Dr Gauri Sathe
Clinical Research Fellow
School of Psychology
Contact:
Email address: gauri.sathe@nhs.net
Melanie Lafanechere
Clinical Research Fellow
Biography
I completed Medical graduation and post-graduation in pharmacology. I worked as a clinical research fellow in oncology and now works as a research fellow in mood disorders. I primarily work in Ketamine treatment in drug resistance depression.
My passion is understanding the impact that mental health conditions can have on a person’s overall health and wellbeing of the person . I am passionate about clinical research and medical education, helping to advance the field of psychiatry and improve treatments for mental illness.
Dr Benjamin Perry
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
University of Birmingham
Consultant Psychiatrist
Birmingham Early Intervention Services
Contact:
Email address: b.i.perry@bham.ac.uk
Melanie Lafanechere
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry - University of Birmingham, Consultant Psychiatrist - Birmingham Early Intervention Services
Biography
Ben is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Birmingham, and Consultant Psychiatrist in the Birmingham Early Intervention Services. Ben’s primary research interest is improving our understanding of, and ability to intervene in, the physical morbidity of major mental illnesses like schizophrenia and depression.
He has expertise in using cutting edge methods straddling observational and genetic epidemiology, risk prediction and the development of predictive algorithms, data science, and causal inference. Ben is also developing an interest in translating and expanding the observational research findings through applied and mixed methods research.
Ben’s interest in psychiatry began during his medical studies in East London. His experiences on clinical placements in particular widened his eyes to the poor physical health outcomes too often experienced by people with mental illness. After joining the academic clinical training program in Cardiff where he trained in psychiatric genetics, he moved to the University of Warwick as an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow, training in epidemiology and biostatistics. Then, having been awarded a prestigious NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship, Ben moved to University of Cambridge to undertake his PhD. He was subsequently appointed Clinical Lecturer in Psychiatry at University of Cambridge and completed his clinical training in Cambridgeshire before moving to University of Birmingham.
Dr Angharad de Cates
NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Psychiatry
School of Psychology
Contact:
Email address: a.n.decates@bham.ac.uk
Melanie Lafanechere
NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Psychiatry - School of Psychology
Biography
Dr de Cates is an NIHR Clinical Lecturer and Psychiatry Registrar currently at the Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham. Until February 2024, she was a Guarantors of Brain Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow at the University of Oxford. Her research interests focus on exploring cognition and mood as transdiagnostic and novel psychopharmacological targets in mental illness, including early psychosis. Recent projects include a body of work examining the role of specific serotonin receptor agonists in improving cognition.
Angharad qualified from the University of Oxford, and completed NIHR Academic Foundation and Academic Clinical Fellow posts at the University of Warwick. She then moved to Oxford to complete a Wellcome Trust funded DPhil (working on the first fMRI studies of medications that activate the 5HT4 receptor and how these might be useful for cognition), and subsequently a Guarantors of Brain Clinical Postdoctoral Fellowship.
She has been supervised by Catherine Harmer, Phil Cowen and Susannah Murphy (DoP, Oxford), Thomas Nichols and Anya Topiwala (BDI, Oxford), Matthew Broome and Rachel Upthegrove (Birmingham) and Scott Weich (Sheffield).
She is now completing her psychiatry residency in the West Midlands while continuing her research supported by the NIHR with a Clinical Lectureship.
Dr Siân Lowri Griffiths
Assistant Professor
School of Psychology
Contact:
Email address: s.l.griffiths@bham.ac.uk
Melanie Lafanechere
Assistant Professor - School of Psychology
Biography
Dr Lowri Griffiths (She/her) is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Mental Health and co-lead for the Children and Young People’s Theme of the Mental Health Mission, Midlands Translational Centre. Dr Griffiths has attracted ~£11 million of research funding as PI, Deputy PI and Co-I from a number of external funders including UKRI / ESCR, NIHR PGfAR, NIHR HSDR and EU Horizon. Dr Griffiths has recently established her own research group: CARE –Collaborative Applied Research for Equity in Mental Health.
Dr Griffiths has over 15 years of applied clinical research experience within the area of youth mental health. She has overseen large clinical trials and observational studies in early psychosis, applying multi-modal methods. Dr Griffiths has recently established the CARE research group which includes a dynamic team of interdisciplinary researchers and experts by experience to apply research in a collaborative way to improve mental health care and outcomes for all young people. Dr Griffiths is passionate about understanding and addressing the social determinants of mental illness which contribute to mental health inequities for underserved groups, and is an advocate for co-production and empowering young people with lived experience to drive meaningful change.
Camilla Carr
Research Associate (CADRE, Mental Health Mission)
Contact:
Email address: c.a.f.carr@bham.ac.uk
Melanie Lafanechere
Research Associate (CADRE, Mental Health Mission)
Biography
Camilla is currently a Research Associate at the University of Birmingham, working on the Children and Adolescents Data Resource (CADRE) project under the supervision of Dr Siân Lowri Griffiths. She graduated with a BSc in Psychology and following this graduated with an MSc in Mental Health, both at the University of Birmingham. She has previously worked at the University as a Research Associate on several different projects, within the Institute for Mental Health (IMH) and School of Psychology. These had a particular focus on postpartum mental health, specifically postpartum psychosis, and sleep, as well as sleep in new parents.
Camilla is interested in both youth mental health and postpartum mental health, which developed following her MSc dissertation that investigated maternal postnatal depression and anxiety and risk for mental health disorders in adolescent offspring. This encouraged her to volunteer at The Barberry’s Mother and Baby Unit for several months, where she got to interact with mothers experiencing postpartum mental health disorders. She is also very passionate about improving mental health in young people, either through research, interventions or digital tools.
Mental Health Mission – Team Building Day
The Mental Health Mission Team is set to hold a dedicated team-building day aimed at fostering connections among team members and evaluating the past year’s progress.
Initially planned to help the expanding team better understand each other’s roles, the event has taken on added significance following Rachel’s new appointment.
In preparation, Programme Manager (Raj) and Centre Director (Matthew) met with Vincent, a senior member of the ‘People and Organisational Development’ department from the University of Birmingham, to outline the day’s structure. Vincent will facilitate a light-touch session designed to encourage open communication and collaboration. His expertise is expected to bring out the best in participants, setting a positive tone for future interactions.
The goal of the day is for everyone to get to know one another and clarify their roles within the team. This is not a forum for addressing issues but rather an opportunity to strengthen relationships and set a clear direction for the Mental Health Mission Translational Centre.
Published in JAMA Psychiatry: New Study from Mental Health Mission Team Links Short Sleep in Childhood to Increased Risk of Psychosis in Adulthood
Members of the Mental Health Mission team have found that children with persistently short night-time sleep duration are at a significantly higher risk of developing psychotic experiences and psychotic disorders by the age of 24.
The study, led by Dr Isabel Morales-Munoz, Deputy Theme Lead for Mood Disorders, co-written with Professor Steven Marwaha, Mood Disorders Theme Lead, Professor Rachel Upthegrove, Psychosis Theme Lead, and Dr Vanessa Cropley of the University of Melbourne analysed data from over 12,000 children as part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.
The findings revealed that children with shorter sleep patterns across their early years were more than twice as likely to develop Psychotic Disorders and nearly four times as likely to experience Psychotic Experiences in young adulthood. The study also identified that elevated levels of the inflammatory marker interleukin 6 (IL-6) at age 9 partially mediated the link between short sleep duration and psychosis. However, another marker, C-reactive protein (CRP), did not show a similar effect.
This research highlights the critical need to address sleep issues in childhood, as poor sleep may contribute to long-term mental health risks. The study also suggests that future interventions should target both sleep and inflammatory responses to reduce the likelihood of developing psychosis later in life.
Dr. Luke Brown Joins Mental Health Mission Team as Assistant Professor
Dr. Luke Brown, an Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology and Principal Clinical Psychologist with the NHS, has joined the Mental Health Mission team.
In 2023-2024, Dr. Brown was appointed a Clinical Leadership Fellow as part of NHS England West and East Midlands Clinical Senate. His work focuses on youth mental health, particularly in supporting individuals recovering from their first episode of psychosis. Dr. Brown is also leading the implementation of a new service designed for young people at Ultra-High Risk (UHR) of developing psychotic disorders, with the goal of improving early intervention and prevention strategies in mental health care.
Dr. Ben Perry Joins University of Birmingham and Awarded Prestigious NIHR Fellowship
Associate Clinical Professor Ben Perry has joined the University of Birmingham, bringing with him a wealth of expertise from his PhD and clinical lectureship at the University of Cambridge.
Dr. Perry has been awarded a highly esteemed five-year NIHR Advanced Fellowship to further his research in developing PsyMetRiC, a groundbreaking tool for clinicians. PsyMetRiC is designed to predict the risk of young people with psychosis developing physical health problems up to six years into the future. This tool addresses a critical gap in mental health care, as individuals with chronic psychotic disorders face a life expectancy 15-20 years shorter than the general population, primarily due to physical health comorbidities. By providing personalised risk assessments, PsyMetRiC aims to enable early interventions, improving long-term health outcomes for patients.
Matthew Broome Appointed Director of Midlands Mental Health Mission
The Midlands Demonstrator Site, a key component of the Mental Health Mission, has announced a new leadership team.
Starting July 8th, Professor Matthew Broome will step into the role of Director, with Professor Steven Marwaha taking on the position of Co-Director and leading the Mood Disorders theme. This leadership transition follows Professor Upthegrove’s move to the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre. Matthew has agreed to serve for the next 6 to 24 months as the team works toward recruiting a permanent successor or developing internal talent for the role. The team is excited to continue advancing mental health research and services in collaboration with the University and NHS partners.