Psychosis Studies

Our research focuses on understanding why individuals experience psychotic symptoms or develop psychotic disorders. Our ultimate aim is to inform the development of new clinical assessments and treatments to benefit the lives of those experiencing psychosis. To achieve this, we harness powerful modern analytical techniques integrating data from neuroimaging, genomics, psychopathology, cognition, epidemiology, and the assessment of peripheral markers. Key to all our research is the integration of biological and psychosocial factors.

The translational nature of our work is further supported by the Psychosis Clinical Academic Group (CAG), within which we are integrated with high quality psychosis services in the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. Such a close collaboration with clinical teams facilitates the involvement of patients in research, and allows rapid translation of research findings into clinical practice. In this way, our work more immediately influences the care of those experiencing psychosis.

Senior members of the Department offer supervision to students wishing to undertake a PhD: there are more than 60 PhD students working within the Department on a diverse range of projects.

Graduate research students work closely with their supervisors and enjoy regular meetings to discuss their progress. They also liaise with other members of staff with relevant research interests and are encouraged to attend and participate in departmental research presentations and other Institute seminars. There is a full induction for new graduate students on commencing their studies. Each full-time graduate research student is allocated their own workspace and computer; facilities for part-time students can be arranged according to their needs.

Potential PhD students should visit http://www.kcl.ac.uk/iop/research/index.aspx to find out more.

Training courses run by the department, the Institute or through the Graduate School can be utilised as required to provide training in a wide variety of topics, from transferable skills to academic areas directly relevant to the student's thesis.

King's runs an outstanding Researcher Development Programme which is designed to meet the individual training needs of research students. The programme has been developed to ensure we produce the most qualified, experienced and employable researchers.