatkeviciute, A., Bellgrove, M., Tiego, J., Dannlowski, U., Dohm, K., Hülsmann, C., Kugel, H., Enneking, V., Klug, M., Leehr, E., Boehnlein, J., Gruber, M., Mehler, D., DeRosse, P., Moyett, A., Baune, B., Green, M., Quidé, Y., Pantelis, C., Strachan, R., Wang, Y., Ettinger, U., Debbané, M., Derome, M., Gaser, C., Besteher, B., Diederen, K., Spencer, T., Fletcher, P., Rössler, W., Smigielski, L., Kumari, V., Premkumar, P., Park, H., Wiebels, K., Lemmers-Jansen, I., Gilleen, J., Allen, P., Kozhuharova, P., Marsman, J-B., Lebedeva, I., Tomyshev, A., Mukhorina, A., Kaiser, S., Fett, A.-K., Sommer, I., Schuite-Koops, S., Paquola, C., Lariviere, S., Bernhardt, B., Dagher, A., Grant, P., van Erp, T., Turner, J. A., Thompson, P. and Aleman, A. (2021). Cortical and subcortical neuroanatomical signatures of schizotypy in 3004 individuals assessed in a worldwide ENIGMA study. Molecular Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01359-9

The Effectiveness of Self-Guided Virtual-Reality Exposure Therapy for Public-Speaking Anxiety
Premkumar, P., Heym, Nadja, Brown, David Joseph, Battersby, Steven, Sumich, Alexander, Huntington, Bethany, Daly, Rosie and Zysk, Eva (2021). The Effectiveness of Self-Guided Virtual-Reality Exposure Therapy for Public-Speaking Anxiety. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 12, p. 694610. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.694610

Pituitary volume in people with chronic schizophrenia: Clarifying the roles of serious violence and childhood maltreatment
Premkumar, P., Bipin, M., Das, M., Lau, J. Y. F., Sumich, A. L. and Kumari, V. (2021). Pituitary volume in people with chronic schizophrenia: Clarifying the roles of serious violence and childhood maltreatment. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. 314, p. 111323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2021.111323

The path from schizotypy to depression and aggression and the role of family stress
Premkumar, P., Kuipers, E. and Kumiar, V. (2020). The path from schizotypy to depression and aggression and the role of family stress. European Psychiatry. 63 (1), p. e79. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.76

Mild-to-moderate schizotypal traits relate to physiological arousal from social stress
Premkumar, P., Alahakoon, P., Smith, M., Kumari, V., Babu, D. and Baker, J. (2020). Mild-to-moderate schizotypal traits relate to physiological arousal from social stress. Stress. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2020.1797674

Developing and maintaining the teacher-student relationship in one to one alternative provision: the tutor’s experience
Premkumar, P., Fitzsimmons, W. and Trigg, R. (2019). Developing and maintaining the teacher-student relationship in one to one alternative provision: the tutor’s experience. Educational Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2019.1653265

Neural responses to criticism and praise vary with schizotypy and perceived emotional support
Premkumar, P., Santo, M. G. E., Onwumere, O., Schürmann, M., Kumari, V., Blanco, S., Baker, J. and Kuipers, E. (2019). Neural responses to criticism and praise vary with schizotypy and perceived emotional support. International Journal of Psychophysiology. 145, pp. 109-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.05.008

Sensitivity to criticism and praise predicts schizotypy in the non-clinical population: The role of affect and perceived expressed emotion
Premkumar, P., Dunn, A. K., Onwumere, J. and Kuipers, E. (2019). Sensitivity to criticism and praise predicts schizotypy in the non-clinical population: The role of affect and perceived expressed emotion. European Psychiatry. 55, p. 109–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.10.009

Deciphering reward-based decision making in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis and behavioral modelling of the Iowa Gambling Task
Premkumar, P., Betz, Linda T, Brambilla, Paolo, Ilankovic, Andrej, Premkumar, Preethi, Kim, Myung-Sun, Raffard, Stéphane, Bayard, Sophie, Hori, Hikaru, Lee, Kyoung-Uk, Lee, Seung Jae, Koutsouleris, Nikolaos and Kambeitz, Joseph (2019). Deciphering reward-based decision making in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis and behavioral modelling of the Iowa Gambling Task. Schizophrenia Research. 204, pp. 7-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2018.09.009

Schizotypal traits and their relation to rejection sensitivity in the general population: Their mediation by quality of life, agreeableness and neuroticism
Premkumar, P., Onwumere, J., Betts, L., Kibowski, F. and Kuipers, E. (2018). Schizotypal traits and their relation to rejection sensitivity in the general population: Their mediation by quality of life, agreeableness and neuroticism. Psychiatry Research. 267, pp. 201-209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.06.002

Pituitary volume reduction in schizophrenia following cognitive behavioural therapy
Premkumar, P., Bream, D., Sapara, A., Fannon, D., Anilkumar, A. P., Kuipers, E. and Kumari.V. (2018). Pituitary volume reduction in schizophrenia following cognitive behavioural therapy. Schizophrenia Research. 192, p. 416–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2017.04.035

Neural changes following cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis: A longitudinal study
Kumari, V., Fannon, D., Peters, E.R., Ffytche, D.H., Sumich, A.L., Premkumar, P., Anilkumar, A.P., Andrew, C., Phillips, M.L., Williams, S.C.R. and Kuipers, E. (2011). Neural changes following cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis: A longitudinal study. Brain. 134 (8), p. 2396–2407. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awr154