Experts at University Partners

We collaborate with a number of academics from Queen Mary, City - St George's, University of Cambridge and University College London.

Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL)

Within the university’s Institute for Population Health Sciences, we collaborate primarily with academics from the Centre for Psychiatry and Mental Health.

ACHA

The Academic Centre for Healthy Ageing (ACHA) is dedicated to improving care and support for older people in north east London through research, education, and training.

ACHA is a collaborative project between Barts Health NHS Trust, Queen Mary University of London and Barts Charity.

Based within Whipps Cross Hospital, with strong local community links, ACHA is closely connected to the Integrated Delivery Framework (IDF), a system-wide approach to transforming health and care services across the whole Whipps Cross catchment area. This means all of its research happens where patient care happens.

Psychological Medicine

The Unit for Psychological Medicine focuses on understanding the shared aetiology and coexistence of mental illness with other disorders to inform development of preventive interventions; public mental health and health inequalities; the impact of life stress/genetic factors on mental illness and prevention of violence and radicalisation.

Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry

The Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry (USCP) conducts research on how social interactions can reduce and overcome mental distress. Social interactions are understood as everything that ‘happens between people' which includes interactions in societies, communities, groups, families and health care settings. The research is multi-disciplinary, aims to innovate and involves the development and testing of novel interventions in mental health care. The Unit plays a leading role in various national and international collaborations.

Youth Resilience Unit

The Youth Resilience Unit (YRU) is funded by Barts Charity and commenced its work on 1st March 2021. The overall aim of the YRU is to study how young people (flexible age boundaries) use resources in the community to overcome mental distress. It will seek collaboration both with the mental health services and organisations for young people in the community outside health services.

Afia Ali

Clinical Reader in Intellectual Disability Psychiatry

Psychosocial interventions, experiences of stigma and health inequalities in people with intellectual disability; psychiatric morbidity and service use in people with borderline intellectual impairment

Catherine Carr

Senior Clinical Lecturer in Music Therapy

Developing and testing music therapy, arts therapies and arts in health interventions to meet mental health needs in specific clinical contexts; understanding the views and experiences of service users; recovery; inpatient services; building capacity for patient and public engagement in music therapy research; developing methods to capture the role of music and other art forms in therapeutic processes.

Claudia Cooper

Deputy Institute Director

Leading the NIHR/ESRC APPLE-Tree programme investigating how lifestyle and behavioural change can prevent dementia in older people. Co-leads an NIHR Dementia and Neurodegenerative diseases Policy Research Unit (Queen Mary) and the new Alzheimer’s Society Integrated Care Doctoral Training programme. Further details in link.

Nathan Davies

Professor of Ageing, Applied Health and Care Research, and Co-Lead Centre for Psychiatry and Mental Health

Prof Davies’ research focuses on dementia, ageing, and end-of-life care, using qualitative methods and implementation science to develop, evaluate and embed complex interventions. He leads major programmes addressing health inequalities and real-world impact.

Nikolina Jovanović

Clinical Reader and Consultant Psychiatrist in Perinatal Psychiatry

Improving perinatal mental health care, developing and implementing effective interventions, promoting service user involvement, and improving the design of healthcare environments.

Dennis Ougrin

Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Global Mental Health, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

Prevention of Borderline Personality Disorder; effective interventions for self-harm in young people.

Liz Sampson

Professor of Liaison Psychiatry

My research and clinical work focuses on the interface between physical and mental health, particularly around cognitive disorders such as delirium and dementia and the interface between acute hospital, emergency and community care.

Natalie Shoham

Senior Clinical Lecturer

Psychosis and serious mental illness, and in reducing health inequalities for people affected by these conditions.

Francois van Loggerenberg

Research Fellow

Mental health, child and adolescent mental health, HIV and mental health

City - St George's, University of London

Within the university’s School of Health Sciences, the Trust collaborates primarily with academics from the below projects.

Centre for Mental Health Research

The Centre for Mental Health Research has an international reputation for co-produced research with young people, adults and older adults experiencing mental health problems in national and global settings. Their work focuses on reducing health inequalities by improving patient access, experience and outcomes, through novel methods, psychosocial interventions and models of care. Collaboration and co-production with people with lived experience of using mental health services, and the staff that provide these services, is at the heart of our research.

Health Psychology Research Group

Sitting within the university’s Centre for Health Sciences Research, Health Psychology is the study of psychological processes in health, illness, and healthcare. Health Psychology focuses on relationships between cognitions, emotions and behaviours for healthy individuals, patients and healthcare professionals. By elucidating the drivers and barriers of individual behaviour and professional practice within these groups, Health Psychologists are able to develop specific interventions to maintain health, mitigate the impact of disease, and maximise the effectiveness of the healthcare system.

Rose McCabe

Professor of Clinical Communication

Understanding patient experience; professional-patient communication; the therapeutic relationship and developing interventions to improve communication, therapeutic relationships and outcomes of mental healthcare. Involving people with lived experience in designing and evaluating new approaches to care.

Mat Lucassen

Reader in Mental Health

Helping inform others about the mental health needs of under-served populations (e.g., LGBTQ+ young people), and to contribute towards enhancing the mental wellbeing of young people. Prior work also includes mental health workforce development and digital forms of psychotherapy.

Michelle McBride

Senior Lecturer of Community Nursing

Embedding evidence-based practice in community nursing, focusing on long term conditions and parity of esteem. Promoting community career pathways in pre-registration nursing.

Sally McManus

Director of Violence and Society Centre

Quantitative survey methods and the measurement of mental health and wellbeing. Population trends in health and health behaviours and the social context of mental health, including the role played by violence, abuse and socioeconomic adversity.

Stanton Newman

Professor of Behavioural Medicine/Health Psychology.

His Research concentrates on the Management and Self Management of Chronic Disease including the use of technology, decision making by health professionals, the impact of surgery and treatments on the brain, recovery from surgery. The health conditions he examines include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Arthritis, Renal disease, Cancer, COPD, Ocular Disease, UTI and dementia.

Sarah Northcott

Senior Lecturer

Sarah’s research interests lie in exploring ways to support the emotional and social wellbeing of people living with stroke and aphasia, on projects involving collaborations between speech and language therapists, mental health professionals and people living with aphasia and their families.

Jacqueline Sin

Professor of Mental Health Nursing

Using multi-methods and participatory research to co-design, evaluate and implement innovative psychosocial interventions for and with people affected by mental distress and complex trauma experience, and their family carers.

University of Cambridge

Within the university, we collaborate primarily with academics from the the Public Health and Primary Care Department.

Department of Public Health and Primary Care (DPHPC)

The Department of Public Health and Primary Care (DPHPC) of the University of Cambridge is one of Europe’s leading academic departments of population health sciences. Within the Department, the Primary Care Unit (PCU) is a recognised academic centre for community and Primary Care, delivering research and education at the highest international standards of excellence. The Unit was established in 1997 with a main goal of reducing the burden of ill health by identifying and targeting the behaviours that lead to chronic disease, by improving early detection of illness, and by improving the delivery of health services in community settings.

Shobhana (Shobi) Nagraj

Assistant Professor of Primary & Community Care

Her research focuses on implementation science and the use of theory in the design, implementation and evaluation of complex interventions (including digital health). Locally, Shobi leads the ELFT-UCAM Implementation Research Hub, to improve healthcare delivery for under-represented populations across Luton & Bedfordshire, working closely with the local Integrated Care Board and Health Innovation East. She uses global health thinking to address local health challenges and involves communities in research that impacts their lives.

University College London

Individual academics at UCL are also ELFT clinicians and very research-active as local study leads and holders of grants.

Michelle Heys

NIHR and UCL Professor of Global Child Health and Honorary Consultant Paediatrican

Research focuses on improving child health through applied health systems research, digital innovation, equity, and implementation science. Key areas include newborn care, neurodisability, autism, and structural determinants in the UK and LMICs.