Prof Robin Murray
Sir Robin Murray is Professor of Psychiatric research at the Institute of Psychiatry and is concerned with finding the causes of psychosis, and improving its treatment. His early work challenged the prevailing view of schizophrenia as an adult-onset brain disease, instead demonstrating that it is in part a neurodevelopmental disorder. He and his colleagues have shown that that environmental factors such as obstetric events, childhood adversity, migration, and heavy cannabis use are all risk factors for psychosis. Robin is the most widely cited schizophrenia researcher outside the USA and was knighted by the Queen in 2011. He is one of only four psychiatrists ever to be elected to the UK Royal Society.
Prof Marta Di Forti
Marta Di Forti is a Professor of Drugs, Genes, and Psychosis at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and an MRC senior clinical scientist. Her work identified an increased risk of psychosis following the use of high-potency cannabis, particularly in adolescence. The clinical population she cares for comprises young people suffering from their first episode of psychosis. Her clinical work is crucial in informing and inspiring her academic interests. Marta currently researches the interaction between genes and cannabis in causing psychotic disorders and worsening the outcome.
Prof Anton Grech
Professor Anton Grech is a Maltese psychiatrist who focuses on addictions and neuropsychiatry. He trained at the Maudsley Hospital in London, holds an M.Sc. in Psychiatry from King’s College, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Returning to Malta in 1999, he became a Consultant Psychiatrist and now serves as a Professor at the University of Malta and Clinical Chairman of Psychiatry in Malta’s Health Ministry. His research centres on schizophrenia, and he frequently uses media to advocate for mental health education.
Prof Diego Quattrone
Diego Quattrone is a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital and has previously led the Inpatient and Crisis Services for the Lewisham Operations Directorate. He is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Palermo and a Senior Lecturer at King's College London.
Diego runs the Johnson Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), specialising in delivering comprehensive care and treatment to patients in the most acute stages of their psychiatric illness. Johnson PICU was recognised as a finalist at the HSJ Patient Safety Awards for its contribution to 'Changing Culture,' driving enhancements in culture and quality throughout the UK's National Health System and was later selected for the 'Learning from Excellence' initiative, a role model for psychiatric intensive care.
Diego's research is based on his clinical work and experience and focuses on the epidemiology and genetics of psychopathology associated with cannabis use and addiction. He is currently investigating how biological variations in the endocannabinoid system render certain cannabis users susceptible to developing psychosis, violence, and aggression.
Diego runs the Johnson Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), specialising in delivering comprehensive care and treatment to patients in the most acute stages of their psychiatric illness. Johnson PICU was recognised as a finalist at the HSJ Patient Safety Awards for its contribution to 'Changing Culture,' driving enhancements in culture and quality throughout the UK's National Health System and was later selected for the 'Learning from Excellence' initiative, a role model for psychiatric intensive care.
Diego's research is based on his clinical work and experience and focuses on the epidemiology and genetics of psychopathology associated with cannabis use and addiction. He is currently investigating how biological variations in the endocannabinoid system render certain cannabis users susceptible to developing psychosis, violence, and aggression.
Prof Caterina (Erika) La Cascia
Caterina La Cascia (Erika), is a clinical psychologist, PhD in neuroscience and behavioral disorders, and associate professor at Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience in University of Palermo. She works also as a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist at Unit of Psychiatric of University Hospital of Palermo. Her main interest in research is in Psychosis, particularly in use of cannabis and psychosis onset, and in psychiatric rehabilitation.
Prof David Taylor
David Taylor is Director of Pharmacy and Pathology at the Maudsley Hospital and Professor of Psychopharmacology at KCL. In 2014, David was ranked in the top 100 clinical leaders in the NHS by the Health Service Journal. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology (IF 5.0). David was a member of the UK Department of Transport expert panel that introduced drug-driving regulation. He is currently a member of the UK government’s Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs. He has formally contributed to five NICE Guidelines. Professor Taylor has been the lead author of the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines since their inception in 1993. The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines have sold over 300,000 copies in fourteen editions and twelve languages. David has also authored over 375 clinical papers in journals such as the Lancet, BMJ, JAMA Psychiatry, British Journal of Psychiatry and Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. These papers have been cited over 14,000 times.
Prof Laura Ferraro
Laura Ferraro is a PhD in Clinical Medicine and Behavioural Sciences and a Psychologist and Cognitive Psychotherapist. She has been working in the research field until July 2009 when she started her four-years research fellowship grant in schizophrenia research at University of Palermo, where she is currently working as a teacher. She is interested in psychosis, particularly in cannabis use, cognition, and premorbid adjustment.
Prof David Castle
David is Professor, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Tasmania; and Co-Director, Tasmanian Centre for Mental Health Service Innovation. He has wide clinical and research interests, encompassing schizophrenia and related disorders, bipolar disorder, OCD spectrum disorders and disorders of body image. He has a longstanding interest in the impact of licit and illicit substances on the brain and body, and is actively engaged in programmes addressing the physical health of the mentally ill and the mental health of the physically ill. He has published widely in the scientific literature and is a frequent speaker at scientific meetings.
Prof Mauro Carta
Mauro Carta is a psychiatrist and human rights advocate specializing in mental health and social impact research. He has led and collaborated on numerous international studies in Europe, South America, and Africa, focusing on mental health among migrants, refugees, and vulnerable populations. Since 2005, Carta has been a professor at the University of Cagliari, leading initiatives in global health and human rights, including the WHO QualityRights program. Known for his anti-stigma efforts, he was named an Honorary Member of the Brazilian Academy of Medicine in 2022.
Dr Andrea Tortelli
Dr Andrea Tortelli is a psychiatrist based in Paris, France. He currently works at the Avron M Blanche Hospitalization Unit.. He specialises in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental illnesses and psychological disorders.
Dr Tortelli is also an associate researcher at INSERM, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, where he is involved in translational psychiatry. His research includes studies on the mental health of migrants, highlighting how living conditions in the host country can significantly influence the onset of psychiatric disorders
Dr Tortelli is also an associate researcher at INSERM, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, where he is involved in translational psychiatry. His research includes studies on the mental health of migrants, highlighting how living conditions in the host country can significantly influence the onset of psychiatric disorders
Prof Allan Young
Professor Allan Young is a leading expert in mood disorders, currently holding the Chair of Mood Disorders and directing the Centre for Affective Disorders at King’s College London. He is also a Consultant Psychiatrist and head of the National Affective Disorders Unit at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Professor Young has held senior roles at Oxford, Newcastle, the University of British Columbia, and Imperial College London.
His research focuses on the causes and treatments of mood disorders. He has received research grant funding from the UK Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, the Stanley Medical Research Institute, the Canadian Institutes for Heath Research (CIHR), the National Institutes of Health (USA), and numerous other funding agencies. He has published over 400 peer-reviewed publications and a number of books about psychopharmacology and affective disorders. Professor Young was ranked as one of the world's leading scientific minds in the field of Psychiatry and Psychology, according to the Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers list. In all of science, a total of over 3,000 researchers worldwide earned this distinction and the academics listed rank among the top 1% most cited for their subject field and year of publication, a mark of exceptional impact.
His research focuses on the causes and treatments of mood disorders. He has received research grant funding from the UK Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, the Stanley Medical Research Institute, the Canadian Institutes for Heath Research (CIHR), the National Institutes of Health (USA), and numerous other funding agencies. He has published over 400 peer-reviewed publications and a number of books about psychopharmacology and affective disorders. Professor Young was ranked as one of the world's leading scientific minds in the field of Psychiatry and Psychology, according to the Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers list. In all of science, a total of over 3,000 researchers worldwide earned this distinction and the academics listed rank among the top 1% most cited for their subject field and year of publication, a mark of exceptional impact.
Dr Isabelle Austin-Zimmerman
Isabelle Austin-Zimmerman is a postdoctoral research associate at King’s College London. Her work focuses on understanding the genetic relationship between cannabis use and psychosis. Prior to joining King’s, Isabelle completed her PhD at UCL investigating pharmacogenetic variation in response to antidepressants and antipsychotics.
Prof Mary Cannon
Mary Cannon is Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Youth Mental Health in the Department of Psychiatry, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland and a consultant psychiatrist in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Her area of research interest is young people’s mental health, and identifying early risk and protective factors for later mental disorder which can aid prevention. She has a particular interest in psychotic symptoms in young people and mental health effects of adolescent cannabis use. Her research is funded by the European Research Council, Research Ireland and the Health Research Board (Ireland). She has been listed as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher. Professor Cannon is interested in advocacy in the field of mental health and has served on Governmental Task Forces in the area of Youth Mental Health and was on the Advisory Support Group for the Citizens Assembly on Drug Use in 2023. She has been vice president of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland and vice-chair of the Youth and Student Psychiatry Faculty. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. She serves on the Editorial Boards for the British Journal of Psychiatry, Schizophrenia Bulletin and the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine.
Dr Giuseppe Maniaci
Giuseppe Maniaci is a PhD in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, a Clinical Psychologist and a Psychotherapist. He works at the Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience at University of Palermo. His main research fields concern the assessment and treatment of gambling disorder, the association between unhealthy lifestyles and psychiatric disorders and the evaluation of the outcome of psychological therapies.
Prof Giovanni Martinotti
Giovanni Martinotti is Full Professor of Psychiatry at the University “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara, Italy, Scientific Director of the SRP Villa Maria Pia, Rome and Head of the Emerging Drugs and Brain Stimulation Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, Clinical Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technology in Chieti.
He studied medicine at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Rome), specialising in psychiatry, followed by a PhD in Neuroscience. His post-graduate research focuses on addiction psychiatry, with specific interests in treatment-resistant depression, dual diagnosis, complications and sequelae of addiction, pharmacological treatment of addictive disorders, brain stimulation techniques, novel psychoactive substances, and psychedelics. He has clinical experience in the UK, Spain and Brazil.
He has authored more than 300 scientific manuscripts. He was President of the Young Section of the Italian Psychiatric Association (2012-2020) and, since 2015, he has been Secretary of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) section of Ecology, Psychiatry & Mental Health.
He studied medicine at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Rome), specialising in psychiatry, followed by a PhD in Neuroscience. His post-graduate research focuses on addiction psychiatry, with specific interests in treatment-resistant depression, dual diagnosis, complications and sequelae of addiction, pharmacological treatment of addictive disorders, brain stimulation techniques, novel psychoactive substances, and psychedelics. He has clinical experience in the UK, Spain and Brazil.
He has authored more than 300 scientific manuscripts. He was President of the Young Section of the Italian Psychiatric Association (2012-2020) and, since 2015, he has been Secretary of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) section of Ecology, Psychiatry & Mental Health.
Prof Jeremy Hall
Professor Jeremy Hall is the Director of the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences and the Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute. His research interests are focused on genetic and environmental risk factors involved in the aetiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, and personality disorders.
Professor Hall uses a translational research approach, bridging basic science with clinical application to explain how genetic determinants interact with environmental exposures to influence the onset and progression of psychiatric conditions. Particularly, his work examines how genetic risk factors perturb neuroplasticity and learning processes, abnormalities resulting in the core symptomatology of a broad spectrum of mental health disorders.
In addition to his pre-clinical research, Professor Hall is actively involved in clinical research focusing on adult neurodevelopmental disorders and early psychosis. His clinical work aims to integrate insights from basic neuroscience into novel strategies for the early identification, intervention, and treatment of these conditions.
Professor Hall uses a translational research approach, bridging basic science with clinical application to explain how genetic determinants interact with environmental exposures to influence the onset and progression of psychiatric conditions. Particularly, his work examines how genetic risk factors perturb neuroplasticity and learning processes, abnormalities resulting in the core symptomatology of a broad spectrum of mental health disorders.
In addition to his pre-clinical research, Professor Hall is actively involved in clinical research focusing on adult neurodevelopmental disorders and early psychosis. His clinical work aims to integrate insights from basic neuroscience into novel strategies for the early identification, intervention, and treatment of these conditions.
Prof David Cotter
Professor David Cotter's research focuses on the neuropsychiatry of psychiatric disorders, with a particular focus on the cytoarchitecture of the brain and its neuronal and glial populations in conditions such as schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorder. His early work, supported by two MRC clinical training fellowships, led to the identification of cortical glial cell deficits in major depression and schizophrenia, and he was among the first to report reductions in cortical neuronal size in these disorders.
Building on this, Professor Cotter has led a Neuroproteomics Research Programme funded by the Wellcome Trust, HRB, SFI, and NARSAD, collaborating with experts in proteomics to explore synaptic and mitochondrial changes in the brains of individuals with major psychiatric disorders. He is currently an HRB Clinician Scientist, investigating predictive plasma protein biomarkers for schizophrenia, and has expanded his research to include metabolomic and lipidomic approaches. His current work has identified early biomarkers at age 11 of psychotic disorders at age 18.
Thus, Professor Cotter's current research aims to identify young people at risk of a range of mental disorders to prevent the onset of psychiatric illness through early intervention.
Building on this, Professor Cotter has led a Neuroproteomics Research Programme funded by the Wellcome Trust, HRB, SFI, and NARSAD, collaborating with experts in proteomics to explore synaptic and mitochondrial changes in the brains of individuals with major psychiatric disorders. He is currently an HRB Clinician Scientist, investigating predictive plasma protein biomarkers for schizophrenia, and has expanded his research to include metabolomic and lipidomic approaches. His current work has identified early biomarkers at age 11 of psychotic disorders at age 18.
Thus, Professor Cotter's current research aims to identify young people at risk of a range of mental disorders to prevent the onset of psychiatric illness through early intervention.
Prof Charlotte Wilson-Jones
Charlotte Wilson-Jones is a Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist at Maudsley Hospital and a professor of education and Innovation at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. She is also the Director of Undergraduate Psychiatric Teaching at the Maudsley Training Programme. In addition to her academic roles at King’s College London, Dr Wilson-Jones was appointed Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education at the Royal College of Psychiatrists of Psychiatry.
Dr Giovanni Zabbia
Dr Giovanni Zabbia holds a Medical degree and specialization in Plastic Surgery from the University of Palermo, and a Master’s Degree in Breast Reconstructive Surgery from the University of Rome La Sapienza. He has contributed to the academic community as a tutor from 2005 to 2011, guiding medical students in suturing techniques at the University of Palermo, and has completed additional training at the Ospedale Civico Burn Center in Palermo. Additionally, he earned a PhD in Surgical Biotechnology and Regenerative Medicine, with a focus on peripheral nerve regeneration.
He has developed expertise in surgical reconstruction, particularly in breast reconstruction techniques, and in gender reassignment surgery.
Since 2013, Dr Zabbia has served as a senior surgeon in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery unit at Policlinico P. Giaccone in Palermo.
He has developed expertise in surgical reconstruction, particularly in breast reconstruction techniques, and in gender reassignment surgery.
Since 2013, Dr Zabbia has served as a senior surgeon in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery unit at Policlinico P. Giaccone in Palermo.
