DrOlga Kostopoulou

Olga is an applied cognitive psychologist studying judgement and decision making. Her main focus is the application of Psychology theory, evidence, and methods to the study of decisions in healthcare. She has conducted research on professional judgement and decision making in a variety of healthcare contexts, including dentistry, neonatal and adult intensive care, surgery, and primary care. As Principal Investigator and Co-investigator, she has obtained funding from the Department of Health, Cancer Research UK, and the European Commission for studies in diagnosis, diagnostic error, decision support, and algorithmic-supported risk prediction.

Olga was the 2021-22 President of the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM). In the past, she served SMDM as President-Elect (2020-21), Immediate Past President and Chair of the Nominations Committee (2022-23), and International Trustee on the Board (2013-2016). She organised and chaired the 16th biennial European SMDM meeting (London, 12-14 June, 2016). She currently serves a 2-year term as elected Member-at-Large on the Board of the European Association for Decision Making (EADM).

Olga is Associate Editor of Medical Decision Making, MDM Policy & Practice, and Frontiers in Cognition (Reason and Decision-Making section) and leads the Decision Psychology Research Group (https://tinyurl.com/y6ebfh9k)

RECENT RESEARCH GRANTS:

1. "Impact of digital scribes on clinical reasoning and cancer detection (DiSCa): an AI-enabled, cognitive analysis of multimodal data"

Funding: Cancer Research UK (Early Detection & Diagnosis Committee project award)

Amount awarded: £507,941. From May 2026 to April 2029.

Olga Kostopoulou (PI). Co-investigators: Brendan Delaney, Davide Locatelli, Joshua Au Yeung, Richard Neal, Arnab Majumdar. Researchers: Eoin Cremen, Vikneswaran Raj.

2."Cancer risk algorithms and their influence on clinical judgement."

Funding: Cancer Research UK (Population Research Committee project award)

Amount awarded: £382,853. From February 2020 to October 2024.
Olga Kostopoulou (PI). Researchers: Bence Pálfi (Postdoctoral Research Associate), Kavleen Arora (Clinical Research Fellow).

3. "Demonstrating the feasibility of a Learning Health System for cancer diagnosis in primary care." PI: Brendan Delaney.

Funding: Cancer Research UK, PI: Brendan Delaney.
Olga Kostopoulou: Co-I, Work package lead. Amount allocated: £202,675. 2018-2021. Researcher: Christian Ramtale.

3. "Investigating delays in the detection of early cancers: an exploration of GPs' decision making based on Signal Detection Theory."

Funding: Cancer Research UK project award

Amount awarded: £308,944. From March 2016 to February 2019.
Olga Kostopoulou (PI). Co-investigators: Brendan Delaney, Francesca Fiorentino. Researcher: Martine Nurek.

4. "An investigation of the cognitive factors for missing early presentations of cancer in primary care".

Funding: Cancer Research UK project award

Amount awarded: £330,772. From September 2011 to December 2015.
Olga Kostopoulou (PI). Co-investigator: Brendan Delaney. Researchers: Miroslav Sirota, Thomas Round, Shyamalee Samaranayaka.

5. EU FP7 programme grant: Translational Research and Patient Safety in Europe (TRANSFoRm)- Scientific co-ordinator: Brendan Delaney. From March 2010 to May 2015
Olga Kostopoulou (Lead of Work Package 2: "Developing diagnostic support for primary care"). Researchers: Andrea Rosen, Thomas Round, Talya Porat. Amount allocated to WP2: €594,554

PhD STUDENTS:
- Ploutarchos Kourtidis. "Influences of a diagnostic decision aid on physicians’ thinking". Graduated 2022. Funding: NIHR Imperial PSTRC.
- Martine Nurek. "Predecisional information distortion in physicians' diagnostic judgements". Graduated 2017. Funding: LISS-DTP (London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership).
- Amanda Woolley. "Clinical Intuition in General Practice: A Cognitive Psychology Perspective". Graduated 2015. Funding: Departmental Doctoral grant.

PhD EXAMINER:
- Juliet Hodges. ‘The role of behavioural economics in medical decision-making for patients and providers’. (Supervisor: Matteo Galizzi). LSE, 13 December 2024.
- Camille Lakhlifi. ‘Exploration of Physicians’ metacognition’. (Supervisor: Benjamin Rohaut) Paris Brain Institute (Institut du Cerveau) and French Health Authority (Haute Autorité de Santé). Paris, November 2023.
- Angela Lilly. ‘How Do Statutory Social Workers Formulate Judgements and Decisions About Well-Being?'(Supervisors: Tim Rakow & Ben Gardner). King’s College London. 4/5/2023
- Marine Hainguerlot. ‘Probability distortion in medical decision making: Field evidence, laboratory experiments, and statistical aids’. (Supervisors: Vincent de Gardelle & Jean-Christophe Vergnaud). Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, UFR de Sciences Economiques. Paris, 21/12/2017.
- Yasmina Okan. ‘How to improve the comprehension and communication of medical risks and health’, (Supervisor: Rocío García-Retamero) University of Granada, Spain, 20/12/2013.
- Jane Heyhoe. ‘Affective and cognitive influences on decision making in healthcare’ (supervisor: Rebecca Lawton) Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds. 26/9/2013.
- Laura Zwaan. ‘Diagnostic reasoning and diagnostic error in Medicine’. (supervisor: Daniëlle Timmermans) Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, NL. 16/03/2012.