The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has awarded £10.96million to the Universities of Lincoln and Nottingham to establish an NIHR Mental Health Research Group (MHRG).
In partnership with the University of Nottingham, experts at the University of Lincoln will establish a community-led hub to improve mental health in rural, coastal and small urban-deprived areas. The MHRG will focus on practical ways to connect, prevent and respond to problems that can be scaled across similar regions.
Mike Slade, Professor of Mental Health Recovery and Social Inclusion in the Institute of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham, and Mental Health & Technology theme lead at the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, is one of the five Nottingham academics supporting the work.
I am delighted that this important new mental health research group at the University of Lincoln has been funded by NIHR. These awards are highly competitive and prestigious, and I look forward to supporting the development of new citizen science methodologies, peer researcher capacity, and co-production and community-based initiatives to support the mental health of people across Lincolnshire."
The award forms part of a £55 million national NIHR investment creating five new Mental Health Research Groups across England, focused on strengthening mental health research in areas with high levels of need and historically limited research capacity.
Led by Professor David Dawson and Professor Nima Moghaddam in the School of Psychology, Sport Science and Wellbeing at the University of Lincoln, the new Unit will be delivered in partnership with people with lived experience, NHS partners, local authorities, and voluntary and community organisations, alongside colleagues from across the University and academic partners at the Institute of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham including Professor Mike Slade, Professor Martin Orrell, Professor Richard Morriss, Dr Anna Tickle and Dr Stefan Rennick-Egglestone.
Together, these partners will establish Lincolnshire as a centre of excellence for applied, place-based mental health research, with a particular focus on rural, coastal and small urban-deprived communities.
Lincolnshire faces significant mental health challenges linked to isolation, poor transport, digital exclusion and unequal access to services, alongside some of the highest suicide rates in England. The Lincolnshire Unit for Mental Health Research will work closely with local communities and health and care partners to develop and test practical solutions that improve access to support, prevent mental health difficulties and strengthen responses to crisis.
Commenting on the award, Professors Dawson and Moghaddam said: "This investment allows us to work with local communities, practitioners, and people with lived experience to address some of the most pressing mental health challenges facing our county, and builds on the University's long-standing commitment to place-based research in rural and coastal communities, as well as the partnerships and insight we have already developed to help tackle deep-rooted health inequalities.
"By focusing on prevention, access to support and long-term wellbeing, we aim to generate evidence that reflects the realities of life in Lincolnshire, drives meaningful and sustainable improvements in mental health provision and community support, and offers learning and insights of real value to national and international regions facing similar challenges."
The Lincolnshire Unit for Mental Health Research will formally launch in May 2026.
