ON SEPTEMBER 30, Cardiff University will host the launch of the Brain and Genomics Hub, a pioneering research centre dedicated to improving the lives of people living with bipolar, schizophrenia, psychosis and schizoaffective disorder.
The Hub will bring together world-leading researchers from the universities of Cardiff, Bath, Bristol, Exeter and Swansea, alongside Adferiad, Bipolar UK, the National Centre for Mental Health, and people with lived-experience of these conditions to accelerate impactful research into, and treatments for, severe mental health conditions.
One of five new research hubs, the team based at Cardiff University is part of the Mental Health Platform funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Professor James Walters, Research Lead for the Hub in Cardiff, said: “We’re thrilled to have received this funding, the largest funding award to date for severe mental health research, to make a difference to people’s lives.”
The Hub will create the largest health data resource of severe mental illness, capturing the whole picture of participants including life experiences, genetic samples, cognitive assessments and brain scans.
Professor Walters continued: “Currently there is a lot of overlap in the diagnosis of conditions like psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder.
“At the same time, people who have received the same diagnosis can have vastly different experiences and symptoms and can respond differently to existing treatments.
“The Bipolar, Schizophrenia and Psychosis Research Initiative (B-SPRINT) study from the Brain and Genomics Hub aims to go beyond diagnostic boundaries, to help identify ways to develop more targeted treatment approaches for people living with these conditions, and to improve how they are diagnosed.”
Also involved in the Hub’s launch is Professor Tania Gergel – honorary Visiting Professor in the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University and Director of Research at Bipolar UK, her work focuses on putting the lived experience of mental illness at the centre of mental health research and policy.
Gergel, who lives with bipolar, said: “This is a huge step forward for those living with a severe mental illness.
“It is only by putting the lived experience of mental illness at the centre of mental health research and policy that we can instigate change.
“We want to ensure that each severe mental illness is recognised as a condition it its own right, with its own dedicated care pathway to reduce diagnosis delays significantly and empower people living with those conditions to access specialist treatment that will help them to experience better quality of life.”
To find out more, and to register your interest, visit: Brain and Genomics Hub – B-Sprint study
