Professor, Bilkent University
Prof. Dr. Timothea Toulopoulou is an internationally recognized neuropsychologist whose academic journey spans elite institutions across the UK, Asia, Europe, and the US. With a PhD in Neuropsychology from the University of London, her interdisciplinary expertise bridges neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, and genetics. She is currently Professor at Bilkent University (Turkey) and Adjunct Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (USA). Formerly at the University of Hong Kong and Kingās College London, she has significantly contributed to the field of schizophrenia and psychosis through extensive twin and neuroimaging research. Her career reflects leadership, mentorship, and groundbreaking scholarship, with deep engagement in teaching, research supervision, and administrative leadership roles. Prof. Toulopoulou has played an integral part in curriculum development, academic advising, faculty recruitment, and ethical oversight. Her commitment to mental health research and education has left a lasting impact on global psychology and neuroscience communities.
Profile
Scholar
Scopus
š Education
Prof. Toulopoulou completed her academic training in the UK, earning her BA (Hons) in Social Sciences (Psychology) from the University of Sunderland in 1994. She then pursued a Master of Science in Neurosciences at the University of London in 1995. Driven by her deep interest in brain function and mental health, she obtained her PhD in Neuropsychology from the same institution in 2001. Her educational background laid a strong foundation for a career exploring the neurobiological basis of psychiatric disorders. Her studies provided a solid framework for combining clinical, genetic, and neuroimaging approaches in research. The integration of multidisciplinary methods from psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience during her education fostered her later work on cognitive phenotypes and brain mechanisms related to psychosis, particularly in genetically at-risk populations. These early academic experiences established her as a leading expert in translational research bridging mind, brain, and behavior.
š« ExperienceĀ
Prof. Toulopoulouās academic career began as a postdoctoral researcher at Kingās College London, advancing to Lecturer and then tenured faculty. She served as Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong and currently holds professorships at Bilkent University and adjunct roles at Mount Sinai and the University of Athens. Her academic appointments include Harvard Medical School, highlighting her global stature. She has taught a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, supervised over 20 PhD students and numerous MSc, MA, and undergraduate theses, and contributed to administrative leadership as Department Chair, curriculum coordinator, and PhD program director. She has been instrumental in faculty hiring, ethics review boards, and evaluation committees. Her roles span psychiatry, neuroscience, and psychology, blending clinical insight with research innovation. Her extensive international collaborations and interdisciplinary experience make her a uniquely positioned expert in cognitive neuroscience and psychosis research.
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Awards and Honors
While specific named awards are not listed, Prof. Toulopoulouās career is decorated with honors reflected through prestigious academic appointments and affiliations. Her tenure at globally respected institutionsāincluding Kingās College London, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Hong Kongāattests to her scholarly recognition. She has been invited to teach at top medical faculties and psychiatry departments, highlighting her expertise. Her selection to lead numerous faculty and ethics committees and her consistent role in curriculum development and PhD evaluation at Bilkent University demonstrate peer recognition of her leadership and academic excellence. Furthermore, she has served as a scientific referee and internal examiner at institutions such as the University of Hong Kong and Kingās College London. Her postdoctoral mentorship and successful supervision of emerging scholars further underline her influential role in shaping the next generation of neuropsychologists and clinical researchers.
š¬ Research FocusĀ
Prof. Toulopoulouās research focuses on understanding the neurocognitive and neurobiological underpinnings of psychosis and schizophrenia, with emphasis on gene-environment interactions. She employs twin studies, neuroimaging, cognitive assessments, and computational approaches to investigate psychosis proneness in healthy and clinical populations. Her work has explored the neural correlates of cannabis use, resilience and vulnerability in brain networks, and early biomarkers for schizophrenia. She has supervised numerous PhD and MSc projects addressing cortical maturation, working memory, language processing, and neurodevelopmental deviations. Her translational research connects clinical psychiatric phenomena with basic neuroscience, aiming to identify cognitive endophenotypes and brain signatures of genetic risk. She has published extensively on psychosis proneness and contributed to psychiatric genetics, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical psychology. Her interdisciplinary approach positions her as a thought leader in the quest to understand mental illness development, intervention, and prevention.
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Conclusion
Prof. Dr. Timothea Toulopoulou is highly suitable for the Best Researcher Award due to her robust academic pedigree, global institutional affiliations, deep mentoring impact, and research leadership in psychosis and neurodevelopment. Her work is methodologically rigorous and clinically significant, addressing core questions in psychiatric neuroscience. Minor improvements in public dissemination and interdisciplinary outreach could strengthen future candidacy even further. Overall, her profile embodies the hallmark of an award-winning researcher with international stature.
Publication
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Title: Large recurrent microdeletions associated with schizophrenia
Authors: H. Stefansson, D. Rujescu, S. Cichon, O.P.H. PietilƤinen, A. Ingason, …
Year: 2008
Citations: 3759
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Title: Assessment of executive functions: Review of instruments and identification of critical issues
Authors: R.C.K. Chan, D. Shum, T. Toulopoulou, E.Y.H. Chen
Year: 2008
Citations: 2365
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Title: Genomic dissection of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, including 28 subphenotypes
Authors: D.M. Ruderfer, S. Ripke, A. McQuillin, J. Boocock, E.A. Stahl, J.M.W. Pavlides, …
Year: 2018
Citations: 727
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Title: Disruption of the neurexin 1 gene is associated with schizophrenia
Authors: D. Rujescu, A. Ingason, S. Cichon, O.P.H. PietilƤinen, M.R. Barnes, …
Year: 2009
Citations: 609
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Title: Disease-associated epigenetic changes in monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Authors: E.L. Dempster, R. Pidsley, L.C. Schalkwyk, S. Owens, A. Georgiades, F. Kane, …
Year: 2011
Citations: 553
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Title: An integrated genetic-epigenetic analysis of schizophrenia: evidence for co-localization of genetic associations and differential DNA methylation
Authors: E. Hannon, E. Dempster, J. Viana, J. Burrage, A.R. Smith, R. Macdonald, …
Year: 2016
Citations: 380
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Title: Substantial genetic overlap between neurocognition and schizophrenia: genetic modeling in twin samples
Authors: T. Toulopoulou, M. Picchioni, F. Rijsdijk, M. Hua-Hall, U. Ettinger, P. Sham, …
Year: 2007
Citations: 325
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Title: Copy number variations of chromosome 16p13.1 region associated with schizophrenia
Authors: A. Ingason, D. Rujescu, S. Cichon, E. Sigurdsson, T. Sigmundsson, …
Year: 2011
Citations: 301
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Title: Association between BDNF val66 met genotype and episodic memory
Authors: E. Dempster, T. Toulopoulou, C. McDonald, E. Bramon, M. Walshe, F. Filbey, …
Year: 2005
Citations: 241
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Title: Pattern of neural responses to verbal fluency shows diagnostic specificity for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Authors: S.G. Costafreda, C.H.Y. Fu, M. Picchioni, T. Toulopoulou, C. McDonald, …
Year: 2011
Citations: 229