NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)

New research indicates that early-onset liver disease in childhood adversely affects the developing brain - “Even before the age of two, a sizeable number of these children show brain developmental delays. The finding that a higher than expected number infants with Bilary Artersia also have autistic rates suggests an impact on social communication, a novel finding for this cohort.” - Dr Megan Earl, Research Associate, King’s IoPPN

A significant proportion of children with Biliary Atresia, a rare and serious early-onset liver condition, may face challenges in communication, motor skills and social interaction, research from @kingsioppn.bsky.social, funded by @nihr.bsky.social finds.

www.maudsleybrc.nihr.ac.uk/posts/2025/j...

Drug-related deaths are at their highest levels in England and Wales since records began 30 years ago. Professor Sir John Strang, from our BRC’s Pain & Addictions theme, was joined by BBC presenter James Gallagher at the NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility where he is exploring new ways of tackling rising deaths.

BBC Radio 4's Inside Health interviewed Professor Sir John Strang (Deputy Lead of our Pain and Addictions theme) to see how he is experimenting with new ways of tackling rising drug deaths: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Image of Dr Sarah Leden. New Research Universal Credit: how people who have accessed mental health services journey through the welfare system “This research can help identify key barriers in accessing and returning to work; and suggests which groups of people may need greater support to help them back into employment. People stuck searching for work longest weren’t necessarily those with the most severe mental health problems, suggesting other barriers like local job opportunities, caring responsibilities or skills gaps were the real barriers.” Dr Sarah Ledden, Research Associate, King’s IoPPN

Researchers have linked records from @maudsleynhs.bsky.social and the DWP using CRIS, to understand how people with mental health problems use the #UniversalCredit system. They identified groups which may benefit from individualised support: www.maudsleybrc.nihr.ac.uk/posts/2025/j...

Man smiling at camera holding A3 poster

Group of 25 people smiling at the camera outdoors

Group of people smiling at the camera on a boat

@nihrmaudsleybrc.bsky.social PhD Student, Jason Grant-Rowles, attended this year's Circle U. Summer School in Paris, exploring global health challenges, economic influences, decolonisation, environmental health & more.

He recaps the week in his new blog: www.kcl.ac.uk/a-parisian-s...

“Understanding why young people with ADHD and autism are at increased risk of mental health problems is an essential step in developing new interventions to improve the mental health of neurodivergent people.” Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Theme lead for Child Mental Health and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, NIHR Maudsley BRC

New research funded by @nihr.bsky.social and the MRC shows that negative school experiences generate twice the emotional burden in #autistic and #ADHD adolescents compared to their peers, and this is significantly correlated with depression and anxiety.

www.maudsleybrc.nihr.ac.uk/posts/2025/j...

Dr Luke Jelen, lead author of the study and a Clinical Lecturer in Psychiatry at IoPPN King’s College London, said: “Ketamine often makes the news for negative reasons. However, at a low dose, ketamine shows enormous potential to offer relief from the symptoms of depression.” “Understanding whether the opioid system is involved ketamine’s antidepressant effects is a really important question, given how much we still don't know about how ketamine works. “Our study shows that the opioid system is involved and offers insight into how it contributes to ketamine’s effects.”

Research which is investigating why ketamine could be a good treatment for some people with depression, has discovered that the drug’s antidepressant effects involve the brain’s opioid system.

The study was supported by @nihr.bsky.social and the MRC.

www.maudsleybrc.nihr.ac.uk/posts/2025/j...

Living along a polluted street could affect your brain health as you age.

New research from IoPPN, @ucl.ac.uk, @uniofleicester.bsky.social and Alzheimer's Research UK has found high levels of pollution can lead to cognitive decline and small amounts of relief can help

www.kcl.ac.uk/news/air-pol...

"This is a great opportunity to learn from experts in the field and explore new approaches to treatment, as well as expanding my skills and building new collaborations. I'm excited to get stuck in!'”

Congratulations to Morwenna Rickard, one of our PhD students, who has received @nihr.bsky.social SPARC funding for a 3-month placement at @oxhealthbrc.bsky.social: www.maudsleybrc.nihr.ac.uk/posts/2025/j...

Read new #AirPollution research part-funded by our BRC and led by Professor Ioannis Bakolis: maudsleybrc.nihr.ac.uk/posts/2025/j... @thelancet.com

Professor Thalia Eley elected a Fellow of the British Academy Professor Eley joins 92 new Fellows welcomed to the prestigious British Academy, in recognition of scholarly distinction in the humanities and social sciences.

Congratulations to Professor @thaliaeley.bsky.social, who has been elected a Fellow of the @britishacademy.bsky.social!

www.kcl.ac.uk/news/profess...

Celebrating our staff at the IoPPN Awards 2025 The first Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) Awards took place on 09 July 2025, celebrating the achievements, dedication and contributions of staff across four categories: Educ...

We recently celebrated the achievements and contributions of staff at the IoPPN. We'd like to congratulate all of the winners and finals across 15 categories.

www.kcl.ac.uk/news/ioppn-a...

Can you write a grant application from scratch in 24 hours? ⏱️✍🏻

@nihr.bsky.social showed us we can👌🏼

Thanks @nihrmaudsleybrc.bsky.social for the opportunity to attend the 2025 NIHR Doctoral Training Camp! #nihr #nihrtraining

Artwork by artist Lis Naylor featured in the Centre for Ethnic Health Research (NIHR ARC East Midlands) report: 'Gypsy Traveller Community Maternity Experience & Perinatal Mortality Research' Project funded by the University of Leicester’s Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies Centenary Community Engagement Fund.

Browse highlights from NIHR ARCs across the country in our July newsletter:
mailchi.mp/nihr/july-20...

News, blogs, opportunities, events & more

Sign up here to receive this update monthly:
tinyurl.com/ARCsnewsletter

“Clinicians, researchers and informaticians can work together to improve the delivery of child and adolescent mental health services through digital innovation. We hope that sharing our model of working will help others to consider how these practices could be adopted elsewhere."

The CAMHS Digital Lab @camhsdlab.bsky.social (funded by @nihr.bsky.social) is helping to transform child #mentalhealth care systems - their novel service model embeds research and innovation into CAMHS, improving the effectiveness of clinical care.

www.maudsleybrc.nihr.ac.uk/posts/2025/j...

<em>Child and Adolescent Mental Health</em> | ACAMH Journal | Wiley Online Library As digital mental health research and technology continue to grow, a systematic approach to quickly and safely translating digital innovation into Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) ...

📝 Just published! We have a new paper out in #ChildAndAdolescentMentalHealth on our service model: how clinicians & researchers at the Lab are using digital innovations to meet urgent needs in #CAMHS ⬇️

The paper: acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The blog: www.kcl.ac.uk/news/new-pap...

It is so important to listen to patients when doing health research, and my own experiences as a patient are what make me passionate about being involved in it. Collecting data about the things we don’t know enough about can create great change. Hearing about the involvement experience itself is a very important part of that data collection process." Charlie Costa, patient and public involvement member on the 4Pi project

How can you meaningfully assess experiences of patient and public involvement (PPI) in your organisation?

The 4Pi questionnaire is a new tool designed to help. In this blog, #PPI members, researchers & improvement staff reflect on its development & use.

kingsimprovementscience.org/news/blog-in...

Easels displaying artwork

Two zines printed out

Selection of small, brightly coloured paintings displayed on glass

Handwritten note 'I was watching a tree grow and then I had a dream'

🎨For #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, lived experience experts, students and researchers came together at Peckham Levels to challenge stigma through art, poetry and zines.

Read the zines and more about the event: www.maudsleybrc.nihr.ac.uk/posts/2025/j... @kingsioppn.bsky.social

Healthy Minds in Healthy Bodies – Current progress and future ambitions for mental health research in the U.K Delivered by the Mental Health TRC, featuring Professor Grainne McAlonan

Register now for @nihr.bsky.social #CRFBRC25 (14–15 July): nihr.eventscase.com/EN/programme

Our Director, Professor Grainne McAlonan will co-present a session on the #MentalHealth TRC and explore current progress and future ambitions, with Professors Jeremy Hall and @rachelutg.bsky.social.

Group of people dressed in red

Multiple written quotes from people about research, e.g. 'It's amazing what research can do for health'

The Research & Development teams of @kingsioppn.bsky.social and @maudsleynhs.bsky.social are celebrating #Red4Research day and everyone who makes health and care research possible, from participants and volunteers to researchers and support teams.❤️

"Proud to be changing lives through research"

Research is about making the much needed changes to our healthcare service

Research changes lives and leads to a better future

"Research changes lives and leads to a better future!" ❤️

Find out how you can take part in research: slam.nhs.uk/blog/be-part... #BePartofResearch

#Red4Research

Improves lives

I'm proud to contribute to the research that helps to improve mental healthcare

"I'm proud to contribute to the research that helps to improve mental healthcare" #Red4Research ❤️

Thanks to all those who make health research possible!

@nihr.bsky.social #BePartofResearch

Research improves how we work

Wealth in health

❤️The Joint Research & Development Office @kingsioppn.bsky.social and Research Delivery team @maudsleynhs.bsky.social are celebrating #Red4Research day!

🙌 Thanks to @edgiuk.bsky.social and @gladstudy.bsky.social participants who shared their experiences. Their voices are helping shape more accurate, compassionate eating disorder care

Thanks to my co-authors and to @nihrbioresource.bsky.social @nihrmaudsleybrc.bsky.social for their support

@karinaallayne.bsky.social @nihr.bsky.social @edgiuk.bsky.social @gladstudy.bsky.social

New research from @kingsioppn.bsky.social @nihrbioresource.bsky.social has identified a range of weight loss behaviours associated with #eatingdisorders which are not currently included in assessment criteria: www.maudsleybrc.nihr.ac.uk/posts/2025/j...

📽️First author Saakshi Kakar explains:👇

Excited about our new preprint: 1st successful genome-wide study of >61,000 panic attack and 29,000 panic disorder cases. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... We find 17 associations & evidence that peripheral neurons in eye, lungs and heart are involved in panic & other psychiatric disorders 1/n

The Telegraph: The dangers of taking ADHD drugs when you don’t really need them. “You shouldn’t take ADHD drugs at all if you don’t have ADHD; you’re a healthy person and the side effects are unnecessary [...] You already have an optimal amount of dopamine in your system, so increasing it will make you perform worse.” Professor Katya Rubia, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, King’s IoPPN

Professor Katya Rubia spoke to The @telegraphnews.bsky.social about the rise in people without #ADHD taking ADHD medication - how the drugs work and what the risks are: www.msn.com/en-sg/health...

A dark blue quote card with King's logo and photo of Sir Simon. The quote reads: Being the first psychiatrist to receive this honour shows just how far mental health in general, and psychiatry in particular, has advanced since I started my psychiatry training at the Maudsley Hospital back in 1984. I was fortunate to then move to the Institute of Psychiatry in 1991, where I have been ever since. Whatever I have achieved since then would never have been possible without the support of both what is now the IoPPN and the wider King’s College London. But the most important thing of all has been the privilege to work with such generous, talented and extraordinary colleagues over all these years. My thanks to each and every one of you.”

We are delighted to announce that Professor Sir Simon Wessely has been awarded a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in this year's King’s 2025 Birthday Honours. 🎉 🧵⬇️

@kingsioppn.bsky.social

The qualitative accounts of black informal carers of people with psychosis and their experiences accessing mental health services: a systematic review

A new systematic review looks at the experiences of unpaid black carers of people with psychosis. #CarersWeek

It highlights challenges at individual, community, and societal levels such as stigma and difficulty accessing mental health services: archpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Tonight we welcome Professor Marta Di Forti for her inaugural lecture as Professor of Drugs, Genes and Psychosis. Her lecture tonight is “A journey from Sicily, through Curry to Cannabis.”

The full lecture will be available online at a later date.