Rate My Professor Rona Moss-Morris

Rona Moss-Morris is Professor of Psychology as Applied to Medicine and Head of Health Psychology in the Department of Psychology at King’s College London. She earned her PhD in Cognitive factors in the maintenance of chronic fatigue syndrome from the University of Auckland in 1998, an MSc in Illness perceptions and coping in chronic fatigue syndrome from the same institution in 1994, and a BSc from the University of Cape Town in 1984. Previously, she served as Head of the Department of Psychology and currently holds the position of Theme Lead for Digital Therapies at the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre. She was National Advisor to NHS England for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies for People with Long Term and Medically Unexplained Conditions from 2011 to 2016, a past editor of Psychology & Health, and current editor of Health Psychology Review. Additionally, she has been a NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research subpanel member from 2014 to 2019, an ambassador to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Vice Chair of its grant panel from 2010 to 2016.

Her research over the past 30 years examines psychological factors influencing symptom experience and adjustment to chronic physical health conditions, including multiple sclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease. This work has informed the design of cognitive behavioural interventions, including digital therapies such as REFUEL-MS for managing fatigue in multiple sclerosis and Parallel™ (formerly Regul8) for irritable bowel syndrome, which received approval in the UK and US. She has led randomized controlled trials evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of these interventions. Key contributions include models for conceptualizing conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and post-concussion syndrome, as well as development of the Illness Perception Questionnaire to measure perceptions and responses to symptoms and illnesses. She has received the British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology’s Outstanding Contribution to Research Award in 2015, the British Psychological Society Distinguished Contribution to Practice Award in 2020, the MS Society Annual Award for MS Research of the Year in 2013 for her team’s work, the King’s Excellence in Innovation and Impact Award in 2019 for irritable bowel syndrome research, and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience Supervisory Excellence Award in 2015.