Professor Kate Wilmut

BSc, PhD

Professor of Psychology

School of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health

Kate Wilmut

Role

I am the co-director for the Centre for Psychological Research and the Postgraduate Tutor for Research Students. In terms of my role with the Centre for Psychological Research I help to steer the strategic direction of research within the centre and help to build research capacity which feeds into my role of Postgraduate Tutor for Research Students. I also have a number of teaching roles detailed below. 

My research interests focus on all aspects of human movement and motor control and I am part of the Perception and Motion Analysis (PuMA) lab. My primary expertise is in individuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) / Dyspraxia but I also work in other areas such as movement across the lifespan and the role of play and physical education in movement. You can find more information about these areas below. 

To listen to a podcast where I am interviewed about my research please visit https://perceptionaction.com/199/

 

Kate Wilmut

Teaching and supervision

Courses

Modules taught

UG teaching:

  • Perception and Action
  • The Psychology of Motor Skill and Play
  • Understanding Developmental Disorders
  • Project module leadership and supervision

PG teaching:

  • Writing and Critical Analysis Skills
  • Dissertation Project Supervision

Supervision

Previous supervision includes:

  • Dr. Catherine Purcell (completed May 2012): aspects of road crossing in children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder.
  • Dr. Mellissa Prunty (completed May 2014): handwriting skills in children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder.
  • Dr. Judith Gentle (completed Feb 2015): aspects of gait in children and adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder.

Current supervision includes:

  • Kim Griffin, Auditing the impact online sensory processing trainning has on school

Research Students

Name Thesis title Completed
Fiyory Ghezae Nonlinear pedagogy to support children in play and physical activity Active
Sophie Harris The influence of anxiety, self-efficacy and movement variability on the perceptual judgements and executed actions of adults with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) Active
Julie Bennett Experiences of nostalgia in individuals both with and without Autism 2024

Research

My research interests focus on all aspects of human movement and motor control and I am part of the Perception and Motion Analysis (PuMA) lab. 

My primary expertise is in individuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) / Dyspraxia and I have worked in this area since 2001. Initially my research focused on understanding and describing the motor difficulties of this population. This built up my expertise in using 3D motion analysis systems to measure and analyse movement. More recently I have undertaken work which focuses more on the lived experience of this individuals in terms of road-crossing, physical activity and wellbeing. 

Other strands of my research include:

  1. Movement across the lifespan where I have considered the role of cognitive function in motor decline and road-crossing experiences. 
  2. The role of play, physical education and physical activity in wellbeing
  3. Neurological underpinnings of both DCD and ADHD

More details about these projects can be found on the Perception and Motion Analysis webpages.

I am always interested in new collaborations and in supervising students with an interest in any of the areas detailed above. Please do get in touch or follow me on twitter.

Research grants and awards

External funding:

  • Wilmut, K. & Purcell, C. The Bikeability Trust (£10,000) Evaluation of SEND cycle training. Awarded 2021
  • Wilmut, K. The Leverhulme Trust (£52,582) Movement planning during reach-to-grasp tasks across the lifespan. Awarded 2016
  • Wilmut, K. and Barnett, A. L. ESRC (£280,261) Navigational abilities of typically developing individuals and individuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder. Awarded 2012
  • Wilmut, K. ESRC (£166,515) Forward anticipation of movement in typically developing children and children with Developmental Coordination Disorder. Awarded 2010
  • Wann, J. P and Wilmut, K. ESRC (£386,348) Judgments of vehicle approach, in a road crossing situation, amongst primary school children. Awarded 2007
  • Wann, J. P and Wilmut, K. ESRC (£43,452) The role of predictive information during goal-directed action in children. Awarded 2005.

Internal funding:

  • Wilmut, K (£19,156.22) Cycle training for all: Evaluation of instructor training to ensure inclusivity
  • Wilmut, K. (£20,000) Motor learning for coordinative tasks in Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Awarded 2017
  • Barnett, A. & Wilmut, K. (£6,456) Assessment of motor ability in adulthood. Awarded 2011
  • Wilmut,K. & Barnett, A. (£2,165) Navigational ability of children moving through apertures. Awarded 2009
  • Wilmut, K. & Barnett, A. (£3,492) Construction and maintenance of a database of individuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder. Awarded 2008
  • Barnett, A. & Wilmut, K. (£4,986) Locomotor behaviour of adults while passing through apertures. Awarded 2007

Centres and institutes

Groups

Projects as Principal Investigator, or Lead Academic if project is led by another Institution

  • Setting the Research Priorities for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in the UK (led by Cardiff University) (01/09/2024 - 31/08/2025), funded by: The Waterloo Foundation

Publications

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Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

  • Chair of the UK working group for the International Society of Research into DCD
  • Member of the ESRC peer review college
  • Reviewer for: EPSRC, MRC, ESRC, Experimental Brain Research, Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, Human Movement Science, Research into Developmental Disabilities, Gait and Posture, Disability and Rehabilitation, Behavioural Brain Research, JEP: HPP.