Contact
Research Focus
Odessa Hamilton is a Doctoral Researcher in Biobehavioural Epidemiology and Precision Medicine at University College London (UCL). Her research uses a psychoneuroimmunological framework and genetically informed designs to explore the interplay between stress and sleep in the aetiopathogenesis of psychopathology across a spectrum of severity; with special attention given to depression, anxiety, and psychosis. Odessa is particularly interested in using observational data from large cohort studies to understand longitudinal associations at a population and clinical level. To this end, Odessa engages in advanced statistical modelling and epidemiological techniques, such as causal inference, multiple imputation, genetic correlation and mendelian randomisation.
Teaching
Odessa teaches post-graduate Biostatistics at UCL. She is also Guest Lecturer on the London School of Economics (LSE) Executive MBA programme, directed by Associate Professor Dr Grace Lordan in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science.
Professional Focus
As a Behavioural Scientist, Odessa leverages scientific insights at the LSE to advance the understanding of factors affecting inclusion in multinational corporations. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, is licensed in Psychometrics, and has MBPsS status at the British Psychological Society (BPS). Odessa was trained as a Crisis Specialist to work with adult victims of crime, the homeless, the deprived, and people with severe physical and mental health concerns. She also secured a transient opportunity at the University of Oxford exploring potential lithium-mimetics for psychopathologies. She is an expert contributor to major global publishing enterprises and her work has been featured in top publications.
Current Projects
Chasing the Cytokine Storm: The Immune-Neuroendocrine Crosstalk in Response to Stress
Chronically Inflamed: Causal Effects of Inflammation on Sleep Disturbance and Mental Illness
Double Burden. Triple Threat?: Investigating Whether the Double Burden of Home and Work Stress for Professional Women Leads to the Triple Threat to Biology, Physical and Mental Health
Molecular Dreams: Polygenic Predisposition, Neuroimmunity, and Sleep
Media coverage
- Monshoot News: “Forbidden words in diverse and inclusive companies”
- World Economic Forum: “Work. Stress. Sleep. Repeat. Researchers explain how to break the cycle”
- Psychology Today: “Beneath the Skin: The Problems Chronic Stress Can Cause. From occupational stress to mental illness.”
Key Articles
- Harvard Business Review: “How to Make Your Organization’s Language More Inclusive”
- LSE Business Review: “Opposition to equality, diversity, and inclusion from the perspective of change resistance”
- LSE Business Review: “Work. Stress. Sleep. Repeat. Breaking the cycle of mutually reinforcing work stress and sleep deprivation”
Publications
- Google Scholar: Publications
Key publications
- Hamilton, O. S., Steptoe, A., & Ajnakina, O. (2022). Polygenic Predisposition, Sleep Duration, and Depression Evidence from a Prospective Population-Based Cohort. The Lancet Preprint.
- Hamilton, O. S., Steptoe, A., & Ajnakina, O. (2022). Polygenic Predisposition, Sleep Duration, and Depression Evidence from a Prospective Population-Based Cohort. Research Square Preprint.
- Hamilton, O. S., Cadar, D., & Steptoe, A. (2021). Systemic inflammation and emotional responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature | Translational Psychiatry, 626(11).