Role
Dr Vivienne Wenchong Du (DU Wen-Chong) is an Associate Professor of Psychology. She teaches on several modules in Child Psychology and Lifespan Psychology.
Career overview
Vivienne obtained her BSc. in Applied Psychology from Beijing Normal University and an MPhil in Educational Research (Neuroscience in Education) from the University of Cambridge (funded by Cambridge Overseas Trust). After several years working in consultancy, she then completed a PhD in Psychology at the University of Strathclyde (funded by Scottish Overseas Research Students Award Scheme, SORSAS).
Research areas
Dr. Vivienne Du's research interests are primarily in child health and sustainable health behaviours.
Vivienne has been very active in pursuing research in the field of child health where she has been working on cutting-edge research and innovation projects with a total value of over £1.6 million. Vivienne is the PI of several research projects involving large-scale nationwide population samples, with which she has been using advanced research methods to explore the mechanisms underlying motor difficulties in children. Vivienne also uses record linkage of large, routinely collected clinical data to study child health outcomes such as obesity, sleep, and neurodevelopment associated with urban environmental exposures and family sociodemographic diversities.
Vivienne is keen to apply her research to practice. Vivienne played critical roles in several community-based intervention programmes and she is also interested in using technologies including VR/XR and AI on the assessment and intervention of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Vivienne is interested in supervising PhD students in the following research fields: environmental exposure and health; neurodevelopmental disorders and intervention; designing for children/elderly with special needs.
External activity
Vivienne collaborates with national and international leading academics in child impairments and child health, and she is the China representative at the International Society for Research in DCD (ISR-DCD).
Publications
(*corresponding author)
- Huo, Y., Peng, Ti., Liu, Z., Ye, J., Chen, L., Wu, D., Du, W.*, Chen, J., (2024). Assessing the journey of calcium supplementation: A mendelian randomization study on the causal link between calcium levels and sleep disorders. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2023.10.039.
- Hua, J., Rihtman , T., Peng, Y., Wang, T., Su, Y., Du, W.* (2024). Assessing the Usefulness of the Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire-Chinese (LDCDQ-CH) in Chinese Preschoolers: A Sex-and Age-Specific Analysis, Frontiers in Psychology, in press.
- Du, W.*, and Hua, J., (2023). Preterm birth and Developmental Coordination Disorder: What do we know and not know?, Current Developmental Disorders Reports, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-023-00282-8.
- You, H., Shi, J., Huang, F., Wei, Z., Jones, G., Du, W.*, and Hua, J., (2023). Advances in Genetics and Epigenetics of Developmental Coordination Disorder in Children. Brain Sciences; 13(6):940. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13060940
- Geng, S., Wang, W., Huang, L., Xie, J., Williams, G.J., Baker, C., Du, W.*, and Hua, J., (2023). Association between screen time and suspected developmental coordination disorder in preschoolers: A national population-based study in China. Frontiers in Public Health, 11.
- Cai, J., Shen, Y., Zhao, Y., Meng, X., Niu, Y., Chen, R., Quan, G., Li, H., Groeger, J.A., Du, W., Hua, J., Kai, H. (2023), Early Life Exposure to PM2.5 and Sleep Disturbances in Preschoolers from 551 Cities of China. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202204-0740OC.
- Jing, H., Guo, J., Li, J., Li, C., Du, W., Canavese, F., Baker C., Hua, J., Ying, H., (2023). Artificial neural network modelling to predict neonatal metabolic bone disease in the pre- and postnatal period. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(1):e2251849. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.51849.
- Zhang, J., Yang, Y., Al-Ahmady, Z.S., Du, W., Duan, J., Liao, J., Sun, Q., Wei, Z, (2023). Maternal exposure to PM2. 5 induces cognitive impairment in offspring via cerebellar neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 249, 114425.
- Cai, J, Shen, Y., Meng, X., Zhao, Y., Niu, Y., Chen, R., Du, W., Quan, G., Barnett, A.:L., Jones, G., Kai, H., Hua, J., (2023), Association of developmental coordination disorder with early-life exposure to fine particulate matter in Chinese preschoolers. The Innovation, 4(1), 100347.
- Liu, M., Li, H., Wu, M., Geng, S., Ke, L., Lou, B., Du, W.*, Hua, J., (2023), Associations of preterm and early-term birth with suspected developmental coordination disorder: a national retrospective cohort study in children aged 3–10 years. World Journal of Pediatrics, 19, 261–272.
- Dai, X., Wiliams, G., J., Lin, S., Baker, C., Wu, M., Du, W.,* Hua, J., (2022),The sibling effect on neurodevelopment of preschoolers under China's newly relaxed child policy: A national retrospective cohort study. Frontiers in Psychology. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.988622.
- Hua, J., Lyu, J., Du, W.*, (2022), Prevalence of sleep disorder in Chinese preschoolers: a national population-based study. Nature and Science of Sleep. 2022:14 2091–2095.
- Wu, M., Williams, G.J., Chen, G., Zhang, L., Hu, C., Dai, X., Du, W.*, Hua, J., (2022), Prenatal Second-hand Smoke Exposure and the Risk of Suspected Developmental Coordination Disorder in Preschoolers: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study in China. Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.993471.
- Lyu, J., Groeger, J.A., Barnett, A.L., Li, H., Wang, L., Zhang, J., Du, W.*, Hua, J., (2022), Associations between gestational age and childhood sleep: a national retrospective cohort study. BMC Medicine. 20:253 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02443-9.
- Hua, J., Xie, J., Baker, C., Du, W.*, (2022). National prevalence of excessive screen exposure in Chinese preschoolers. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(7):e2224244. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.24244.
- Hua, J., Williams, G.J., Barnett, A.L., Zhang, J., Jin, H., Xu, M., Chen, J., Zhou, Y., Gu, G., Du, W.*, (2022), Association of the onset of self-feeding with subsequent suspected Developmental Coordination Disorder: a prospective cohort study in China. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 13:818771. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.818771.
- Zhang, J. J., Xu, C. X., Dai, X. T., Shen, M., Du, W. C., Cai, X. Y., Hua, J. (2022). Application of three-dimensional motion capture technology in the diagnosis of children's developmental coordination disorder. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care, 30(3), 285. doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2020-2105.
- Hua, J., Barnett, A.L., Lin, Y., Guan, H., Sun, Y., Williams, G.J., Fu, Y., Zhou, Y., Du, W.*, (2022), Association of gestational age at birth with subsequent neurodevelopment in early childhood: a national retrospective cohort study in China. Frontiers in Pediatrics. 2022;13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.860192
- Hua, J., Williams, G.J., Jin, H., Chen, J., Xu, M., Zhou, Y., Gu, G., Du, W.*, (2022). Early motor milestones in infancy and later motor impairments: a population-based data linkage study. Frontiers in Psychiatry. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.809181.