Melanie Lafanechere
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Contact:
Email address:
Cross Theme
Research Project Officer, mental Health Mission, University of Birmingham
Biography
I have a BSc in Psychology from Aston University and an MSc in Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Birmingham. I have worked at the University of Birmingham since 2020, where I started as Research Associate investigating the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on the motor areas of the cortex.
I then joined the Primed+ Lab as a Project Officer for Professor Upthegrove where I worked on the multi-site international project, PRESCIENT; investigating the longitudinal trajectories of Psychosis in clinically high-risk populations and then on the PIMS Trial which is double-blind randomised placebo trial that investigates an anti-inflammatory in First Episode Psychosis patients.
I then took a career break to travel for 7 months and returned to the lab to work on EPICare, which is a co-designed, evidence-based, stakeholder-informed framework for the build, implementation, and evaluation of a national integrated digital registry and clinical decision support system for Psychosis, that will be implemented at several NHS Mental Health Services, and eventually adopted by all NHS Mental Health Services in England.
Shahara Choudhry
Midlands Translational Centre Director
Professor of Psychiatry and Youth Mental Health
Director of the Institute for Mental Health
Contact:
Email address: m.broome@nhs.net
Cross Theme
Midlands Translational Centre Director
Biography
I am the Senior Administrator for the Midlands Mental Health Mission, with a very varied background. I read Law as an undergraduate at Keele University and obtained my LPC (Legal Practice Course) to train as a solicitor. I worked in the fast-paced finance sector for 12 years, and then decided to take the plunge with a role at the University of Birmingham. I have not looked back since and appreciated my experience in HR. My current role within the mission covers a variety of aspects within operations, working closely with the Director and Co-Director. I am really enjoying working on the Midlands Mental Health Mission with such a fantastic team striving to improve care for patients with mental health illnesses.
Charlotte Maybury
- NHS Liaison
- Mental Health Mission Midlands Translational Centre (MHMTC)
- Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham
Contact:
Email address:
Cross Theme
NHS Liaison
Biography
In her current role as NHS Liaison, Charlotte supports existing and new NHS partners across the Midlands region to effectively engage with the MHMTC with the aim of increasing staff capacity and capability to deliver mental health research.
Formerly, Charlotte managed the Birmingham NIHR Integrated Academic Training Programme for clinical academics for 10 years and was a Service Manager within a specialist Forensic Mental Health NHS Trust for 11 years.
Charlotte is passionate about capacity development for mental health research and a champion for Clinical Academic Training and embedding research into core healthcare provision.
Raj Kaur
Programme Manager
Contact:
Email address: r.kaur.2@bham.ac.uk
Cross Theme
Programme Manager
Raj Kaur is an Academic Research Delivery Programme Manager. She currently leads the Mental Health Mission, coordinating cross‑disciplinary programmes that strengthen research capacity, accelerate innovation, and improve outcomes for people experiencing mental ill‑health.
Raj brings a unique systems‑focused perspective to programme delivery. She has previously managed complex research portfolios in maternal health, and engineering, ensuring high‑quality delivery, stakeholder alignment, and measurable impact.
Driven by a commitment to evidence‑based improvement and equitable access to health research, Raj works across academia, clinical partners, and industry to enable collaborations that translate research into meaningful change.
Opeyemi Odejimi
- Mood Disorder Research Project Manager
Contact:
Email address:
Cross Theme
Mood Disorder Research Project Manager
Biography
I am Opeyemi Odejimi (Ope), Mood disorder research project manager. My role is to develop and deliver Mental Health Mission projects related to Difficult to Treat Depression (DTD)/Treatment Resistant Depression.
I am currently leading the implementation of a digital research platform for service users with Difficult to Treat Depression (DTD)/Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD). This digital research platform creates the right avenue to conduct large scale research studies using ‘real-time’ patient data, thereby generating knowledge which may help identify the causes and treatment options as well as better management of DTD/TRD.
I am also leading the setting up a neuromodulation clinic that aims to deliver innovative mental health treatment for DTD/TRD such as, Ketamine and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation within the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust. I also have wealth of experience as a lecturer teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as an online tutor. I have a PhD and have disseminated research in journal publications and many conferences.