King's researchers will help transform mental health data, clinical trials and industry partnerships as part of the UK Government's Mental Health Goals programme.
The Mental Health Goals programme is a UK-wide initiative that will support leading experts to transform mental health research infrastructure and deliver real improvements for people affected by mental health conditions. It will involve combining mental health and biological data, lived experience, industry partnerships and clinical trial methodology.
King's researchers will co-lead two of the four programme workstreams with Cardiff University, Health Innovation Oxford & Thames Valley and University of Oxford.
With the new funding, they will:
- improve access to the UK's world-class mental health research datasets, facilities and expertise;
- develop the world's largest resource of biological and clinical data for psychosis and severe depression;
- support alliances between people with lived experience of mental health conditions and industry.
This will accelerate the pace at which new mental health treatments can be tested, proven and reach those who need them.
The programme is funded by the Government's Office for Life Sciences and delivered by the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Developing the world's largest dataset for depression
Over £10 million of the new funding will support the development of the world's largest nationally representative 'multi-omics' dataset for severe depression, led by Professor Gerome Breen at King's College London, alongside Queens University Belfast and University of Edinburgh. This will run in collaboration with a partner initiative for psychosis led by Professor James Walters at Cardiff University.
Multi-omics is the study of multiple biological molecules like DNA, RNA, proteins and metabolites. The project will build on the existing Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) study at King's, which is already a world-first large longitudinal study that has collected tens of thousands of psychological, medical and genetic measures from people with anxiety and depression.
King's researchers will recruit an additional 12,000 participants with recurrent, severe major depressive disorder to GLAD, expanding the existing cohort. They will securely collect and integrate multiple types of biological information, including data on the complete human DNA (genome sequencing), which genes are switched on or off (epigenetic profiling), and other biological signals in blood that reveal health or disease (biomarker analysis). These measures will be combined with data from speech-based artificial intelligence, wearable devices and medical records.
The new dataset will also integrate data from the Mental Health Mission Clinical Networks, and another 8,000-participant study for psychosis, aiming to include a total of 20,000 individuals. This resource will provide a more comprehensive, data-driven understanding of how our biology links to our mental health, driving the future of personalised treatments and ultimately improving the lives of those affected by these disorders.
For the first time we will gather detailed longitudinal assessments and high quality biosamples with voice, digital, genetics, proteomic and other biomarker data. This will give us a more complete picture of depression and its treatments than ever before.
Professor Gerome Breen, Professor of Psychiatric Genetics at King's College London and BioResource for Mental Health theme lead at NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre
Improving links between research and industry
While both large and small companies in pharmaceutical and digital therapeutics are showing renewed interest in working in the UK, progress in developing new mental health treatments remains too slow due to a system that is complex, fragmented and difficult to navigate.
A further £14 million of the new funding will allow experts at King's College London, Health Innovation Oxford & Thames Valley and University of Oxford, in collaboration with Universities of Manchester and Liverpool, to overcome these challenges. They will create a new Industry Alliance Team and Innovative Trials Hub which will streamline industry support into one joined-up, trusted system.
The Industry Alliance Team, led by Professor Mitul Mehta at King's, will provide a simple, national point of entry for innovators to get support to access to the UK's high quality mental health research facilities and health data resources such as GLAD and DATAMIND.
The Innovative Trials Hub, led by Professor Richard Emsley at King's, will leverage the UK's methodological expertise to provide bespoke support to industry partners to improve how mental health clinical trials are designed and run in the UK, working in partnership with the MRC-NIHR Trials Methodology Research Partnership.
We are excited to provide bespoke support for industry based on our expertise, the excellent networks and facilities in the UK and new tools to leverage our data resources, making the UK highly attractive for industry collaborations.
Professor Mitul Mehta, Professor of Neuroimaging & Psychopharmacology at King's College London and Theme Lead for Experimental Medicine and Novel Therapeutics at NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre
Professor Richard Emsley, Professor of Medical Statistics and Trials Methodology and Academic Director of King's Clinical Trials Unit at King's College London and Theme Lead for Trials, Genomics and Prediction at NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, said: "This is a tremendously exciting time for clinical trials in mental health. The UK has a world-leading track record in trials methodology, underpinned by initiatives like the MRC-NIHR Trials Methodology Research Partnership (TMRP)."
At King's, the IoPPN has established itself at the forefront of mental health clinical trials. This programme builds on that expertise, bringing together the best of our methodological innovation and collaborative spirit to drive forward more effective, personalised treatments for those who need them most.
Professor Richard Emsley, Professor of Medical Statistics and Trials Methodology and Academic Director of King's Clinical Trials Unit at King's College London and Theme Lead for Trials, Genomics and Prediction at NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre
In addition, Dr Siân Rees at Health Innovation Oxford & Thames Valley and Professor Edward Harcourt at University of Oxford will lead efforts to build new partnerships between patients and industry, ensuring patients have more say in how their data is used and what kinds of treatments are developed, and enhancing trust when working with industry.
This new infrastructure will attract industry partnerships and commercial clinical trials to the UK and help get promising treatments to market sooner.
Professor Matthew Hotopf CBE, Executive Dean at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London said: "This is an exciting moment for the IoPPN, marking the government's latest investment in the UK's mental health research infrastructure. We are proud to take a leading role in this new initiative."
Professor Sir Bashir M. Al-Hashimi CBE FREng FRS, Vice President (Research & Innovation) at King's College London, said: "We are very pleased that King's has been entrusted to lead two of the four workstreams within the UK Government's Mental Health Goals programme. King's is committed to translating research into impact; these workstreams will strengthen the UK's mental health research infrastructure, datasets and partnerships needed to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of treatments in the years ahead."
Professor Kathryn Abel, Mental Health Goals programme co-chair at Office for Life Sciences, said: "A central part of the Mental Health Goals programme is ensuring that people with lived experience's priorities inform how their data add value and support development of new treatments and innovations in care."
Professor Husseini Manji, Mental Health Goals programme co-chair at Office for Life Sciences, added: "The Mental Health Goals programme marks a landmark shift in the UK's research landscape. By uniting massive multi-omics datasets with industry expertise and the vital insights of lived experience, we are dismantling traditional barriers to innovation. This joined-up approach ensures the next generation of neuropsychiatric treatments is not only scientifically robust but reaches the patients who need them most, faster than ever before. Through advanced data infrastructure and streamlined pathways, we are accelerating personalised care and securing the UK's position at the forefront of global mental health research."
More information
The GLAD study is led by the Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Mental Health BioResource at NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, in collaboration with Queen's University Belfast, University of Edinburgh and Cardiff University.
Recruitment to the extended GLAD study will commence from May/June 2026.
The MRC-NIHR Trials Methodology Research Partnership is led by Professor Paula Williamson from the University of Liverpool and brings together a number of networks, institutions and partners working in trials and trials methodology research.
