Darren Dunning
Research Fellow

Profile

Biography

Darren joined the York Trials Unit in November 2023 as part of the Research Support Service. He has over 20 years of research and has held post-doctoral positions at the universities of East Anglia, Cambridge and Hertfordshire.

Qualifications

BSc Applied Psychology (University of Durham)
MSc Developmental Psychopathology (University of Durham)
PhD Psychology (University of York)

Research

Overview

Darren's research interests include: developmental disorders, working memory, adolescent mental health, emotional granularity (how we recognise and differentiate between our emotions) and mindfulness. He has also conducted several meta-analyses.

His research crosscuts interventions (does it work?) with basic science (how does it work?).

Research group(s)

Trials and Statistics

Supervision

Working Memory
Mental Health
Emotion
Mindfulness

Publications

Selected publications

Dunning, D., Tudor, K., Radley, L., Dalrymple, N., Funk, J., Vainre, M., ... & Dalgleish, T. (2022). Do mindfulness-based programmes improve the cognitive skills, behaviour and mental health of children and adolescents? An updated meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ Ment Health, 25(3), 135-142.https://mentalhealth.bmj.com/content/25/3/135.abstract

Dunning, D., Ahmed, S., Foulkes, L., Griffin, C., Griffiths, K., Leung, J. T., ... & MYRIAD Team. (2022). The impact of mindfulness training in early adolescence on affective executive control, and on later mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Ment Health, 25(3), 110-116.https://mentalhealth.bmj.com/content/25/3/110.abstract

Kuyken, W., Ball, S., Crane, C., Ganguli, P., Jones, B., Montero-Marin, J., ... & MYRIAD Team. (2022). Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of universal school-based mindfulness training compared with normal school provision in reducing risk of mental health problems and promoting well-being in adolescence: the MYRIAD cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ Ment Health, 25(3), 99-109.https://mentalhealth.bmj.com/content/25/3/99.abstract

Dunning, D. L., Griffiths, K., Kuyken, W., Crane, C., Foulkes, L., Parker, J., & Dalgleish, T. (2019). Research Review: The effects of mindfulness‐based interventions on cognition and mental health in children and adolescents–a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(3), 244-258.https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcpp.12980

Gathercole, S. E., Dunning, D. L., Holmes, J., & Norris, D. (2019). Working memory training involves learning new skills. Journal of memory and language, 105, 19-42.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749596X18300871

Dunning, D. L., & Holmes, J. (2014). Does working memory training promote the use of strategies on untrained working memory tasks?. Memory & cognition, 42, 854-862.https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-014-0410-5

Holmes, J., Gathercole, S. E., Place, M., Dunning, D. L., Hilton, K. A., & Elliott, J. G. (2010). Working memory deficits can be overcome: Impacts of training and medication on working memory in children with ADHD. Applied cognitive psychology, 24(6), 827-836.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/acp.1589

Holmes, J., Gathercole, S. E., & Dunning, D. L. (2009). Adaptive training leads to sustained enhancement of poor working memory in children. Developmental science, 12(4), F9-F15.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00848.x