Kate Ellis is an associate professor of psychology at The American University in Cairo (AUC) and serves as both the graduate programs director and the coordinator of the leadership in mental health course. She is also a clinical psychologist who works predominantly with refugees and individuals who have experienced trauma. Her research focuses on the impact of violence and conflict, with a particular focus on young people. Ellis has published several peer review works regarding the experiences of young people exposed to community and political violence (Ellis, Mallett & Jones, 2014; Goeke-Morey, Cairns, Ellis, et al. (2009); Lloyd, Cairns, Doherty & Ellis (2008). She has also published works on the mental health experiences of looked after children (Ellis, Jones, & South, (2014) and the challenges faced by detained youth offenders (Miles, Ellis & Sheeran, 2012). She has recently completed an empirical study; training lay counselors from a Sudanese refugee population to deliver narrative exposure therapy within their community (Ellis, in press). 

Currently, Ellis is involved in projects to develop and evaluate intervention programs in conflict-affected settings such as Egypt, upscaling mental health interventions in low-economic countries and developing accessible online, culturally appropriate interventions for trauma in Egyptian Arabic.