Dr Corinna Grindle PhD, BCBA-D

• PhD in Psychology, University of Southampton
• MSc Health Psychology (Distinction), City University London
• BSc Psychology and Education, University of Warwick
• Board Certified Behaviour Analyst – Doctoral (BCBA-D)

Dr Corinna Grindle studied Psychology and Education as an undergraduate at the University of Warwick, before completing her PhD in Psychology at the University of Southampton, where her doctoral research focused on human learning and behavioural processes.

Following completion of her PhD, she held research and teaching posts in psychology at the University of Southampton, including roles as Research Fellow and Lecturer. During this period, she developed her academic interests in applied behavioural science, education, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

From the mid-2000s, Dr Grindle held a series of academic appointments at Bangor University, where she worked as a Lecturer and later Senior Lecturer in Psychology, contributing to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in behavioural psychology and related areas. Alongside this, she maintained active involvement in applied research focused on educational and behavioural interventions for children and young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Prior to joining the University of Birmingham, Dr Grindle was based at the University of Warwick for a number of years within the Centre for Research in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (CIDD). During her time at Warwick, she contributed to a wide range of externally funded research projects in intellectual and developmental disability, education, and supported doctoral research and early-career researcher development.

Dr Grindle joined the University of Birmingham as a Senior Research Fellow within the Intellectual Disabilities Research Institute (IDRIS). Her role is research-focused and involves contributing to externally funded projects, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and supporting collaborative research activity aligned with the department’s priorities.

Corinna also contributes to the wider academic community through editorial and peer-review activity and is currently an Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities.

Corinna’s research is committed to developing and strengthening the evidence base for interventions that support children and young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, particularly within educational settings.

Her research focuses on two closely related areas. The first examines educational and behavioural interventions designed to support learning, behaviour, and participation for pupils with intellectual and developmental disabilities across mainstream and specialist provision. This work includes the development and evaluation of early academic skill interventions, such as literacy and numeracy, and research on the effective implementation of evidence-based practices in real-world school contexts.

The second area of her research focuses on school-based mental health and wellbeing interventions for children and young people. Within this strand, she is particularly interested in the development, adaptation, and evaluation of curriculum-based whole-school or class-wide approaches across both mainstream and special school contexts, spanning primary and secondary education. Her research in this area emphasises co-production with schools and the use of rigorous experimental and mixed-methods designs, including feasibility studies and randomised controlled trials.

Across her work, Dr Grindle collaborates closely with multidisciplinary academic teams and educational partners. Her research is typically externally funded and is characterised by a strong emphasis on applied methodology, implementation, and the translation of research evidence into educational and service practice.