Dr Renate Reniers BSc MSc PhD

Dr Renate Reniers

Birmingham Medical School
Lecturer in Psychiatry
In affiliation with the Institute for Mental Health and the Centre for Human Brain Health

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 301 2361
Email
r.l.e.p.reniers@bham.ac.uk
Address
Birmingham Medical School
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Reniers is a research psychologist investigating the neurobiological, clinical, and behavioural mechanisms underlying adolescent development and (youth) mental health, with a particular focus on the transition from health to disease and the at-risk mental state for psychosis. Her work investigates empathy, risk-taking behaviour, and the impact of stress on brain and behaviour, encompassing neuroimaging, biomarkers, and behavioural science. Recent work focuses on the integration of AI and technology in healthcare and medical education, including the application of natural language processing and extended reality tools in mental health care. Central to this research is the aim of using technology to foster empathy, improve clinical training and practice, and support patients and carers. Dr Reniers is the lead author of the widely used, translated, and validated Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE).

Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) - University of Birmingham 2019
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) - University of Birmingham 2019
  • PhD in Neuroscience & Psychiatry – University of Manchester 2010
  • MSc Psychology (Neuropsychology) – Maastricht University 2005
  • BSc Psychology (Biological Psychology) – Maastricht University 2005
  • Propedeuse Public Health – Maastricht University 2003

Biography

Before taking up a position as Lecturer in Psychiatry at the University of Birmingham, Dr Reniers was a Research Fellow at the School of Psychology of the University of Birmingham and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Nottingham. She completed her PhD in Neuroscience and Psychiatry at the University of Manchester and received her MSc and BSc from Maastricht University in the Netherlands. 

Teaching

Dr Reniers is the MBChB Theme Lead for Psychology.

She is the Foundations 4 lead of the MBChB programme and leads the Decision-Making (DEM) component.

She is the Psychology component lead for the Doctors, Patients, Society (DPS) component.

She actively supervises research students (PhD) and taught students completing dissertations (Biomedical Sciences).

She is a Personal Academic Tutor (PAT) for MBChB students.

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Reniers Supervises Doctoral students in areas related to her research interests and considers applications on a rolling basis. Her research involves the transition from health to disease, with the main research themes being:

  • Emerging mental health problems (psychosis)
  • Social cognition (empathy, psychosocial functioning)
  • Adolescent and young adult risk-taking behaviour
  • The impact of stress on brain and behaviour
  • The use and impact of AI and technology in healthcare and medical education

Students interested in working with Dr Reniers should contact her in first instance on r.l.e.p.reniers@bham.ac.uk. 

Research

Google Scholar

Research Gate

Dr Reniers’ research involves the transition from health to disease, with the main research themes being:

  • Emerging mental health problems (psychosis)
  • Social cognition (empathy, psychosocial functioning)
  • Adolescent and young adult risk-taking behaviour
  • The impact of stress on brain and behaviour
  • The use and impact of AI and technology in healthcare and medical education

Research interests

Dr Reniers is a research psychologist investigating the neurobiological, clinical, and behavioural mechanisms underlying adolescent development and (youth) mental health, with a particular focus on the transition from health to disease and the at-risk mental state for psychosis. Her work investigates empathy, risk-taking behaviour, and the impact of stress on brain and behaviour, encompassing neuroimaging, biomarkers, and behavioural science. Recent work focuses on the integration of AI and technology in healthcare and medical education, including the application of natural language processing and extended reality tools in mental health care. Central to this research is the aim of using technology to foster empathy, improve clinical training and practice, and support patients and carers. Dr Reniers is the lead author of the widely used, translated, and validated Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE).

Other activities

  • Research Lead Birmingham Medical School
  • PGR Lead Birmingham Medical School
  • Library Representative Birmingham Medical School
  • Member of the Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS), International Early Psychosis Association (IEPA), Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME), Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling (AFSG)

Publications

Reniers RLEP, Lin A, Yung AR, Koutsouleris N, Nelson B, Cropley VL, Velakoulis D, McGorry PD, Pantelis C and Wood SJ (2016). Neuroanatomical predictors of functional outcome in individuals at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis. Schizophrenia bulletin, 43(2), 449-458.

Reniers RLEP, Murphy L, Lin A, Para Bartolomé S and Wood SJ (2016). Risk perception and risk-taking behaviour during adolescence: The influence of personality and gender. PLOS One, 11(4), e0153842.

Reniers RLEP, Beavan A, Keogan L, Furneaux A, Mayhew S and Wood SJ (2016). Is it all in the reward? Peers influence risk-taking behaviour in young adulthood. British Journal of Psychology, 108(2), 276-295.

Cropley VL, Lin A, Nelson B, Reniers RLEP, Yung AR, Bartholomeusz CF, Klauser P, Velakoulis D, McGorry P, Wood SJ and Pantelis C. (2015). Baseline grey matter volume of non-transitioned ‘ultra-high risk’ for psychosis individuals with and without attenuated psychotic symptoms at long-term follow-up. Schizophrenia Research, 173(3), 152-158.

Heinze K, Reniers RLEP, Nelson B, Yung AR, Lin A, Harrison BJ, Pantelis C, Velakoulis D, McGorry PD and Wood SJ. (2015). Discrete alterations of brain network structural covariance in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis. Biological Psychiatry, 77(11), 989-996.

Reniers RLEP, Garner B, Phassouliotis C, Phillips LJ, Markulev C, Pantelis C, Bendall S, McGorry PD and Wood SJ. (2015). The relationship between stress, HPA axis functioning and brain structure in first episode psychosis over the first 12 weeks of treatment. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 231, 111-119.

Reniers RLEP, Völlm BA, Elliott E and Corcoran R. (2014). Empathy, ToM, and self-other differentiation: An fMRI study of internal states. Social Neuroscience, 1, 50-62.

Lin A, Reniers RLEP* and Wood SJ. (2013). Clinical staging in severe mental disorders: Evidence from neurocognition and neuroimaging. British Journal of Psychiatry, S11-S17.

Reniers RLEP, Corcoran R, Völlm BA, Mashru A, Howard R and Liddle PF (2012). Moral decision making, ToM, empathy, and the default mode network. Biological Psychology, 90, 202-210.

Reniers RLEP, Corcoran R, Drake R, Shryane NM and Völlm BA (2011). The QCAE: A Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy. Journal of Personality Assessment, 93(1), 84-95.

 * joint first authorship

 Further publication details available here