Clara Calia
Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology
Address
- Street
-
Room 2.1, Doorway 6, Elsie Inglis Quad, Teviot Place
- City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH8 9AG
Background
Clara is currently working as a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology. She is the co-lead of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) committee within the Clinical Doctorate in Edinburgh and is an active member of both the UK-wide Clinical Doctorate Anti-Racism Group and the British Psychological Society (BPS) Human Rights Advisory Group.
Her main research interests lie in Cross-Cultural Neuropsychology, Global Mental Health, and Ethics in Global Research and Clinical Practice. In 2019, she co-founded the European Consortium for Cross-Cultural Neuropsychology (ECCroN), a collective dedicated to improving neuropsychological assessment for culturally, educationally, and linguistically diverse populations across Europe.
Since 2018, Clara has held multiple roles in ethics at the University of Edinburgh, including as a member of the Ethics Committee in Clinical Psychology and Counselling and as Ethics & Integrity Lead. From 2019 to 2022, she was appointed Deputy Director of Research Ethics and Integrity, where she led school-wide efforts to promote ethical practices, collaborated on the development of new online tools, and worked with the College to adapt to changing ethical regulations.
Since 2019, Clara has also led the Ethics in Global Research and Ethics in Clinical Context projects, funded by grants from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the Wellcome Trust. These initiatives involved over 400 researchers and clinicians from 42 countries and aim to establish best practices for research ethics in complex global contexts. As part of this work, Clara contributed to develop an Ethics Toolkit, a flexible resource for ethical reflection and accountability throughout the research and clinical process. The toolkit includes a multilingual website, downloadable materials and recommendations for ethics committees.
Clara also contributed, through her expertise in ethics, with the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA), the Childlight Research project led by the University of Edinburgh and the Independent Research Ethics Committee (IREC), where she serves as a member of their ethics committees.
Social justice is at the core of Clara's research and clinical work, where she champions principles of equity, ethics, participation, and dialogue with culturally diverse populations and individuals at risk of social injustice. She actively collaborates with organisations such as Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA), Re-Act: Refugee Action Scotland and Education without Borders
Qualifications
Dr. Clara Calia holds a PhD in Psychology from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh (2016), and a Clinical Doctorate (2014). She has also completed a Pg Cert in Academic Practice at the University of Edinburgh (2020), a Pg Dip in Cognitive Neuroscience at Oxford Brookes University (2010), an MSc in Clinical Psychology (2008), and a BSc in Psychology (2006).
Responsibilities & affiliations
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
2009-2018. Professional membership of the Italian Psychologist Association. N.2931
2010. British Psychological Society. N. 266240
2015. British Neuropsychological Society. BNS_538
2016. Member of the Scottish Dementia Research Consortium (SDRC)
2017. Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). N. PYL 35480
2018. Fellow of the Global Academy of Food Insecurity and Agriculture. University of Edinurgh https://www.ed.ac.uk/global-agriculture-food-security
2019. Fellow of the Global Health Academy. University of Edinburgh https://www.ed.ac.uk/global-health
2020. Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. PR185879
2022. Fellow of the Usher Institute. University of Edinburgh
2022. BPS- Human Rights Advisory group https://www.bps.org.uk/news/bps-welcomes-its-new-human-rights-advisory-group
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Research summary
Clara's main research interests are in the areas of Neuropsychology, Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with a focus on the cognitive aspects of human memory. Recent areas of work also include research on global mental health in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) and cross-cultural psychology.