About Mental Health Research Matters
The Background
In 2018, UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) funded 8 mental health research networks. These networks are formed of academics, clinicians, 3rd sector representatives and those with lived experience, amongst others. They tackle a variety of mental health research subjects, ranging from youth mental health to violence and abuse, to loneliness and social isolation. Head to our networks page to read more about the 8 individual networks.
The networks embrace a collaborative ethos, bringing together researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including technology, health, medicine, biology, social sciences, humanities and environmental sciences.
The Coordination Team
An Impact & Engagement Coordination Team was appointed to help facilitate the networks and to champion and amplify their work. Mentalhealthresearchmatters.org is the home of this coordination team. Here, we share blogs, videos, podcasts and more, drawing on the work from across the networks and the wider mental health research landscape, as well as keeping you all updated with new events and funding opportunities from the networks!
We want to not only share the great work that the networks are doing, but we want to encourage all people to get involved in mental health research – those from engineering backgrounds, those from environmental backgrounds, parents, carers, people with lived experience and more. Mental Health is an issue which affects everyone, and a holistic approach – built through true cooperation and working together across all disciplines and backgrounds – is required if we are to improve people’s mental health. #MentalHealthResearchMatters because it can improve people’s lives.
Meet the team
Elaine Fox
Professor of Psychology & Affective Science, University of Oxford. UKRI Mental Health Networks Impact & Engagement Coordinator, based at Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology @OxExPsy.
JJ Buckle
Senior Digital Communications Coordinator, based at the McPin Foundation.
André Tomlin
André is the Founder and Director of the National Elf Service. A decade ago he started the Mental Elf, which aims to close the gap between mental health research and practice.
Vanessa Pinfold
Vanessa has worked in mental health research for over 20 years, both in Universities and in the voluntary sector moving from research assistant to research leader. She co-founded and is a Director of the McPin Foundation.
Sallyann Keizer
Sallyann Keizer set up Sixth Sense Media in 2000, specialising in delivering high quality and high profile content for children and young people.
Douglas Badenoch
Douglas is an information scientist with 25 years’ experience of working in evidence-based health care and website development.
Sam Parsons
Sam is a postdoctoral psychology researcher at the University of Oxford, Department of Experimental Psychology @OxExPsy, interested in open science and Early Careers Researcher opportunities in mental health science.