Professor Francesca HappéAcademic

Biography

Professor Francesca Happé CBE FBA FMedSci is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Director of the MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London. She completed her undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology at Oxford University and her PhD at UCL/MRC Cognitive Development Unit, supervised by Professor Uta Frith. For the last 30 years her primary research focus has been autism, exploring the nature of social understanding in neurotypical development and mentalising difficulties in autism, as well as abilities and assets in autistic people and their relation to detail-focused cognitive style. Some of her most recent work focuses on mental health on the autism spectrum and under-researched subgroups including women and the elderly. She leads the ReSpect Lab at King's College London and is a past-President of the International Society for Autism Research (2013–2015). She was appointed CBE in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to the study of autism.

References

1. 1.Francesca Happé – King's College London staff profile — Current role, research focus, awards including CBE, ReSpect Lab leadership, media appearances
2. 2.Professor Francesca Happé FBA – The British Academy — Role title, organisation, educational background, research focus, fellowship and awards
3. 3.Professor Francesca Happé – Psychwire/ASK — Fellowship, Co-Founder of National Forum for Neuroscience and Special Education, expertise in autism in girls and women
4. 4.Francesca Happé – KCL Research Portal — Current and recent peer-reviewed publications, active research projects
5. 5.Prof Francesca Happé (@HappeLab) on X — Confirms X account identity: 'Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at SGDP Centre, IoPPN, KCL'

Expertise

Cited on

• Learning disability & autism

Stated areas of expertise

• Autism spectrum conditions
• Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Social cognition
• Autism in women and girls
• Ageing and autism
• Mental health on the autism spectrum

Notable achievements

• Appointed CBE in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to the study of autism. Source ↗
• Elected Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences. Source ↗
• Received the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award, the British Psychological Society Spearman Medal and President's Award, and the Experimental Psychology Society Prize. Source ↗
• Past-President of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), 2013–2015. Source ↗
• Co-Founder of the National Forum for Neuroscience and Special Education. Source ↗
• Subject of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific (broadcast 01/09/2020). Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “A pioneering researcher at UCL has called for the spectrum disorder to be split into clearer groups as diagnoses soar”

  pioneering researcher at UCL · Learning disability & autism · 10 Aug 2026 · ‘Catch-all’ autism definition may become worthless, expert says ↗

Source references

1. ‘Catch-all’ autism definition may become worthless, expert saysthetimes.com · 10 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/francesca-happe
• Xhttps://x.com/HappeLab
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/happe-francesca-a9323534/
• Websitehttps://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/francesca.happe/

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.