People
Meet the academics and research students in the Centre for Mental Health Research and discover their research interests and activities.
Members
Professor Rose McCabe
Professor of Clinical Communication (Centre Co-Director)
Rose's research focuses on understanding patient experience, professional-patient communication, the therapeutic relationship and developing interventions to improve communication, therapeutic relationships and outcomes of mental healthcare.
Dr Mathijs (Mat) Lucassen
Reader in Mental Health (Centre Co-Director)
Mat's research is designed to help inform others about the mental health needs of under-served populations (e.g., LGBTQ+ people), and to contribute towards enhancing the mental wellbeing of young people.
Dr Lolita Alfred
Senior Lecturer
Lolita's areas of clinical expertise include (but are not limited to) forensic mental health, formulation, alcohol use and public health.
Dr Alexandra Bakou
Trial Manager / Researcher
Alex is a researcher and trial manager for the ASSURED Study, investigating brief interventions to improve hospital care for self-harm. She completed her PhD at the University of Exeter which was an experimental investigation into brief interventions for alcohol relapses triggered by negative emotions such as stress. She is particularly interested in addiction and substance use.
Dr Sally Barlow
Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing
Sally's main area of research has focused on mental health and is now specifically focused on recovery-focused mental health and collaborative care.
Dr Kirsten Barnicot
Reader
As a psychologist with a special interest in the prevention and treatment of inter-generational mental health difficulties, Kirsten's research has particularly focussed on the experiences of people diagnosed with personality disorder who may be survivors of complex trauma, and on parent-infant interventions in the perinatal period.
Dr Evelyn (Ev) Callahan
Research Fellow
Ev is a qualitative researcher focusing on healthcare for marginalized communities. They are currently working on the OSMOSIS project looking at the experiences of carers of people with psychosis. Their previous research has included projects on trans healthcare in the U.K., low-income housing for older people, and primary care services for people experiencing homelessness.
Jessica Catchpole
Lived Experience Researcher
Jessica is a qualitative researcher with an interest in multiple long term health conditions, mental health, and infectious disease. She is a Lived Experience Researcher who is passionate about showing the brilliant things that people living with mental and physical health conditions can do despite of, and because of, their differences.
Professor Steve Gillard
Associate Dean Research
Steve is a mental health services researcher whose research takes a social and community perspective on mental health. He has a particular interest in evaluating approaches to mental health care that validate the way in which people make sense of their own mental health, build relationships and enable connection to community, including interventions that are developed, delivered and led by people who have used mental health services.
Dr Bethan Hatherall
Research Fellow (Program/Trial Manager), Nursing
Bethan is the Programme/Trial Manager for the PEGASUS programme which involves co-producing and evaluating a peer-led group intervention for reducing cardiometabolic disease risk for people with severe mental illness.
Vanessa Kellermann
Lived Experience Researcher
Since joining City St George's in August 2025, Vanessa has been working as a Lived Experience Researcher on the PEGASUS project: Reducing risk of cardiovascular disease in people with severe mental illness: co-production, feasibility testing and trial of a peer supported group clinic intervention (PEGASUS).
Dr Maria Long
Research Fellow
Maria is a mixed method researcher interested in critical, social and strengths-based approaches to mental health for adults and young people. She is passionate about embedding lived experience in research, a core element of the SASH trial which she currently manages, which is evaluating a new solution-focused approach to care for young people who present to A&E with self-harm or suicidal thoughts.
Madeline O'Carroll
Senior Lecturer
Madeline is a mental health nurse and health psychologist specialising in psychosocial interventions for psychosis and the role of emotion in learning and teaching.
Dr Jerry Padfield
Research Fellow
Jerry is a researcher on the PEGASUS project at City St George's, specialising in co-production and lived experience as a source of knowledge. In his PhD he co-founded and co-produced the community radio show and podcast "A Space to Speak Your Mind", which went on to win 5 Community Radio Awards and a National Mind Award for Tackling Stigma and Discrimination. PEGASUS is a research trial which involves co-producing and evaluating a peer-led group intervention for reducing cardiometabolic disease risk for people with severe mental illness.
Dr Louise Phillips
Senior Lecturer in Mental Health
As a researcher Louise is interested in the area of women's mental health, particularly perinatal mental illness, and is continuing to develop this area in collaboration with colleagues within the School of Health & Medical Sciences and antenatal and perinatal mental health services in East London.
Dr Fiona Robinson
Research Fellow
Fiona's current work focuses on brief solution focused approaches to promote wellbeing amongst school students and staff. She is interested in child and adolescent mental health, particularly children with experiences of trauma or adversity, and the professionals who work with them.
Dr Anthony Salla
Research Fellow
Anthony was the chief investigator for the independent evaluation of Culturally Appropriate Advocacy (CAA) pilots as part of Mental Health Act reform with funding from NIHR. He also co-led the first phase evaluation of CAA pilots and a national scoping exercise of CAA, each funded by DHSC. Anthony’s PhD was a critical race study of mental healthcare for young Black people. He has an interest in inequities in mental health and health services.
Professor Debra Salmon
Vice President (Strategic Projects)
Debra's areas of research, academic and professional practice expertise are: young people’s health and wellbeing, NHS and wider workforce development, retention and leadership, higher education, and the health professions, and public health, prevention and service integration.
Dr Jacqueline Sin
Professor in Mental Health Nursing
Jacqueline’s clinical and research interest is primarily in understanding the needs and experiences of individuals affected by severe mental illness, and those of their families and local communities. In addition to researching interventions that are delivered face-to-face, her research also taps into the fast-evolving digital health field. She is a champion for optimising patients, carers, and public involvement (PPI) activities across research, service and workforce development.
PhD Students
- Brad Begley
- Lewis Benjamin
- Francesca Cibelli
- Rhiannon Foster
- Valeria Khudiakova
- Emma McClane
- Brien Mehmet
- Mimi Suzuki
- Elissa Thompson
- Kyla Vaillancourt
- Aneta Zarska
Honorary Members
- Dr Lucy Goldsmith, Honorary Senior Research Fellow
- Dr Juanita Hoe, Honorary Reader
- Dr Mary Lavelle, Honorary Senior Lecturer
- Dr Sally O’Keeffe, Honorary Research Fellow
- Professor Stefan Priebe, Honorary Visiting Professor
- Neha Shah, Honorary Research Fellow
- Dr Jay Watts, Honorary Senior Lecturer
Affiliated Members
- Professor Susan Ayers, Professor of Maternal and Child Health
- Dr Martin Cartwright, Senior Lecturer in Health Services Research
- Michelle Ellis, SHMS Associate Dean, EDI
- Professor Angela Harden, Professor of Health Sciences
- Professor Katerina Hilari, Professor of Acquired Communication Disorders
- Dr Sofia Llahana, Senior Lecturer in Advanced Nursing Practice
- Professor Sally McManus, Professor of Social Epidemiology
- Dr Rose Meades, Senior Research Fellow
- Kathleen Mulligan, Honorary Visiting Professor
- Dr Justin Needle, Senior Lecturer
- Professor Stanton Newman, Research Professor
- Octavia Wiseman, Research Fellow