Prof Gina RipponAcademic

Biography

Professor Gina Rippon is Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Neuroimaging at the Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham. Her research applies brain-imaging techniques—principally EEG and MEG—to investigate developmental disorders including autism, with a particular focus on the under-recognition of autism in women and girls. She gained her PhD in physiological psychology in 1982 and built her neuroimaging career at the Aston Brain Centre from 2000. She is a critic of 'neurotrash'—the populist misuse of neuroscience to reinforce gender stereotypes—and has published and commented widely on sex and gender differences in the brain. In August 2026 she wrote in The Guardian arguing that Channel 4's documentary 'The Great ADHD Myth?' was not science-led, defending decades of genetic, developmental and clinical research supporting ADHD as a recognised disorder.

References

1. 1.Aston University's Professor Gina Rippon wins British Psychological Society book award for The Lost Girls of Autism — Establishes her current role as professor emeritus of cognitive neuroimaging at Aston University IHN, and the BPS Popular Science Award 2025
2. 2.About Gina Rippon – ginarippon.com — Establishes her research focus on autism and gender, her EEG/MEG methodology, her 2015 British Science Association Honorary Fellowship, and her public engagement work
3. 3.ADHD is no myth – but we should interrogate it all the same (reader letters referencing Rippon's Guardian article of 20 August 2026) — Establishes that Rippon wrote a Guardian article on 20 August 2026 critiquing Channel 4's 'The Great ADHD Myth?' documentary and defending the scientific evidence base for ADHD
4. 4.Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment – Aston University — Establishes the organisation's full name, location (Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET) and that Rippon is named on the institute's own news pages
5. 5.

Expertise

Cited on

• Learning disability & autism
• Mental health

Stated areas of expertise

• Neurodevelopmental disorders (autism, ADHD)
• Gender bias in neuroscience research
• Cognitive neuroimaging (EEG, MEG)
• Under-diagnosis of autism in women and girls
• Public communication of science
• Misuse of neuroscience ('neurotrash')

Notable achievements

• Her book 'The Lost Girls of Autism' won the 2025 British Psychological Society Popular Science Award Source ↗
• 'The Lost Girls of Autism' was named a Book of the Year 2025 by The Daily Telegraph and New Scientist Source ↗
• Made an Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association in 2015 for services to public communication of science Source ↗
• Contributed as a member of the Fawcett Society Commission on Gender Stereotypes in Early Childhood, producing the report 'Unlimited Potential' Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “A much broader range of behaviours were brought under the umbrella of the term autism. What looked like a dramatic increase in cases was a dramatic increase in diagnosis.”

  emeritus professor of cognitive neuroimaging at Aston University · Learning disability & autism · 27 Aug 2026 · Is Tylenol the same as paracetamol, and should you take it in pregnancy? Here’s why experts say Trump should be ignored ↗

• “Her critique of the recent Channel 4 documentary on ADHD is discussed as she apparently thinks that when addressing the issue of how much validity the diagnosis has, all we need do is gather more scientific evidence about it.”

  Professor (neuroscientist, implied from context of ADHD research critique) · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · ADHD is no myth – but we should interrogate it all the same | Letters ↗

Source references

1. Is Tylenol the same as paracetamol, and should you take it in pregnancy? Here’s why experts say Trump should be ignoredtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. ADHD is no myth – but we should interrogate it all the same | Letterstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Websitehttps://www.ginarippon.com/
• Staff pagehttps://www.aston.ac.uk/research/hls/ihn

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