Targeted protein degradation in CNS disorders

Project Code MRCNMH25Ba Licchesi Research Theme Neuroscience and Mental Health Project Summary Download Summary Targeted protein degradation (TPD) has emerged has a new therapeutic modality for the on-demand removal of disease-causing proteins. TPD employs hetero-bifunctional molecules which can bind a…

Neuroimaging brain reward systems to stratify patients across the psychosis spectrum

Project Code MRCNMH25Ba Lancaster Research Theme Neuroscience and Mental Health Project Summary Download Summary Severe mental illness with psychosis symptoms (e.g. bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) are reliably linked to alterations in brain reward circuitry. Neuroimaging techniques can predict diagnosis of individuals…

Man up? Examining attitudes and experiences around mental health and help-seeking

Project Code MRCNMH25Ba Lambert  Research Theme Neuroscience and Mental Health Project Summary Download Summary “Women seek help – men die”. Comparatively lower rates of mental illness among men than women are not explained by better health among men. Men face…

Understanding the impact of childhood maltreatment on brain structure and connectivity in Conduct Disorder

Project Code MRCNMH25Ba Fairchild Research Theme Neuroscience and Mental Health Project Summary Download Summary Childhood maltreatment is a major risk factor for Conduct Disorder (CD), a condition characterized by antisocial and aggressive behaviours. The ‘ecophenotype hypothesis’ suggests that maltreatment-related CD…

Can young people’s cognitive style explain associations between social media use and mental health?

Project Code MRCNMH25Ba Button  Research Theme Neuroscience and Mental Health Project Summary Download Summary In public discourse, social media is often claimed to be bad for young people’s mental health. This simple view is not supported by science, where the…

Brain stimulation and neurophysiological investigations of central nervous system changes in pathological pain, and their augmentation by treatment.

Project Code MRCNMH25Ba Bultitude  Research Theme Neuroscience and Mental Health Project Summary Download Summary Chronic pain can involve changes throughout the central nervous system (CNS). Some treatments aim to alter CNS function, with limited results. This could be because research…

Synthetic heroin: understanding the dangers of nitazene drugs

Project Code MRCNMH25Ba Bailey Research Theme Neuroscience and Mental Health Project Summary Download Summary “Drug-related deaths are now at the highest ever recorded in the UK, the majority involving opioid drugs. Recently, a new class of synthetic opioids known as…

Characterising a novel neuroimmune pathway to treat neurodegenerative disease

Project Code MRCNMH24Ex Witton Research Theme Neuroscience and Mental Health Full Project Description Please download the below document for a full project description and to see the full supervisory team. Summary Microglia are brain-resident immune cells. Alongside conventional molecular signals,…

Can nutritional intervention unlock better outcomes after traumatic brain injuries? Investigating brain blood flow and cellular metabolism regulation by ketones following head impacts

Project Code MRCNMH24Ex Weightman Potter Research Theme Neuroscience and Mental Health Full Project Description Please download the below document for a full project description and to see the full supervisory team. Summary This project will investigate the efficacy of ketogenic…