BSc in Psychology (University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain, 2007)

MSc in Cognitive Neuropsychology (Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain, 2009)

MSc in Psychopathology and Health (National University of Distance Education, Spain, 2012)

PhD in Neuroscience (Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain, 2014)

• Sleep and mental health
• Sleep and neurodevelopmental disorders (ADHD)
• Sleep development
• Early life risk factors for youth mental health
• Birth cohort studies
• Epidemiology
• Neuropsychology and psychosis

  Dr Morales-Muñoz conducts research investigating risk factors for the development of mental health problems (e.g. psychosis, anxiety, depression) in young people. More specifically, her current line of research focuses on investigating the role of sleep problems in the development of youth mental health problems. To do this, she uses longitudinal birth cohort studies and data science approaches. Further, she aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the associations between sleep and mental health problems, such as brain mechanisms or inflammatory markers. The ultimately aim of her research is to design sleep intervention programs to improve youth mental health.

Dr Morales-Muñoz was born in Vitoria, Spain. She has a BSc (Hons) in Psychology, from the University of Deusto, Bilbao (Spain). In 2009 she completed her MSc in Cognitive Neuopsychology at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), and in 2012 her MSc in Psychopathology and Health at the National University of Distance Education (Spain). Her PhD was in the neuropsychological and neurophysiological bases of cognitive disorders in First Episode Psychosis, and was completed in 2014, at the Complutense University of Madrid.

After completing her PhD, she joined the University of Helsinki (Finland) as postdoctoral fellow, and subsequently in 2016, she joined the National Institute for Health and Welfare, in Helsinki, as postdoctoral fellow. In April 2018, she was awarded the Academy of Finland postdoctoral research fellow, to investigate sleep development in early childhood and the links between sleep and neurodevelopmental and mental health problems in children. In June 2022, she joined the School of Psychology as Assistant Professor, after spending 4 years as honorary research fellow at the Institute for Mental Health, at the University of Birmingham.