Background:
At least 50% of autistic people experience anxiety, however there are few evidence-based therapies available to support them. This PhD project incorporates digital tools to elucidate mechanisms underpinning anxiety in autism and provide proof-of-concept for the use of app-based anxiety intervention strategies specially designed for autistic people.
Aims:
1. To identify mechanistic pathways to anxiety in autism, using behavioural, cognitive, and physiological indices captured by digital tools.
2. To assess the acceptability and effectiveness of a novel, app-based anxiety intervention for autistic people that targets mechanisms identified in Aim 1.
Techniques/skills:
The project includes data from two ongoing studies that involve joint working with multidisciplinary teams (academics, clinicians, lived experience experts, industry, non-profit organisations) across Europe.
The first study is the ‘clinical endpoints’ component of the AIMS-2-TRIALS Longitudinal European Autism Project – the largest multidisciplinary study worldwide to identify variability in autism (https://www.aims-2-trials.eu/2021/07/01/developing-wearable-technology-with-involvement-from-autistic-people/; https://www.aims-2-trials.eu/leap-front-page/; Co-I Dr Daly, Prof Simonoff).
The second is a feasibility study of an app-based anxiety intervention for autistic people (https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05302167; PI Dr Oakley).
The student will gain skills in:
• Systematic review, meta-analysis.
• Quantitative methods and analytics –behavioural, cognitive, physiological (heart rate variability), neurobiological (EEG, MRI), biochemical (serotonin, inflammation) and/or genetic data, and app usage data.
• Qualitative methods and analytics: semi-structured interviews, thematic analysis.
• Clinical trial design.
Yearly objectives:
Y1: Systematic review/meta-analysis of research on digital wearables and therapeutics targeting anxiety in autism. Data collection/database curation for the two research projects highlighted above.
Y2-Y3: Analyses to investigate associations between anxiety and its candidate mechanistic pathways in autism (AIMS-2-TRIALS LEAP), and the acceptability/feasibility of a novel app-based anxiety intervention for autistic people (Molehill Mountain).
Y4: Supporting transition to the postdoctoral phase through consolidation of the work/analyses (including opportunity for industry placement), publication, and insight on the translation of scientific research to real-world clinical trials.
