Ellie Davey-Sims

I am an assistant research psychologist at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust where I conduct assessments with families for the Personalised Programmes for Children (PPC) study.

I graduated from the University of Bristol with a BSc in Neuroscience in 2021. I specialised in neurological and psychiatric disorders, synaptic plasticity, and the neuroscience of pain. For my final year project, I proposed a study on the effectiveness of an experimental drug in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder.

I completed my master’s degree in Psychiatric Research at King’s College London in 2022. I became interested in the connection between early trauma and the development of disorders like autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. My dissertation explored the relationship between childhood trauma and brain blood flow in adults with high or low schizotypy, utilizing arterial spin labelling magnetic resonance perfusion imaging for data analysis.

During my master’s, I completed a clinical placement at the Service for Complex Autism and Associated Neurodevelopmental Disorders (SCAAND) at the South London and Maudsley Hospital.

Additionally, I have two years of experience as a special educational needs and disability teaching assistant in North London, where I provided one-to-one emotional and behavioural support to 11-18-year-olds with diverse needs.