Miranda Wolpert, Lady Sales is professor of

evidence-based practice Evidence-based practice is the idea that occupational practices ought to be based on scientific evidence. The movement towards evidence-based practices attempts to encourage and, in some instances, require professionals and other decision-makers ...

and

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. She was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for her work on young people's mental health. She is Director of Mental Health at the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

Early life and education

Wolpert is the daughter of developmental biologist

Lewis Wolpert Lewis Wolpert (19 October 1929 – 28 January 2021) was a South African-born British developmental biologist, author, and broadcaster. Wolpert popularized his French flag model of embryonic development, using the colours of the French flag ...

. She studied

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. She earned her master's degree in history at the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

, before starting a diploma in

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

. She worked in the North West Thames Regional Health Authority. Wolpert earned her Doctorate of Psychology (PsychD) at the

in 1998.

Research and career

In 2002 Wolpert co-founded the Child Outcomes Research Consortium, which collects and disseminates evidence that looks to improve young people's

. Wolpert joined

in 2005. Wolpert founded the Evidence-Based Practice Unit at

in 2006. The centre is a collaboration between

and the

Anna Freud Anna Freud CBE ( ; ; 3 December 1895 – 9 October 1982) was a British psychoanalyst of Austrian Jewish descent. She was born in Vienna, the sixth and youngest child of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. She followed the path of her father a ...

National Centre for Children and Families. She was appointed professor in evidence based research at

in 2016. Her research considers how to support and evaluate effective approaches to young people's mental health needs. She leads the

Children's Policy Research Unit

Mental Health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

strand, which advises the

Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

. She uses large anonymised datasets to understand how age, gender, ethnicity and type/severity of condition impact the success of a mental health treatment. After

Jeremy Hunt Sir Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2022 to 2024 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as Secretary of State for Health a ...

claimed that Child and Young People's Mental Health Services as "the biggest single area of weakness in NHS provision at the moment", Wolpert called for research into whether all provision is effective. She also called for more research into the impact of

screen time Screen time is the amount of time electronic devices are used. Screen time, Screentime or Screen Time may also refer to: * Screen Time, an iOS and macOS feature that tracks how long devices are used * Screentime, an Australian-based television pr ...

on young people's mental health. She serves as national informatics lead for the

NHS England NHS England, formally the NHS Commissioning Board for England, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning si ...

Children and Young People's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies. Wolpert was awarded an MBE for services to youth mental health in the

. In March 2019 Wolpert was made head of the

Priority Area in Mental Health. In this capacity, she will invest over £200 million in initiatives that transform the lives of young people with mental health conditions. She has written for the ''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

''. She is married to the judge Lord Sales.

Selected publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolpert, Miranda British women psychologists Academics of University College London Alumni of the University of Surrey Alumni of the University of Cambridge Members of the Order of the British Empire Year of birth missing (living people) Living people