Grainne McAlonan, M.B.B.S., Ph.D.

Professor of Translational Neuroscience, King’s College London

SFARI Investigator Website

Grainne McAlonan’s research focus is in autism, schizophrenia and related disorders of neurodevelopment. This is reflected in her substantial contribution to neuroimaging and laboratory-based neuroscience research in the field.

McAlonan’s aim is to identify biomarkers for these conditions and investigate potential causal mechanisms in humans and animal models. The goal is to use imaging methods (magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy) and out-of-scanner measures to identify individual differences within this clinically diverse spectrum. These tools will enable forward and back translation between human and rodent models and provide new opportunities for drug development and testing.

Funded Projects

Brain imaging and visual processing study using arbaclofen to assess GABAB receptor activation in autism

Awarded: 2017
Award Type: Research

SFARI Funded Publications

GABA_B receptor modulation of visual sensory processing in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder. Huang Q., Pereira A.C., Velthuis H., Wong N.M.L., Ellis C.L., Ponteduro F.M., Dimitrov M., Kowalewski L., Lythgoe D.J., Rotaru D., Edden R.A.E., Leonard A., Ivin G., Ahmad J., Pretzsch C.M., Daly E., Murphy D., McAlonan G.

Preterm birth alters the development of cortical microstructure and morphology at term-equivalent age. Dimitrova R., Pietsch M., Ciarrusta J., Fitzgibbon S.P., Williams L.Z.J., Christiaens D., Cordero-Grande L., Batalle D., Makropoulos A., Schuh A., Price A.N., Hutter J., Teixeira R.P., Hughes E., Chew A., Falconer S., Carney O., Egloff A., Tournier J.-D., McAlonan G., Rutherford M.A., Counsell S.J., Robinson E.C., Hajnal J.V., Rueckert D., Edwards A.D., O’Muircheartaigh J.

T1-weighted/T2-weighted ratio mapping at 5 months captures individual differences in behavioral development and differentiates infants at familial risk for autism from controls. Darki F., Nyström P., McAlonan G., Bölte S., Falck-Ytter T.