THE SANDERSON LAB
psychology + behavioural science + data science
We combine psychology, behavioural science and data science to understand how people think, feel, act and experience the world around them — and use that understanding to improve health and healthcare.
physical health · mental health · wellbeing · genomics · healthcare
ABOUT OUR RESEARCH
We study how people think, feel, act and experience the world, their health and healthcare. Our work brings together psychology, behavioural science, human experience research and data science — with particular interests in genomics, behaviour change and mental health.
RESEARCH METHODS
We use qualitative, quantitative and data-science approaches to understand people's thoughts, feelings, behaviours and experiences — and translate them into meaningful evidence and insights.
We work in partnership with people with relevant lived experience, patients, the public and communities throughout the research process.
Qualitative research
We use interviews, focus groups, observations and other qualitative approaches to understand people's thoughts, feelings, experiences and perspectives in depth.
Quantitative research
We use surveys, experiments and other quantitative approaches to measure psychological and behavioural processes and outcomes.
Data science & AI
We use large-scale health data and emerging AI-supported approaches to analyse complex health, healthcare and human-experience data rigorously and responsibly.
Human experience research & insights
A core part of our research programme is to ensure that our qualitative, quantitative, data science and AI approaches are translated rapidly into meaningful insights for research, policy and practice.
RESEARCH PROGRAMMES & PROJECTS
Our research spans behaviour change, genomics and mental health, building on work conducted with collaborators across the UK and internationally. You can read about some of our research projects below.
BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
The CMEBE Model of Behaviour
The Conscious Mind, Embodied Brain, Body and Environment (CMEBE) Model provides a transdisciplinary framework for understanding behaviour and behaviour change. It considers behaviour as arising from interactions between conscious processes, embodied brain processes, the body and the environment, bringing together perspectives across behavioural science and related disciplines.
GENOMICS
Human responses to genomic information
Building on more than two decades of research, this programme examines how people understand, experience and respond to genomic information, and how genomics can be introduced responsibly and effectively into healthcare.
The work includes research on personal genome sequencing through the HealthSeq project in the US, and research with Celine Lewis and collaborators on the 100,000 Genomes Project and NHS Genomic Medicine Service in the UK.
Explore our genomics research
MENTAL HEALTH
Polygenic risk scores for psychosis
This research explores the potential role of polygenic risk scores in psychosis, including the opportunities and challenges associated with translating genomic risk information into mental healthcare.
The work contributes to a broader interest in how genomic information can be communicated, understood and used responsibly to improve mental health and healthcare.
ABOUT THE SANDERSON LAB
The Sanderson Lab is an emerging interdisciplinary research group led by Dr Saskia Sanderson at King’s College London. Saskia is based in the Department of Biostatistics & Health Informatics within the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) and is a member of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Maudsley.
Our work sits at the intersection of data science, psychology, behavioural science, mental health and genomics, with a strong emphasis on involvement and engagement with patients, the public, communities and people with relevant lived experience.
Saskia has 25 years of experience conducting research in psychology applied to genomics and now leads national data-science activity across the NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration Mission. The Lab builds on these foundations to investigate how different forms of data and evidence — from large-scale health datasets to patient narratives — can be translated into meaningful information and used responsibly to improve health and healthcare.
We work collaboratively across disciplines and organisations, with researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, the public and communities in the UK and internationally.
