In November 2015 The Baily Thomas Charitable Fund launched its Baily Thomas Doctoral Fellowships.  Up to two fellowships will be awarded each year to support promising researchers to complete a PhD on a topic relevant to people with learning disabilities (intellectual disabilities). The following studies have been supported to date:-

Current studies

• "The interplay of executive functions, numeracy and wellbeing for young boys and girls with fragile X syndrome: Longitudinal predictions and intervention potential" being undertaken by Gillian Hughes at the University of Oxford.
• "Mental health and bullying victimisation amongst children with an intellectual disability" being undertaken by Valerie Lye at University College London.
• "A Multi-modal Exploration of Functional  Connectivity in people with Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease" being undertaken by Leda Bianchi at Kings College London.
• "Investigating the Development of Repetitive Behaviours in Infants with Genetic Syndromes and Intellectual Disability" being undertaken by Rachel Martlew at Birmingham University.
• "Fixel-based analysis for the evaluation of white matter in Alzheimer's Disease and Down syndrome" being undertaken by Phoebe Ivain at Kings College, London.
• "Machine learning using mixed imaging, clinical and biofluid markers to reveal the early stages of progression of Alzheimer's Disease in Down Syndrome" being undertaken by Mina Idris at King's College London.
• "Investigating the use of pain medication in adults with learning disabilities : relationship with polypharmacy and impact on health-related outcomes" being undertaken by Christine Pacitti at the University of Glasgow.
• "Information sampling: testing for common pathways towards learning disability in pre-term infants and infants at familial risk for ASD" being undertaken by Janet Parsons at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Previous studies

• "Behaviours that challenge in SATB2-associated syndrome" which was undertaken by Lauren Shelley at Aston University.
• "Language abilities in adults with Down Syndrome: Searching for language markers of age-related cognitive decline" which was undertaken by Elisa Mattiauda at the University College London.
• "Understanding self-injurious behaviour and self-restraint in children with autism and intellectual disability" which was undertaken by Katherine Marlow at the University of Birmingham.
• "A study of life years lost and care pathways in adults with learning disabilities; a real-world observational study" which was undertaken by Freya Tyrer at the University of Leicester.
• "Social Vulnerability in Developmental Disorders: Focusing on Autism and Williams syndrome to understand the role of learning disability, social behaviour and anxiety" which was undertaken by Ellen Ridley at Durham University.
• "Person and environmental characteristics associated with anxiety in minimally verbal individuals with autism" which was undertaken by Georgina Edwards at Aston University.
• "The mental health of father carers of a son or daughter with an intellectual disability: A mixed methods approach" which was undertaken by Kirsty Dunn at the University of Glasgow. Kirsty was awarded her PhD and an abstract can be found here.
• "An investigation into the role of attentional control in autism spectrum disorders" which was undertaken by Iti Arora at the University of Nottingham.