University gets £11m for mental health research

A university is to open a regional centre for mental health research after receiving almost £11m in funding.

Backed by funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the University of Lincoln will open the new Lincolnshire Unit for Mental Health Research in May.

It is one of five hubs being established across England as part of plans to strengthen mental health research in areas with high levels of need and limited research capacity.

Prof David Dawson, who will lead the unit alongside Prof Nima Moghaddam, said the funding would "help us work with people in Lincolnshire to actually identify how things can be done better".

The Lincoln hub - run in partnership with the University of Nottingham - would seek to improve mental health in rural, coastal and small urban-deprived areas.

Lincolnshire faces "significant" mental health challenges linked to isolation, poor transport, digital exclusion and unequal access to services, the university said.

Moghaddam said, in Lincolnshire, "many people are struggling to get mental health support at the right time or in ways that actually fit in with their lives".

He added: "There are particular groups, vulnerable populations within Lincolnshire as well in terms of our veteran community, armed forces families, rural workers and farming families.

"These are communities that are not well understood, not well-reached or served by mental health services generally."

Moghaddam said the research would help make future support "more relevant, better connected and actually shaped by what people really need".

The NIHR launched the hub programme in 2023. The University of Hull received one of two funding awards to open a research unit in 2024.

The scheme is targeted at areas with a combination of high mental health need, limited local research capacity and low participation in mental health research.

The research would shift towards a more "preventative model of care", moving away from clinical settings and focusing more on where people live and work, bosses said.

Prof Lucy Chappell, NIHR's chief executive, said: "Mental health challenges can be isolating, especially for people in some of our most underserved regions.

"We are committed to ensuring that the latest innovations and support reach those who need it most, long before they reach a crisis point."

The other universities hosting the new hubs are Keele, Huddersfield, Lancaster, and Plymouth.

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