Dr. Pilar Torrecilla, Lecturer in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Awarded the Schizophrenia International Research Society Early Career Award 2025
The Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) has selected Dr. Pilar Torrecilla as the recipient of the 2025 Early Career Award. This award supported her attendance at the SIRS annual conference held in Chicago, USA, from March 29 to April 2, 2025. This recognition is granted to early-career researchers who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to schizophrenia research through investigation, teaching, and clinical practice.
The Schizophrenia International Research Society is a global organization dedicated to uniting researchers and clinicians specializing in schizophrenia and psychosis spectrum disorders. Its mission includes exchanging the latest research advances, promoting diversity and inclusion, facilitating international communication and collaboration, supporting the development of future generations of scientists, and enhancing public understanding of the impact of schizophrenia on individuals and society.
During the conference, Dr. Torrecilla delivered an oral presentation entitled “Predictive Validity of Psychotic-Like Experiences in Daily Life 8 Years Later: Examining the Moderating Role of Psychosis-Proneness Polygenic Susceptibility.” This longitudinal study was led by Dr. and Professor Neus Barrantes-Vidal of the same department and co-authored by Dr. Thomas Kwapil from the University of Illinois (USA). The research, which employs an experience sampling methodology through mobile phone questionnaires, analyzes how schizotypy and psychotic-like experiences in daily life can predict the onset of symptoms eight years later. Additionally, it examines how genetic susceptibility to psychosis moderates some of these long-term associations, highlighting the combined importance of psychological and genetic factors in the development of psychotic experiences over time.
Dr. Pilar Torrecilla is a researcher in the Interaction Person-Environment in Risk and Resilience for Mental Health research group, led by Professor Neus Barrantes-Vidal, who also delivered a presentation on the role of women in science and the existing gender inequalities in research during the conference. Additionally, early-career researchers from the group, Valeria Lavín and Karen Fagián, participated by presenting two scientific posters based on their doctoral theses. The findings from these studies are expected to deepen and advance our understanding of the factors that confer vulnerability and resilience to psychosis spectrum disorders.