Professor Luci Wiggs

Professor of Psychology

School of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health

Teaching and supervision

Courses

Modules taught

Luci teaches on a range of undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate modules (PG) and she is the module leader for Psychology of Mental Health Conditions (UG), Psychological Health and Disorders (PG) and the Dissertation module (PG).

Luci is also the Subject Coordinator for the MSc Psychology degree course.

Supervision

I welcome enquiries from potential PhD students who would like to work within one of my areas of interest.

Example of past students:

  • Rhea Arini - The cognitive underpinnings of third-party punishment in children: motivations and links to normativity.
  • Sarah Camp - The role of distractors in object substitution masking and crowding as a measure of visual awareness
  • Claudia Cippola - Sleep patterns and creativity in children and adolescents with and without high functioning autism: a descriptive study and an intervention trial
  • Antonella Cirasola - Understanding preschool children’s emotional regulation in the context of early relationships: the role of parental Reflective Functioning
  • Gaby Illingworth - maternal mind mindedness: a cognitive behavioural trait or a relational construct?
  • Sandy Oldfield - Coping and adjustment of parents of children with a chronic illness

Research Students

Name Thesis title Completed
Fiona Tierney Families’ experience of using sleep-related routines with their young children 2023
Georgia Cook Parental influences on children’s sleep 2019

Research

Luci is a chartered psychologist who conducts clinical research into sleep, its disorders and treatments and the effects of sleep disruption on daytime functioning. She has focussed on the sleep patterns of children and adolescents and their families, taking a special interest in children with developmental disorders (DD) and especially those with autism spectrum disorders. She has published her work in a variety of scientific journals and co-edited an internationally authored book about sleep disruption and its treatment in children with DD.  She is currently an Associate Editor for the Journal of Sleep Research. She has previously served as a board member of the British Sleep Society’s Executive and Scientific Committees and the European Paediatric Sleep Group as well as Chairing the European Sleep Research Society’s Education Committee and the British Sleep Society Paediatric Group.

Recent Funding:

  • NIHR Programme grant - co applicant £2,326,741  (2017-2023) Changing Agendas on Sleep, Treatment and Learning in Childhood Epilepsy (CASTLE)
  • The Waterloo Foundation – (Co PI with A. Barnett)  £59,340 (2012-2015) Sleep disturbance in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder  
  • Research Autism – (PI: P Gringras) £154,500 (2011 – 2012) - Do weighted blankets help children with autism sleep  
  • Department of Health Research and Development – HTA Programme – (PIs: R Appleton & P Gringras) £441,061. (2007-2010). The use of melatonin in children with neuro-developmental disorders and impaired sleep: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study.   

Groups

Projects as Principal Investigator, or Lead Academic if project is led by another Institution

  • Changing Agendas on Sleep, Treatment and Learning in Childhood Epilepsy (CASTLE) - led by KCL (01/05/2017 - 31/07/2024), funded by: National Institute for Health Research, funding amount received by Brookes: £160,865

Publications

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Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

  • The British Psychological Society 
  • The British Sleep Society                                                    
  • The European Sleep Research Society                                            
  • The European Paediatric Sleep Group
  • The International Pediatric Sleep Association
  • The Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes

Further details

Committee membership

  • British Sleep Society Scientific Committee (1999 to 2008)
  • Chair of European Sleep Research Society Education Committee (2001 to 2004)
  • British Sleep Society Committee (1997 to 2004)
  • Committee member of European Sleep Research Society Education Committee (1997 to 2001)
  • Chair of British Sleep Society Paediatric Group (2001-2003)

Editorial work

  • Associate Editor for the Journal of Sleep Research (2009-present)