Dr Lauren Owen

Dr Owen is the head of the NPBD Unit (Nutrition Psychopharmacology & Brain Development Unit). Her research interests are broadly in the area of nutritional and pharmacological interventions to alter brain and cognitive functioning. Within this field research includes the effects of drugs, metabolism, and dietary intervention in the context of cognition, mental health and wellbeing.

Teaching

Dr Owen is the Program Leader of The Psychology of Sport undergraduate degree program. Dr Owen also leads modules on bio pyschology and cognitive function as well as addictive behaviours and psychopharmacology. Dr Owen teaches on a range of additional modules including research methods and statistics.

Research Interests

Enterprise activities:

Dr Owen has worked in a consultancy capacity for a range of large nutritional and pharmaceutical companies and organisations. Dr Owen is currently working with Health Innovation Manchester which aims to discover, develop and deploy new solutions that improve the health and wellbeing of Greater Manchester. Additionally she is currently involved in activity with the charity Teams4u (in Uganda) which aim to change the lives of deprived children, and their communities, through supporting education and healthcare.

Psycho-biology, Addiction, Psychopharmacology, Cognition

Publications

Berk, M., Turner, A., Malhi, G. S., Ng, C., Cotton, S. M., Dodd, S., Samuni Y, Tanious M ,McAulay, Dowling N, Sarris J, Owen L, Waterdrinker A, Smith D and Dean O (2019). A randomised controlled trial of a mitochondrial therapeutic target for bipolar depression: mitochondrial agents, N-acetylcysteine, and placebo. BMC medicine, 17(1), 18.

Owen L & Corfe B (2017). The Role of Diet and Nutrition on Mental Health and Wellbeing. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. (Recently accepted). IF= 4.703.

Sünram-Lea S, & Owen L, (2017). The impact of diet-based glycaemic response and glucose regulation on cognition: evidence across the lifespan. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. (Recently accepted). IF= 4.703.

Stephens R, Holloway K, Grange JA, Jones K, Kruisselbrink D, Owen L (2017) Does familial risk for alcohol use disorder predict alcohol hangover. Psychopharmacology 1-8. IF =3.875.

Holt GM, Owen LJ, Till S, Cheng Y, Grant VA, Harden CJ and Corfe BM, (2017). Systematic literature review shows that appetite rating does not predict energy intake. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, (just-accepted). IF= 5.548.

Postgraduate Research

Dr Owen has supervised numerous PhD, MSc and undergraduate students as well as managing of research associates and Interns. She currently supervises 2 PhD students.