Research

Aims:

The Mental Health Mission (MHM) is a new initiative involving 18 UK universities, funded by the Office for Life Sciences, with partnerships in NHS healthcare trusts across the country. The MHM aims to increase capacity in mental health research to support industry led research and investment across the UK. This will build on the UK’s world class science and research capabilities, ensuring the NHS has access to the latest innovations.

Specific focus will be paid to addressing both areas of unmet need and high burden of mental illness. The MHM seeks to overcome some of the bottlenecks and barriers to the set up and conduct of clinical trials that have traditionally slowed progress in mental health trials.

“Growth in capacity in people and technology is also an essential focus, in order to deliver cutting edge research that is able to transform mental health interventions across the UK.”

- Professor Rachel Upthegrove, NIHR MH-TRC Chair.

The MHM consists of 5 workstreams, covering the areas of children and young people’s mental health, early psychosis, mood disorders, data and digital (looking at new methods in patient record analysis), and capacity development. It also features two ‘demonstrator sites’ - one in the Midlands and one in Merseyside – where research will be undertaken to develop and evaluate new treatments for mental health.

MindTech is involved to support collaboration with digital technology companies in the field of mental health. Researchers affiliated with the Institute of Mental Health collaborate in specific areas in the workstreams on children and young people’s mental health, adult mood disorders, and early psychosis.