Rate My Professor Aimee Richardson

Aimee Richardson serves as Senior Professional Practice Fellow in the Department of Psychological Medicine within the Dunedin School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago. She is a registered clinical psychologist and is currently on parental leave until October 2026. Richardson holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours (BSc Hons), Master of Science with Distinction (MSc Distinction), and Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology (PgDipClPs). Her academic journey includes studies in Psychology at the University of Canterbury from 2009 to 2012 and in Psychology and Clinical Psychology at the University of Otago from 2013 to 2015. For her MSc thesis, submitted to the University of Otago in 2015, she examined "The Role of Micronutrients in Depressive Symptoms and Mood: An Investigation of Iron and Selenium."

Richardson's research specializations center on the links between nutrition, micronutrients, and mental health outcomes, including mood and depressive symptoms. Her key publications include "On carrots and curiosity: Eating fruit and vegetables is associated with greater flourishing in daily life" (British Journal of Health Psychology, 2015, co-authored with T.S. Conner et al.), which found associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and eudaemonic well-being such as curiosity and creativity; "Optimal serum selenium concentrations are associated with lower depressive symptoms and negative mood among young adults" (The Journal of Nutrition, 2015, with T.S. Conner and J.C. Miller); "Higher body iron is associated with greater depression symptoms among young adult men but not women: Observational data from the Daily Life Study" (Nutrients, 2015, with A.L.M. Heath et al.); "The role of personality traits in young adult fruit and vegetable consumption" (Frontiers in Psychology, 2017, with T.S. Conner et al.); and "Campus climate for students with diverse sexual orientations and/or gender identities at the University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand" (2016, with G. Treharne et al.). In clinical practice, she has experience with psychological assessment and treatment for those affected by trauma, including prison populations. She earned the Department of Psychological Medicine Teaching Award in 2023. Earlier in her career, Richardson worked as Research Assistant at the University of Otago (2013-2016) and Project Manager at the University of Canterbury (2012-2013).