Dr Bromley is a Paediatric Neuropsychologist at the University of Manchester and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Her interests surround exposure to medications in the womb and the possible impact on later child cognitive, motor and social development. She completed her PhD at the University of Liverpool, UK on the longer-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of children exposed to anti-seizure medications in the womb. Dr Bromley later moved to the University of Manchester where she completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. She stayed in Manchester to continue her work with Professor Jill Clayton-Smith, Consultant Clinical Geneticist and later went on to develop a series of observational cohort studies aimed at further delineating the potential risks associated with in utero exposure to medications, particularly the antiseizure medications. She is on the committee for the UK and Ireland Epilepsy and Pregnancy Register and is leading their neurodevelopment work. Dr Bromley is currently working with colleagues across Europe to improve the researching and reporting of medication exposed pregnancies. Her focus here is on improving the neurodevelopmental investigations within pregnancy pharmacovigilance and as part of this she is leading the Neurodevelopmental Pharmacovigilance Research Group at the University of Manchester.

Dr Bromley has consulted on pregnancy pharmacovigilance topics for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and she collaborates with several different Expert by Experience Groups and UK epilepsy charities. Dr Bromley has published over 40 academic articles and spoken at a number of international conferences.

In the NHS Dr Bromley works as part of Complex Epilepsy Team at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and also the Manchester Rare Conditions Centre. She provide neuropsychological assessment around the diagnosis and intervention for children and young people with epilepsy, metabolic disorders, acquired brain injury, fetal valproate spectrum disorder and other neurological conditions. 

Rebecca's research investigates disruption of typical brain development when the fetus is exposed in the womb to certain prescribed medications.  Over the last decade she has conducted a number of large prospective longitudinal observational studies documenting the neurodevelopmental outcomes in children exposed in utero to antiepileptic drugs. One of these drugs - sodium valproate, was found to be associated with a substantially increased risk of poorer postnatal cognitive and social development. 

As a collaborator on the Innovative Medicines Initiative funded ConcePTION Study (https://www.imi-conception.eu/) Rebecca and her collaborators are working on projects aimed to improve the investigation of longer term child outcomes following medication exposure in the womb. 

Current studies: 

Neurodevelopment of Babies Born to Mothers with Epilepsy (NaME) Study.

Funder: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)

Start: 01.10.2013

End: 30.01.2020

Neurodevelopment after prenatal exposure to seizures (NAPES) study.

Funder: Epilepsy Research UK (ERUK)

Start: 01.09.2017

End: 30.10.2022

ConcePTION Study: Building an Ecosystem for Better Monitoring and Communicating of Medication Safety in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Validated and Regulatory Endorsed Workflows for a Fast, Optimised Evidence Generation.

Funder: Innovative Medicines Initiative

Start:01.04.2019 

End:31/03/2024

September 2013- July 2014. Post-Graduate Diploma in Paediatric Clinical Neuropsychology.

University College London, UK. Awarded with Distinction.

October 2009- September 2012. Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. The University of Manchester, UK. 

September 2006- August 2009. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). The University of Liverpool, UK.

September 2001- July 2004. BSc Psychology 2:1 Hons University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

Introduction into Developmental Neuropsychology I and II - Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, University of Manchester

MRES Psychology and MRES Cognitive Neuroscience