Andrew McKechanie is an honorary consultant psychiatrist and research fellow at The Patrick Wild Centre for Research into Autism, Fragile X and Intellectual Disabilities.

Following completion of my basic specialist training in psychiatry, I took up a position as clinical lecturer in learning disabilities at the University of Edinburgh in 2008. Within this post I focused on the genetic basis of intellectual disability and the contribution of small changes in the genetic code to increased susceptibility to mental illness in those with an intellectual disability.

Following this, I was appointed in 2011 as clinical research fellow and honorary consultant psychiatrist at The Patrick Wild Centre.

The Patrick Wild Centre

My clinical work is as a consultant psychiatrist for the NHS Lothian Learning Disability Services in East and Mid Lothian.

I am also a board member of Scottish Autism, a national charity which provides autism-specific services to autistic children and adults, along with support and information for their families, carers and professionals.

Scottish Autism

My research interests primarily relate to intellectual disabilities, the autism spectrum and related neurodevelopmental disorders. While our understanding of these conditions has increased dramatically in recent years, in many cases this has yet to be translated into meaningful clinical benefits for individuals affected by them. My work is focused on trying to improve the translation of fundamental scientific findings into rational treatments for these conditions.

• Functional brain imaging in individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism and fragile X syndrome.

• The genetics of neuropsychiatric disorders in individuals with an intellectual disability.

• The neuropsychiatric phenotype of individuals with genetic variants in SYNGAP1.

• Translational measures of development and cognition, to bridge the gap between pre-clinical and clinical research.

• Development of novel, objective outcome measures for use in clinical trials with individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.