Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience
The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a leading centre for mental health and neuroscience research, education and training in Europe. It is dedicated to understanding, preventing and treating mental illness, neurological conditions, and other conditions that affect the brain. The IoPPN is a faculty of King's College London, England, and was previously known as the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP).
For other uses of "Institute of Psychiatry", see Institute of Psychiatry (disambiguation).Established
1948[1]
Matthew Hotopf
The institute works closely with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Many senior academic staff also work as honorary consultants for the trust in clinical services such as the National Psychosis Unit at Bethlem Royal Hospital.
The impact of the institute's work was judged to be 100% 'world-leading' or 'internationally-excellent' in the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014).[2] The research environment of the institute was also rated 100% 'world-leading'.[2] King's College London was rated the second for research in Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience in REF 2014.[3] According to the 2021 US News Ranking, King's College London was ranked second in the world in Psychiatry and Psychology.[4]
History[edit]
The IoPPN shares a great deal of its history with the Maudsley Hospital, with which it shares the location of its main building. It was part of the original plans of Frederick Mott and Henry Maudsley—inspired by the Munich institute of Emil Kraepelin—that the hospital would include facilities for teaching and research in 1896.[5] In 1914, London County Council agreed to establish a hospital in Denmark Hill and Mott's plan began to take shape. The Maudsley Hospital was opened in 1923 as a result of a donation by Henry Maudsley.[5]
Originally established as the "Maudsley Hospital Medical School" in 1924, it changed its name to the Institute of Psychiatry in 1948, with Aubrey Lewis appointed to the inaugural Chair of Psychiatry (which he held until his retirement in 1966). The main Institute building was opened in 1967 and contains lecture theatres, administrative offices, library and canteen.
In 1959 a group of genetic researchers led by Eliot Slater were given Medical Research Council funding to establish themselves as the 'MRC Psychiatric Genetics Unit'. Although this closed down in 1969, psychiatric genetics continued, eventually as the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre (SGDP Centre) which moved into new purpose-built building in 2002.
In 1997, the institute had split from the Maudsley and become instead a school of King's College London.[5] The Henry Wellcome building was opened in 2001 and houses most of the IoPPN's psychology department. In 2004, a new Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences (CNS) was opened which provides offices, lab space, and access to two MRI scanners for neuroimaging research. In 2014 the institute was renamed to the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), as the remit of the institute was broadened to include all brain and behavioural sciences.[6]
Funding[edit]
Approximately 70% of the IoPPN's income comes from the research it conducts. Approximately 20% is from clinical work performed for the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Approximately 10% of gross income is from taught courses offered to postgraduate students.[13]
Sources include the government's National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Higher Education Funding Council for England, grant-giving bodies such as the Medical Research Council (UK) and the Wellcome Trust, as well as other governmental, charitable and private-sector organisations. Individual research teams secure around £130 million of funds for their projects each year. Many projects are carried out in partnership with other university and health services, charities and private companies.[14]
The IoPPN and the pharmaceutical company Lundbeck are led one of the largest ever academic-industry collaborations in research, known as NEWMEDS - Novel Methods leading to New Medications in Depression and Schizophrenia. The project is part of the Innovative Medicines Initiative developed by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations and the European Commission. NEWMEDS aims to facilitate the development of new psychiatric medications by bringing top scientists and academics together in partnership with nearly every major global drug company.[15]
Another key project is the KCL and Janssen led pre competitive public private consortium RADAR-CNS[16] (Remote Measurement of Disease and Relapse in Central Nervous System Disorders), which uses smartphones and wearable devices to track clinical outcomes in disorders like depression, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.
Amongst notable staff of the institute are the following: