1. LAURA LOUISE FREEMAN PhD
Address: 16 Gibbs Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire. OX16 3HJ / Tel: 07974 133 285 / Email: lauralou.freeman@me.com
Personal Summary
I’m a recent PhD graduate with an extensive and diverse education, having followed up Masters’ degrees in Biomedical
Sciences and Science Media Production with a doctorate from the Institute of Psychiatry. Managing my PhD project has
given me practical experience in managing high level academic research, as well as managing large scale projects.
• High academic achiever
• Skilled writer
• Excellent attention to detail
• Great problem solver
• Works effectively under pressure and meets deadlines
• Comprehends new material and subject matter quickly
Education
PhD Psychological Medicine (Biological) - King’s College London (Institute of Psychiatry) (Oct. 2008 – Jul. 2014)
• Recruited 300 women for a study into stress in pregnancy and child outcome
• Performed psychological evaluation on mothers and developmental assessment on their children
• Supervised three research assistants and two MSc students
• Assisted in the development of a website promoting our research
• Led a team to create an exhibition at The Royal Society and The Big Bang fair
• Wrote copy for websites, posters, leaflets and articles
MSc (DIC) Science Media Production merit Imperial College London (Oct 2012 – Oct 2013)
• Gained broadcast and print journalism skills
• Produced a 30 minute radio play
MRes Biomedical Science (genetics) merit St George’s, University of London (Aug 2007 – Sep 2008)
• Specialised in behavioural genetics
• Additional study in advanced statistics
• Recruited 60 individuals with Noonan Syndrome and gave them psychological evaluation
• Presented findings at international conferences
BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science (2:1) St George’s, University of London (Oct 2003 – Jul 2006)
• Studied non-clinical medicine such as anatomy, physiology, pathology and pharmacology
• Undertook specialist modules in clinical neuroscience, developmental psychology, reproduction and genetics
• Produced a dissertation on the autistic aspects of the genetic condition FragileX-E
• Presented my findings at the largest Fragile-X conferences in the world in Atlanta and St Louis, USA
Employment History
Freelance Work – Video, Radio, Social Media, Web Design, Graphic Design, Statistics (Oct 2013 – Current)
• Creative design, in particular hand-drawn art
• Produced artwork for an exhibition at The Vibe Gallery, several mental health conferences, and books including
Jonathan Glover’s Alien Landscapes?
• Blogging for Mind and Rethink
• Designing and copywriting for relaxinpregnancy.com and its associated websites
• Copywriting for composer Jenny Mitchell
• Statistical advisor at Imperial College
Supported Living Worker – Fusion people (Mar 2015 – Apr 2015)
• Support key service users to move on from residential living
• Responsible for ordering of food and medication
• Working with service users to maintain good mental health and liaising with CPNs and psychiatrists
PR and advertising assistant – Freeman Plant Sales, Godstone (Aug 2014 – Mar 2015)
• Assisted with the website including advertising
• Telesales
• Responsible for local advertising campaigns
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2. Residential Support Worker - Yarrow, Earls Court (Aug 2014 – Mar 2015)
• Support key service users with learning disabilities and mental health problems in a supported living setting
• Responsible for day to day running of the home, medication management and administration and personal care
• Working with service users, helping them learn the skills to live in the community independently
Intern Researcher (Development) Darlow Smithson Productions, Shepherds Bush (May 2013- Jun 2013)
• Responsible for research contributing to successful documentaries for The BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic
• Worked as part of a team responsible for coming up with new concepts and ideas
Honorary Research Assistant- Imperial College London (Jun 2009-Dec 2014)
• Recruitment of 300 mothers and their subsequent children
• Research into perinatal psychobiology
• Statistical evaluation of results
• Organising, archiving and filing of results
• Assisting with projects for the research team
Honorary Researcher- Imperial College Healthcare (Mar 2009- Dec 2012)
• Recruiting mothers from the antenatal and Ultrasound clinics
• Performing developmental assessments on infants
Supported Housing Worker & Floating Support Worker - Hestia Housing & Support, Putney (Jun 2006- Aug 2007)
• Helped service users to recover daily living skills following hospital admission
• Helped with managing finances, completing and managing benefit forms, and providing mental health support
through 1:1 sessions and medication management.
• Ran involvement meetings to help service users have a more active voice in the management of their care.
• Responsible for the petty cash and for the COSHH management and its associated budget.
Technical Skills and Training
• Autism diagnostic assessment (Diagnostic Interview for Social & Communication Disorders)
• Infant and toddler development assessment (Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development)
• Audio & video production and editing (Final Cut Pro 7, Pro Tools 10)
• Statistical analysis and survey design (SPSS, MLWin, Graph Pad Prism, Snap Surveys)
• Web design (Wordpress, HTML), Graphic design (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign)
• Copywriting
Publications
As part of my undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD studies I have authored several academic papers in Peer reviewed
journals. I have also have given conference presentations and presented academic posters across the United States,
Europe and Australia. Copies of these are available on request.
Events and conferences
• Royal Society Summer Science. In 2009, led the design and execution of an exhibit on stress in pregnancy.
oversaw a small team of five researchers, bringing together a demonstration that combined display graphics,
videos, video games and even vacuum-packed placentas.
• Big Bang Fair, The Royal Society. After the Summer Science exhibition, The Royal Society asked us to present
our exhibit at the young scientists and engineers’ Big Bang Fair in 2010. For this second demo, designed the
concept for an additional Flash game demonstrating the effects of hormones on stress in pregnant women.
• Marce Society International and National conferences, led a small team to organize several scientific
conferences. I was responsible for finding speakers, setting up the programme and running things on the day of
the events including looking after the guests, IT support, timekeeping and providing refreshments.
• Begin Before Birth: National conferences. I took part in a small team to set up and run these events.
Grants and Awards
• Wellcome Trust People Award (2010): Funded the creation of BeginBeforeBirth.org, a site for teachers, parents
and students about the effects of stress on pregnancy. Designed concepts for flash games, conceptualized and
wrote three films made in conjunction with Channel 4, and marketed the site through social media.
• MRC Eurostress PhD Studentship (2008): Funding for four years in order to study my PhD in stress and mental
health in pregnancy and the effect on the child.
• Birth Defect Foundation (2007) One year’s funding in order to complete my MRes in Biomedical Science.
Other Interests
I enjoy making jewelry, art and making cute videos of my cats. I am an avid blogger and advocate for mental health
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3. stigma. My blog can be found at: www.juggleglass.com. I also maintain the social media for the Begin Before Birth
campaign.
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