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New round of mental health ‘launchpad’ grants to tackle UK’s growing crisis

Last updated

10/02/25

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We’re thrilled to announce new funding for eight brilliant scientists, who are all addressing critical mental health challenges - from ADHD and youth mental health to psychosis.

Mental health disorders account for at least 21% of the UK disease burden. Despite this, only 6% of the UK’s health research budget in recent years has been allocated to mental health. There is a growing body of evidence showing that people are finding it harder than ever to cope with mental health challenges.

Various mental health conditions are increasing in prevalence and severity, but they remain poorly understood. From rising rates of suicide among young men, to lack of appropriate support for the children and young people who need it, there is a pressing need for research funding in the UK to meet the scale and impact of mental illness within the population.

That’s why we’re investing over £700,000 into eight new projects in this field. Too many mental health conditions remain neglected, and we are committed to addressing this research gap.

Through our Launchpad Grants in Mental Health, we aim to support the best and brightest researchers to understand why these conditions develop in the first place, and what can be done to prevent, diagnose and treat them. This funding will help the researchers to build their networks and profile, acting as a launchpad to secure larger funding grants in the future.

This research is only possible thanks to the incredible fundraising efforts of staff at Advent International, a leading private equity firm, a generous gift in Will from Catherine Mary Evans, and numerous other donors.

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Cognitive brain maps in psychosis – Dr Matthew Nour, University of Oxford

Schizophrenia is a serious mental health condition that affects how people think, feel and behave, resulting in a mix of hallucinations, delusions and paranoia. Despite its severe and debilitating nature, the neurobiology of the condition is still poorly understood.

Many studies suggest that symptoms like paranoia could be caused by abnormalities in brain activity, but there are gaps in knowledge around the underlying mechanisms. A promising new approach to uncovering more involves examining ‘cognitive maps’ and how they are formed in the brain. These maps are mental representations that the brain creates to help us navigate and understand the world around us. It is thought that brain activity imbalances could affect the brain’s ability to form cognitive maps.

Dr Matthew Nour has previously studied patients with schizophrenia to detect abnormalities in their cognitive maps. Now, he and his team will be using language-based tasks and functional brain imaging to reveal more about how the brain extracts meaning from sensory data.

Dr Nour aims to shed light on how brain activity and neurobiology is directly linked to symptoms of schizophrenia. This work will support advances in neuroscience research that can be applied to psychiatric treatment.

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Investigating the relationship between early life trauma and mental health – Dr Hannah Jones, University of Bristol

Traumatic events in early life can greatly increase chances of developing a mental health problem. However, the reasons for this are not well understood.

Cortisol, a key hormone involved in stress response, has been shown to differ in people with mental health problems. As a result, it is thought that the way the body responds to stressful events is a key link between trauma and mental health.

To learn more about the role of cortisol in the relationship between trauma and mental health, Dr Hannah Jones will explore data from a large study of children taken over their lifetime. Hair cortisol in particular is thought to be a reliable measure of stress response, and so the team will collect hair cortisol data to explore how long-term levels of the hormone lead to mental health problems.

Project results will help to develop new treatments aimed at stress response in people with trauma-related mental health problems.

This project has been funded by Advent International.

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Improving prescribing guidelines for propranolol and antidepressants – Dr Hayley Gorton, Aston University

Propranolol is sometimes used to ease the physical symptoms of anxiety. Recently, there has been some concern about the involvement of propranolol in accidental poisoning, especially when people are also taking antidepressants.

According to the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality (NPSUM) – a collection of reports set up in 1997 to analyse deaths in the UK related to psychoactive drug use – there have been more deaths than expected related to the combined use of propranolol and a particular anti-depressant.

Dr Hayley Gorton will use a ‘big data’ approach to analyse health records from several GP practices across the UK, along with hospital and mortality data. The team aim to uncover whether patients who take a particular propranolol-antidepressant combination are more likely to die by suicide or accidental poisoning than those taking other medicine combinations. The goal is to support prescribers in making more informed decisions about the safest and most effective treatment combinations for each patient.

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Tackling the social factors that contribute to mental health difficulties – Dr Daniel Hayes, University College London

Social prescribing aims to tackle the social factors which influence health outcomes. It involves referring patients to a case worker, to develop a non-clinical plan, connecting patients with local support sources – including education, volunteering, social groups, art and sports.

Evidence suggests that social prescribing can positively impact mental health, but it is not currently being used in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). This could explain why half of all patients attending CAMHS consistently suffer from mental health difficulties, and why high rates of relapse are often observed.

Dr Daniel Hayes will work with two CAMHS in London to co-develop social prescribing pathways with clinicians, young people and parents/guardians. This work will support long-term plans to integrate a social prescribing pathway into youth mental health services.

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Studying the developmental trajectories of mental health in neurodivergence – Dr Beth Oakley, King’s College London

Up to 70% of autistic people experience mental health problems, such as anxiety or depression. This is far higher than rates of mental health problems in the general population.

We do not yet know why mental health problems are so common in neurodivergent groups. Previous work from Dr Beth Oakley and her team at King’s College London suggests that mental health problems are driven by a chronic stress pathway – which is largely similar in neurodivergent groups.

However, there are some factors of particular relevance to neurodivergent people, such as social factors, and cognitive and biological differences. Dr Oakley will use existing data from two linked projects to investigate whether and how anxiety and depression symptoms change over time, and to explore risk factors for these symptoms. Her goal is to predict mental health outcomes more accurately from early life factors, so that tailored support can be provided for neurodivergent people.

This project has been funded by Advent International.

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Unlocking ADHD: neural mechanisms and translational opportunities – Dr Yasir Ahmed Syed, Cardiff University

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that first appears in childhood. It has a strong genetic component, and Dr Yasir Ahmed Syed’s previous work suggests that changes in connections between neurons, caused by rare genetic mutations, could lead to symptoms of ADHD.

Dr Syed will explore the development and function of neurons. The team aims to understand how genetic variations can increase the risk of developing ADHD and other neurodevelopment psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism. They will use stem cells, mouse models and various cellular, molecular and genomic techniques to explore the biological mechanisms that underpin these disorders.

Dr Syed’s goal is to establish a new research paradigm that addresses the effects of gene variations on brain development, by combining stem-cell based disease modelling with next-generation genomic analyses. Project results could help to improve treatments for ADHD and other disorders.

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Supporting mental health and wellbeing later in life after experiencing childhood trauma – Dr Nutmeg Hallett, University of Birmingham

There is clear evidence linking childhood trauma to mental health issues later in life. Dr Nutmeg Hallett will explore how people who have experienced childhood trauma maintain or regain their mental health into adulthood. She will carry out interviews, distribute questionnaires, and share findings in a series of workshops for both people with lived experience of trauma, and mental health care professionals.

Her aim is to use a ‘Salutogenesis’ approach to enhance children’s mental health - a model that focuses on factors that promote and maintain good health, rather than on how diseases develop. Developed in collaboration with people with relevant lived experience, the project will help to deliver more compassionate care and interventions for children who have experienced trauma.

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Ageing with ADHD - Dr Amber John, University of Liverpool

ADHD has historically been viewed as a childhood condition, but research shows it frequently persists into adulthood. Despite this, adults aged 50+ with ADHD have been overlooked in research.

Dr Amber John aims to better understand the experiences of people aged 50 and over with ADHD as they navigate the complexities of ageing. The team will carry out interviews, examine the mental and physical health of people with ADHD over time, and evaluate talking therapy services for people with ADHD who have anxiety or depression.

The findings will be used as a springboard to develop tailored interventions, so that people with ADHD can receive the support they need over the entirety of their lives.

This project has been funded by Advent International.