Dr. Udita Iyengar

Biography

Udita completed her MSc at University College London and conducted her doctoral research at Yale University’s Attachment Neurodevelopment Lab at Baylor College of Medicine, USA, focusing on maternal attachment and brain responses to infant cues using fMRI. She earned her PhD in 2016 under the guidance of Professor Peter Fonagy and Dr. Lane Strathearn, specializing in neuroscience, attachment behaviors, and trauma. Udita joined King’s College London IoPPN in 2016 as a postdoctoral researcher for the SGDP, managing the c-VEDA project and the Services Trial in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry until 2022. She has contributed to KCL’s BSc Psychology and MSc CAMHS courses and serves as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Roehampton. Udita is currently a lecturer in the Department of Psychosis Studies, teaching MSc Mental Health Studies and MSc Early Intervention in Psychosis programs. She co-leads initiatives to improve student wellbeing among racially minoritized students at IoPPN. Her research interests include maternal-infant attachment, perinatal mental health, and integrating lived experience into educational practices. Udita has been recognized for her public engagement efforts, co-producing workshops and participating in discussions to address mental health stigma.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards