DPMCN researcher awarded prize for outstanding scientific achievement in ADHD

A Research Fellow in the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience (DPMCN) has received an award for her work in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and related disorders.

Dr Joanna Martin, chosen unanimously among many applications, won the 2021 Kramer Pollnow Prize (KPP), a prestigious prize for excellent clinical and genetic research in the field of ADHD, focusing on child and adolescent psychiatry.

Winning the prize, presented at this year’s EUropean NETwork for HYperkinetic DISorders (EUNETHYDIS) meeting, means Dr Martin is recognised among the world’s leading researchers in her field.

Dr Martin specialises in the impact of genetic risk factors on child psychiatric and neurodevelopmental phenotypes, focusing on examining sex and gender differences within ADHD.

Her work has contributed to the understanding of genetic risk factors for ADHD in girls and why the condition is less likely to be diagnosed in girls than boys.

Professor Anita Thapar, who leads the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry section at DPMCN and nominated her, said, “Joanna is an outstanding scientist and well-recognised internationally. This prize and the recognition from it are so well deserved.”

Professor James Walters, director of MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (MRC CNGG), added:

Joanna has received funding from Wellcome Trust, Sêr Cymru and the Brain & Behaviour Research Foundation in support of her collaborative work with numerous international colleagues.

Her research has shed light on genetic factors linked to ADHD and how they impact on differences in individuals with the condition.

Professor Jeremy Hall, director of DPMCN added, “I’m absolutely delighted that Joanna has received this well-deserved recognition for her work in an important and understudied clinical area.”