Iliatha works within the Division for Care in Long Term Conditions, working in global health, diabetes and mental health. She is a registered health psychologist with a research focus on behavioural interventions; integrating mental and physical health within long term conditions. She is currently working within global health and diabetes, in lower and middle-income countries such as Thailand, India, and Malaysia.

Iliatha first started her research career as a research psychologist for a large clinical trial on physical activity as an aid to smoking cessation during pregnancy. In conjunction with this, she worked towards her PhD (awarded 2013), investigating the phenomenon of behavioural changes within dementia and food-related processes, as well as a certificate in health psychology (awarded chartered membership; registered psychologist, 2013) from the University of Surrey.

She has also worked as a assistant professor at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), 2018 to 2022 and has continued links with LSHTM as an honorary lecturer. Prior to this, Iliatha worked at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s Collage London as a research fellow and project manager leading on UK based complex interventions involving integrating psychosocial care within physical health care as well as integrating diabetes within severe mental illness. Here, she contributed towards the implementation and continuation of an integrated service across King’s Health Partners and was nominated for an HJS award (2018).

Iliatha has since focused her research within lower- and middle-income countries, developing and evaluating behavioural interventions (including peer education and digital platforms) in diabetes and stroke care. In addition, she is co investigator on a large UK based diabetes distress programme, leading the co design work-package.

Biography - Teaching

Iliatha's main teaching roles are: Module lead for Level 4 Global Health Perspectives; leads the Elective Placements, and Jikei Exchange Programme and lectures at the Centre for Global Mental Health. She supervises MSc, and PhD students within the field of diabetes, global health and integrating mental and physical health.

Current Research Topics:

• Improving Health and Well-being of Adults with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) in Indonesia: Developing a Personalised Behavioural Change Intervention Using the Behavioural Change Wheel (BCW) Framework and Partnership Approaches
• Adapting the D-stress care pathway, originally designed for Type 1 Diabetes, for adults with Type 2 Diabetes
• A Feasibility Trial of a New Women’s Wellness Type 2 Diabetes Programme optimised for midlife women in the UK

Enquiring about potential PhD supervision

If you’re thinking of applying for one of our PhD programmes and are looking for potential supervisors, please email nmpc_pgr_enquiries@kcl.ac.uk listing the names of the supervisors you’ve identified as having expertise in your chosen area, along with your CV and a short research proposal. 

Our Postgraduate Research Team will contact supervisors on your behalf and get back to you. If you have any queries in the meantime, please use the email address above, rather than contacting potential PhD supervisors directly, because they are unable to respond to initial enquiries.