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Peter Rankin (born 26 August 1969) is an Honorary Consultant Paediatric Neuropsychologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH) and Director of Kingwood Chambers Ltd and Devneuro Ltd.

Early Life

Peter was born in Liverpool in the United Kingdom and grew up an avid LFC supporter. He attended Cardinal Allen Grammar School and initially studied Biology at university. During his first year of university he survived the crush at the Hillsborough Disaster and this experience caused Peter to change his direction of study from biology to psychology.

Study

Peter completed a BSc in psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool, a postdoctoral Diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience and a Masters in Neuroscience at UCL.

Career

During Peter’s doctoral training in clinical psychology he undertook a specialist placement in paediatric neuropsychology under the supervision of Professor Faraneh Vargha-Khadem at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.

After being awarded his doctorate Peter took up one of the few paediatric neuropsychology posts in the UK at that time based at Guy’s Hospital, London. Peter developed the neuropsychology service at Guy’s Hospital for 3 years before moving to a Senior Research Fellowship at UCL to develop more specialised skills in neuroscience particularly in quantitative structural neuroimaging and functional neuroimaging (references). During this period Peter investigated populations of children with memory and language disorders. In 2003 Peter was made a Consultant Paediatric Neuropsychologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital. He supervised a team of paediatric neuropsychologists working on the epilepsy surgery programme and was clinically responsible for all of the hospital’s functional neuroimaging assessments.

In 2007 Peter developed the UK’s national training programme in Clinical Paediatric Neuropsychology at UCL. This post-doctoral MSc/Diploma was accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Subsequently, all UK educational and clinical psychologists must gain this qualification to be recognised by the BPS as clinical paediatric neuropsychologists. Peter designed the scientific syllabus so that professional psychologists could learn principles underlying children’s brain injuries such as neuroplasticity, cognitive reorganisation and crowding affecting cognitive, social and emotional development, as well as the evidence base for rehabilitation and educational support. Peter was director of the programme until 2015 and it remains the only programme of its kind in Europe and the only paediatric neuropsychology qualification accredited by British Psychological Society.

Peter has had a number of senior positions within the British Psychological Society including being nationally elected to spend 6 years as: Chair Elect, Chair and Vice Chair of the Division of Neuropsychology. He has been instrumental in leading the profession to raise national professional standards and guiding parliamentary peers and policy makers in relation to peoples’ neuropsychological needs following brain injury and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Peter is the 2016/17 recipient of the UK’s highest award in professional neuropsychology; the BPS Barbara Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award.

Peter is also Director of two medico-legal companies, Kingwood Chambers Ltd and Devneuro Ltd, that prepare neuropsychological reports for the courts following incidents of clinical negligence and personal injury.