Professor of Developmental Psychology, Head of Psychology Department, Queen Mary University of London

Michael is a chartered psychologist and reader (associate professor) in developmental psychology at the Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology at the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London. He is also a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE). Initially trained in chemistry and music he spent several years working in the lab and on stage before pursuing his interests in psychology. Dr. Pluess obtained his PhD in Developmental Psychology in 2009 from the University of Basel, Switzerland. During his doctoral studies, supervised by Prof. Jay Belsky, he was based at the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues at Birkbeck University of London. He conducted post-doctoral work in London at Birkbeck University of London and University of East London as well as in the USA at the University of California Davis. In 2012 he was awarded an Excellence Fellowship at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, where he was working as a lecturer in developmental psychology at the MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre (SGDP)before moving to Queen Mary University of London. In 2016 Dr. Pluess took up the role as Head of the Psychology Department at Queen Mary University of London. In 2011 Dr. Pluess was awarded the Venia Docendi (PD) at the University of Basel, Switzerland.