Mental Health

This Theme’s Focus

Look at the development of the brain to try and prevent mental health disorders
Improve our understanding of how mental and physical (brain and body) health interact to help develop new treatments
Use digital technology to help identify, prevent and treat mental health conditions

Mental illness contributes to more than 16% of the burden of disease and costs the UK £119 B/year. Our growing understanding of the intimate links between physical and mental health mean that this theme intersects with many others, particularly Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Dementia (collectively the Brain–Mind supertheme), Child Health, Genomics, Data Science and Population Health, Nutrition/Metabolism, and Advanced Therapies.

We will identify new opportunities for prevention and personalised intervention that can lead to fewer people struggling with poor mental health and quicker recovery for those that do. We will focus on technological innovation for earlier identification and diagnosis of mental disorders, preventative strategies to minimise the burden of poor mental health, and recognition of the close and reciprocal links between physical and mental health.

The perspectives of those with lived experience of poor mental health, and their carers, as well as typically-developing young people, are embedded within all of our work.

Theme Lead

Associate Professor Ben Underwood

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Email:ben.underwood@cpft.nhs.uk

Meet our researchers

Consistent with governmental goals for mental health research, our three sub-themes address core challenges facing a science-based approach to mental health:

Developmental

Can we characterise typical development from early childhood to emerging adulthood using cognitive, neuroimaging, and genetic approaches, and determine how atypical trajectories foreshadow preventable mental disorders?

Biomedical

Can we understand brain–body links mechanistically to discover new treatments involving both mental and physical aspects?

Digital

Can we apply digital technologies to create more sensitive and precise ways to identify, prevent, and treat mental health disorders?

Research community

Cambridge has a large and vibrant research community that conducts world-leading work with direct implications for understanding mental health disorders. T he Cambridge Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Research Centre comprises more than 850 clinical and non-clinical scientists, coordinated around themes closely related to our sub-themes. This network supports collaborations across diverse disciplines, removing traditional boundaries between basic and translational science.

Our expanding multidisciplinary research programme in adolescent development focuses investigation at the age of peak incidence for many mental health disorders. Similarly, recent funding for a regional Children’s Hospital/Research Institute (East of England) will strengthen the connection between physical and psychological medicine and promote translation of findings. Our established expertise will enable BRC funding to add immediate value to a critical mass of existing research, increasing the potential for therapeutic innovation, especially in autism, addiction, depression, psychosis, obsessive–compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as for approaches that span many different conditions.

Regionally, we collaborate across the East of England (e.g. Anglia Ruskin University, University of East Anglia) in research related to psychotic disorders, immunology, informatics, psychological therapies). Nationally, we collaborate closely with several BRCs; (Maudsley BRC, informatics, immunology, epidemiology; UCLH BRC, neuroimaging, Bristol BRC informatics/epidemiology; Nottingham BRC digital).

Latest News

Largest genetic study of brain structure identifies how the brain is organised

August 17, 2023

The largest ever study of the genetics of the brain – encompassing…

Brainwave illistration - Loaivat from Pixabay

Brain’s ‘appetite control centre’ different in people who are overweight or living with obesity

August 8, 2023

Cambridge scientists, in research supported by the NIHR Cambridge…

Square image with 4 males, 2 above and 2 below

Cambridge researchers listed among world’s most influential researchers

November 21, 2022

Congratulations to our NIHR Cambridge BRC theme leads who have been named in the Clarivate listings of the ‘world’s most influential researchers.’

Cambridge researchers awarded Fellow status

May 11, 2022

Eight Cambridge researchers are elected as Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

AI generated brain image - David_SMC from Pixabay

Brain charts map the rapid growth and slow decline of the human brain over our lifetime

April 7, 2022

An international team of researchers has created a series of brain charts spanning our entire lifespan – from a 15 week old fetus to 100 year old adult – that show how our brains expand rapidly in early life and slowly shrink as we age.

CT scan, close up image of the brain - NIHR Cambridge BRC image

Exploring how inflammation affects cognitive performance in people with depression

March 9, 2022

Research has found that inflammation may influence cognitive problems for people with depression, highlighting a new target to improve treatment.

image of 2 separate people next to eachtother, a male and a female

Cambridge Professors receive NIHR Senior Investigator awards

March 3, 2022

Professor Emanuele Di Angelantonio and Professor Tamsin Ford have been newly-appointed as Senior Investigators for the NIHR.

Researchers talk in person and online to Long Road College students about their work - the students' faces have been blurred to protect their identity.

What does a career in health research look like? Our researchers share their work with local sixth-form students

March 11, 2025

Students at Long Road Sixth-Form College in Cambridge were last…

Genomics lab reading samples - NIHR Cambridge BRC image

Research collaboration offers new polygenic score insights in type 2 diabetes and related co-morbidities

March 11, 2025

An on-campus collaboration between NIHR Cambridge BRC-funded…

Sculpture of person holding head in hands

Diagnosing autism in adulthood

October 16, 2024

Autism affects 1% of the child and adult population, costing…

New app to help people with OCD symptoms

October 16, 2024

A new app developed by Cambridge researchers may help people…

Testing whether an anti-inflammatory drug can help people with depression

October 16, 2024

Following research evidence that some patients with depression…

Woman stressed - Counselling from Pixabay

Stress does not lead to loss of self-control in eating disorders

October 16, 2024

People who experience eating disorders do not lose self-control…

Adolescence is associated with genomically patterned consolidation of the hubs of the human brain connectome

July 25, 2016

Carrots and sticks fail to change behavior in cocaine addiction

June 17, 2016

Association between antipsychotic/antidepressant drug treatments and hospital admissions in schizophrenia assessed using a mental health case register

October 21, 2015

The NIHR Cambridge BRC is part of the NIHR and hosted by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with the University of Cambridge. We are at the heart of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Europe’s largest health research area.

Bluesky

Contact Us

Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre
Box 277
Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 0QQ

Tel: 01223 348490

NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre @cambridgebrc ·

13 Feb

What is #Research #Culture and why should you be interested in it? Why not come along and find out...Thursday 27 February 16.15 - 18.00 ⬇️⬇️
Book Now >> patojomcpeake@thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk
@Cambridge_Uni @CUH_NHS @THIS_Institute

Reply on Twitter 1890067126679163351 Retweet on Twitter 1890067126679163351 Like on Twitter 1890067126679163351 Twitter 1890067126679163351

NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre @cambridgebrc ·

13 Feb

New #research from Cambridge @Cambridge_Uni shows the need to prioritise #vaccine boosters for those with weakned immune systems to #prevent emergence of new #Covid variants.
@CUH_NHS @NIHRresearch @Gates_Cambridge #vasculitisUK

>> To find out more:

Reply on Twitter 1890034902571339816 Retweet on Twitter 1890034902571339816 2 Like on Twitter 1890034902571339816 6 Twitter 1890034902571339816

NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre @cambridgebrc ·

12 Feb

Involved in research? Whatever your role/discipline, please spend 15-20 mins filling out a survey https://bit.ly/41aZ69J from @EthicsSciPublicKavli at @Cambridge_Uni on science engagement with the public? @CamUniEngage @engageWCS @StellenboschUni @CUH_NHS

Reply on Twitter 1889650882251284935 Retweet on Twitter 1889650882251284935 2 Like on Twitter 1889650882251284935 3 Twitter 1889650882251284935

NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre @cambridgebrc ·

11 Feb

Happy #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience
To commemorate this annual celebration, we interviewed three women from our Cambridge BRC. Look out for Rona Smith's full interview on our website in the coming days..
@CUH_NHS @Cambridge_Uni @NIHRresearch @UNESCO @WomenScienceDay

Reply on Twitter 1889373404295279019 Retweet on Twitter 1889373404295279019 Like on Twitter 1889373404295279019 3 Twitter 1889373404295279019

NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre @cambridgebrc ·

11 Feb

Happy #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience
For this global celebration of women in science, we interviewed 3 women from our Cambridge BRC. Look out for Jo McPeake's interview on our website in the coming days
@CUH_NHS @Cambridge_Uni @NIHRresearch @UNESCO @WomenScienceDay

Reply on Twitter 1889372716592963658 Retweet on Twitter 1889372716592963658 1 Like on Twitter 1889372716592963658 5 Twitter 1889372716592963658

NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre @cambridgebrc ·

11 Feb

Happy #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience
To celebrate this global day, we interviewed three women from our Cambridge BRC. Look out for Deborah's full interview on our website in the coming days..
@CUH_NHS @Cambridge_Uni @NIHRresearch @BEARS_CI @UNESCO @WomenScienceDay

Reply on Twitter 1889370490432639371 Retweet on Twitter 1889370490432639371 2 Like on Twitter 1889370490432639371 4 Twitter 1889370490432639371

View more Tweets

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Mental Health

This Theme’s Focus

Theme Lead

Associate Professor Ben Underwood

Related Videos

Consistent with governmental goals for mental health research, our three sub-themes address core challenges facing a science-based approach to mental health:

Developmental

Biomedical

Digital

Research community

Latest News

Largest genetic study of brain structure identifies how the brain is organised

Brain’s ‘appetite control centre’ different in people who are overweight or living with obesity

Cambridge researchers listed among world’s most influential researchers

Cambridge researchers awarded Fellow status

Brain charts map the rapid growth and slow decline of the human brain over our lifetime

Exploring how inflammation affects cognitive performance in people with depression

Cambridge Professors receive NIHR Senior Investigator awards

Mental Health Case Studies

What does a career in health research look like? Our researchers share their work with local sixth-form students

Research collaboration offers new polygenic score insights in type 2 diabetes and related co-morbidities

Diagnosing autism in adulthood

New app to help people with OCD symptoms

Testing whether an anti-inflammatory drug can help people with depression

Stress does not lead to loss of self-control in eating disorders

Mental Health Publications

Adolescence is associated with genomically patterned consolidation of the hubs of the human brain connectome

Carrots and sticks fail to change behavior in cocaine addiction

Association between antipsychotic/antidepressant drug treatments and hospital admissions in schizophrenia assessed using a mental health case register

Contact Us

Useful Links