Research Board

Chair 2021-2024

• Professor Andy Tolmie

Deputy Chair

• Dr Duncan Guest is a cognitive psychologist with expertise in attention and memory. Duncan has been Deputy Chair of the BPS Research Board since 2021, and before that was part of the Cognitive Psychology Section committee for 8 years, in that time organising the 2014 conference, the CogDev 2019 conference, creating and editing The Cognitive Psychology Bulletin and serving as Chair from 2017-2021.  Gaining his PhD in 2008 (Warwick University) Duncan held postdoctoral positions at Warwick, Oxford Brookes, Università Bocconi and Università della Svizzera italiana before joining Nottingham Trent University where he is now Head of Department.

Deputy Chair

• Dr Richard Stephens is Deputy Chair of  the Research Board (appointed in October 2021) and serves as Chair of the British Psychological Society Psychologist and Digest Editorial Advisory Committee. Richard is a former Chair of the British Psychological Society Psychobiology Section (2013-2017) and continue to serve as a committee members, while also working as a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Keele University. His current research area is the cognitive psychology of flow and state disinhibition. 

Consciousness & Experiential Psychology Section

• Ms Jane Henry, Chair of Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section. Previously Senior Lecturer in Applied Psychology at Open University. Research on long term-outcomes of personal development strategies, wellbeing and creativity. Has held UK, European and US grants. Published 10 books.

Crisis, Disasters and Trauma Psychology Section

• Dr Siobhan Currie

Developmental Psychology Section

• Dr Chris Jarrold is a Professor of Cognitive Development at the University of Bristol. He is currently the Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Developmental Section and has previously served as the Honorary Secretary of the Experimental Psychology Society. His research focuses on children’s cognitive development, and particularly on the processes that support goal-directed behaviour and the maintenance of information in immediate memory.

History & Philosophy of Psychology Section

• Professor Gavin Sullivan

Male Psychology Section

• Dr Deborah Powney

Mathematical, Statistical & Computing Section

• Dr Mark Andrews

Political Psychology Section

• Dr Kesi Mahendran

Psychobiology Section

• Kyla Pennington

Psychology of Education Section

• Dr Louise Taylor

Psychology of Sexualities Section

• Dr Robert Agnew

Psychology of Women and Equalities Section

• Bipasha Ahmed

Psychotherapy Section

• Ms Erica Brostoff, M.Sc. is Psychotherapy Section Treasurer.  She worked as a Research Assistant and Research Fellow at Guy’s and St. Thomas’s NHS Mental Health Care Trust on cognitive analytic therapy and telemedicine in psychiatry and before that in market research.  She will serve on the review of BPS guidelines for good practice. She has organised two conferences for this Section.

Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section

• Sarah Seymour-Smith & Laura Kilby

Social Psychology Section

• Dr Sara Vestergren

Transpersonal Psychology Section

• Professor Ho Chung Law was an international consultant in psychology, research & development with over 35 years’ experience. He was the first equality advisor to the Assistant Permanent Under Secretary of State in the UK Home Office Research, Development Statistics Directorate. Ho is currently the Editor of the BPS Transpersonal Psychology Review, supervising a dozen research doctoral students, advocating a new narrative action research while dividing his time between research, supervision, writing, and family.

Division of Clinical Psychology

• Dr. Cordet Smart is the Research Director for Exeter University DClin Psy programme, and Interim Programme Director.  Here research areas include clinical communication, teamwork and wellbeing at work, with numerous publications in these areas.  She has successfully led numerous grants including NHIR clinical research, and is a Director of project 5, a national wellbeing organisation.  She has held multiple senior director roles in Higher Education and has a keen interest in developing organisational structures to improve enjoyment of work and enhance success of staff and students.

Division of Coaching Psychology

• Dr Catherine Steele is an Occupational and Coaching Psychologist.  She is the Academic Director for Postgraduate Programmes in Psychology at the University of Leicester.  Catherine represents the Division of Coaching Psychology on the research board.  Her personal research interests are in the area of wellbeing and health at work. 

Division of Counselling Psychology

• Dr Terry Sergeant

Division of Education & Child Psychology

• Professor Olympia Palikara

Division of Forensic Psychology

• Martin J. Fisher is a Forensic Psychologist, Chartered Scientist and Honorary Fellow of the BPS. He has worked in the criminal justice field for over 34 years in England and Wales. He has honorary appointments within NHS Secure Services and Academia. He is also co-editor of Forensic Update, a past Chair of the BPS Committee on Test Standards, past member of the BPS Ethics Committee and Chairs the Psychology Research Board in HMPPS.

Division of Health Psychology

• Dr Rhiannon Phillips

Division of Neuropsychology

• Karen Brandt

Division of Sport & Exercise Psychology

• Professor Andrew Hill is Head of Postgraduate Research and York St John University. His area of research focuses on the consequences of being perfectionistic in sport, dance, and exercise contexts. He is an associate editor of Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology and a member of the editorial board of various other journals.

Special Group for Psychologists and Social Services

• Dr John Newland

AGM Elected

• Dr Jackie Greatorex

AHPD representative

• Martin Corley

Early Career representative

• Dr Catherine Talbot

Early Career Representative

• Dr Jasmine Childs-Fegredo is a senior lecturer at York St John University. She is a registered counselling psychologist and has worked as a clinician in the NHS and in private practice. Her research interests include yoga-integrated psychotherapy, mind-body approaches to mental health, and mental health in schools.

Editorial Advisory Group Chair

• Dr Katherine Berry

Co-optee

• Professor Thom Baguley

Ex-officio Chair HOPC Committee

• Professor Ingrid Lunt

ATSiP Representative

• Mr Sean Rooney

Rep for Scar Free Foundation

• Dr Andrew Thompson

Experimental Psychology Society (EPS) nominee

• Dr Jo Taylor