Dr. Lara Cathcart

Biography

Lara Cathcart is a Professor of Finance at Imperial Business School, where she serves as Co-Deputy Head and Department Academic Director for MSc Finance and MSc Risk Management Financial Engineering. Lara earned her PhD in Finance from the University of London. Her current research interests encompass key areas including credit risk and behavioral finance, with particular focus on sovereign and corporate credit default swap markets and the impact of media on financial markets. Lara has presented her research at major finance conferences such as the Western Finance Association, American Finance Association, and European Finance Association, and has published in high-impact finance journals including the Journal of Money Credit Banking, Journal of Corporate Finance, and Journal of Banking Finance, as well as in mainstream practitioner publications like Risk Professional and Investor, featured in Euromoney, Investment Europe, and Structured Credit Investor. Her research has been funded by grants from the Economic & Social Research Council. Additionally, Lara has served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Banking Finance and currently holds the same position at the European Journal of Finance. She is a repeat member of the program committee for the European Financial Management Association and has consulted for investment banks and HM Treasury. Lara has received the Imperial Medal for her commitment to academic excellence, diversity, and inclusion, and for her pioneering contributions to finance education.

Research Interests