Hub Summaries

Objectives, Outputs

The Brain and Genomics Hub aims to investigate ways to improve diagnosis of psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar and schizoaffective disorder and identify new targets for treatment. They will do this by  recruiting and identifying a diverse and representative group of people with severe mental illness via two cohorts:

The Bipolar, Schizophrenia and Psychosis Research Initiative (B-SPRINT) cohort: A cohort of participants will be recruited to explore whether biopsychosocial markers and the full spectrum of genomic variation can predict transdiagnostic symptoms across schizophrenia and bipolar . B-SPRINT will collect a wide range of biological data from this group, including long-read genomics sequencing and brain imaging, along with their clinical, social and developmental information. Combining the information from this rich dataset will offer new insight into these conditions.

SAIL e-cohort: Population-based identification of individuals with schizophrenia, bipolar, and schizoaffective disorder in Wales via the SAIL Databank, aiming to uncover early developmental risk markers and characterise pathways to severe mental illness diagnosis.

Cohorts, datasets, diagnoses

• 16 -65 years
• 600 participants in B-SPRINT, 20,000+ in e-cohort
• Recruiting from community, NHS, third-sector and voluntary settings for B-SPRINT
• Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Schizoaffective disorder, Psychosis 

Collaborators

• Functional Genomics
• Hodge
• MH Mission
• PGC Genetics
• Oxford Nanopore
• Turing Bayes 4
   

Objectives, Outputs

The Complex Emotions Hub aims to transform understanding and support for people experiencing complex emotional difficulties through a transdiagnostic, symptoms-based approach. These complex emotions may or may not be linked to diagnoses such as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD) and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD). We understand that these labels can be stigmatising, so we have chosen to use the term complex emotions instead. Central to its approach is co-production with a lived experience advisory panel, embedded across all activities.
Key objectives include:

• Mapping and synthesising existing evidence on BPD symptoms and mechanisms to inform theory and practice across work packages.
• Conducting qualitative research into symptom variation, care experiences, and diagnostic challenges from a lived experience perspective.
• Using digital tools (smartphones and wearables) to study real-time symptom networks and associations.
• Translating mechanistic insights into the adaptation and development of targeted, evidence-based interventions.
• Developing and testing new, personalised interventions by identifying more precise complex emotions phenotypes,

Cohorts, datasets, diagnoses

• 16+ years
• Up to 300 people
• Recruiting from community settings, particularly through voluntary, community and social enterprises. Including  care leavers, experiencing homelessness,  in the probation system and/or accessing drug/alcohol services. We will also recruit through primary and secondary mental healthcare.
• Diagnosed and undiagnosed individuals who experience complex emotional difficulties, such as difficulty managing relationships, emotional regulation, and impulsivity. Including Trauma, personality functioning traits, disturbance of self-organisation, comorbidities including neurodivergence.
   

Collaborators

• McPin Foundation
• Aparito
• South York Digital Health Hub
   

The Mental Health Data Research Hub

DATAMIND is making the best use of the UK’s rich mental health data by enabling coordinated research with the ultimate aim of improving people’s lives
DATAMIND is the Mental Health Data Hub, providing the data infrastructure to support the Platform’s research hubs.

Established in 2021, DATAMIND is a UK-wide partnership that brings together expertise from across the four nations. It works with researchers, the NHS, charities, policymakers, industry, and people with lived experience to improve access to secure, high-quality mental health data.

DATAMIND makes data more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR), helping researchers make better use of information from across the UK. It also develops tools to support research and provides training and resources for researchers at all career stages.

This work enables more joined-up, data-driven research to drive new discoveries, improve treatments, and support better mental health policy.

Data Requirements for ECR Applicants

Fellows must comply with the Platform’s Data Sharing Policy, and all data generated must be deposited in DATAMIND’s Trusted Research Environment (TRE) as a minimum requirement.

Collaborating with DATAMIND

Applicants wishing to collaborate with DATAMIND should align their proposals with DATAMIND’s research priorities. Key areas include:

• Public and Community Involvement in Research
  Involving people with lived experience is fundamental to everything DATAMIND does. The team co-develops tools, resources, and governance processes with public contributors, including children and young people. Projects include national reviews of involvement practices, development of toolkits for engaging underserved communities, and co-design of digital platforms such as the VoiceIn app, a co-designed digital platform that helps young people engage in mental health research through Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE).
• Better Access to High-Quality Mental Health Data
  DATAMIND works to improve how mental health data is collected, described, and shared by enhancing tools like the Disease Atlas, Phenotype Library, and the Catalogue of Mental Health Measures. This includes integrating socio-economic and demographic data to support more inclusive and equitable research.
• Supporting Innovation in Mental Health Trials
  DATAMIND develops and adapts tools that enable better design, recruitment, and analysis in clinical studies. Examples include the Core Mental Health Dataset (CMHDS), a standardised resource for integrating mental health data into physical health trials and improving research on the links between mental and physical health; and the Equity Audit Tool, a digital tool designed to assess the representativeness of mental health clinical trial participants by comparing study samples to population data.
• Enabling Advanced Scientific Approaches
  The Hub supports researchers working with molecular and imaging data, natural language processing, mobile health technologies, and other cutting-edge methodologies. By creating secure platforms and shared analysis tools, DATAMIND helps unlock complex data for population-scale mental health research.
• Addressing Inequalities and Expanding Inclusion
  DATAMIND enables research focused on health inequalities, underserved populations, and the intersection of mental and physical health conditions. Current priorities include improving visibility of homelessness, LGBTQIA+ data, and school-based child and adolescent mental health data.
• Building Skills, Networks, and Leadership
  In partnership with MQ, DATAMIND supports the next generation of mental health data scientists through conferences, training workshops, learning resources, and a growing UK-wide community of early career researchers. Fellows are encouraged to contribute to and benefit from this thriving network.

For more on DATAMIND’s tools, projects and research outputs, please visit the DATAMIND website below
 

Objectives, Outputs

The ImmunoMIND Hub investigates how changes in the immune system and certain metabolic factors could cause severe mental illnesses. The Hub studies genetics of immune and metabolic cells from people with SMI, to screen for potential treatment targets. They also want to identify new biomarkers for diagnoses using blood samples and MRI scans. There is a co-production approach in all their work, including identification of new or repurposed drugs are most effective.

ImmunoMIND workstreams focus on the study of immune cells, in particular:

• Single cell sequencing in early psychosis
• Genetic overlap between psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions with brain structure to identify biomarkers
• Transcriptional drug matching
• Inflammatory proteins linked to psychiatric outcomes
• Co-morbidity prediction
• Lifestyle management
• Digital gameplay data collection 

The Hub published a review article on Immuno-metabolic depression in 2024, and a pre-print using GWAS to investigate brain functional topology in 2025 

Cohorts, datasets, diagnoses

• Adults, 18+.
• Recruited from secondary and primary care
• Depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Psychosis, Symptom-based
   

Collaborators

• Sanger Institute
• PGC Genetics
• MH Mission
• Centile Bio
• MRC IEU
• French Minds
   

Objectives, Outputs

The Metabolic Psychiatry Hub delivers new insights on the link between metabolism and severe mental illness (SMI). The Hub investigates genetics associated with SMI and metabolic conditions, and aim to identify patterns across metabolic conditions and SMI, by using routine healthcare data from many individuals.

The Hub have published a protocol paper for, and are currently recruiting for, the Metabolic biomarkers of clinical outcomes in severe mental illness (METPSY) study. They have also launched a Priority Setting Partnership to identify research priorities in metabolic interventions.

The Hub integrates six workstreams:

• Analyse large genomic datasets and linked health records to explore causal relationships between SMI and metabolic conditions.
• Use national electronic health records (CPRD, SCI-Diabetes, Dataloch) to track metabolic markers over time and assess social influences.
• Identify metabolomic biomarkers through deep phenotyping.
• Develop and test innovative metabolic interventions.
• Advance AI and machine learning methods for complex data analysis.
  Embed patient and public involvement across all workstreams.

Cohorts, datasets, diagnoses

• All ages. One work package specifically for 16-25 years.
• 120 recruited in total:
  • 30 young adults with major depressive disorder (MDD)
  • 30 young adults with bipolar disorder
  • 30 young adults with schizophrenia
  • 30 matched young adults with no history of mental illness
• Recruited through Primary & Secondary care.
• Major depression, Bipolar, Schizophrenia. Links to Metabolic conditions (e.g. diabetes), cardiometabolic and controls.

Collaborators

• McPin
• Bipolar UK
• Community mental health organisations
• PGC Genetics
• James Lind Alliance
   

Objectives, Outputs

The Social Health Hub is advancing our understanding of how the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age influence how severe mental illness affect people over time, and shape how people respond to their conditions.

By combining clinical and demographic data with information about the social environment, the Hub is generating new insights to inform the development of social interventions. These interventions aim to harness the power of social health to enhance quality of life for people living with severe mental illness. All research is developed in collaboration with a lived experience advisory panel.

The Hub integrates three key workstreams focused on:

• Place and structural determinants: Investigating how factors in the areas people live influence mental health outcomes. This will involve examining the role of structural determinants on SMI by analysing  electronic health records,  geospatial data and indicators of community cohesion using multivariable machine learning techniques.
• Social connectedness and individual outcomes: Exploring the relationship between social connectedness and quality of life, daily functioning and symptom severity via a 12-month longitudinal study. We will also collect blood and saliva samples to explore the connections between social health and biological markers of stress and immune responses.
• Interventions and social prescribing: Exploring the potential of social prescribing and other social justice interventions to enhance quality of life for people with SMI.

Cohorts, datasets, diagnoses

• 600 adults (18 – 95 years) at least one diagnosis of major depressive disorder, bipolar or psychosis related disorders. Recruited from secondary care trusts across England

• Adults with at least one diagnosis of major depressive disorder, bipolar or psychosis related disorders retrieved from the Electronic Health Records of three NHS trusts: 

  • Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
  • South London and Maudsley NHS Trust
  • Cheshire and Merseyside NHS trust. 

  These trusts cover a total population of approximately 5 million people living in their catchment areas.

Collaborators

• McPin
• People’s Palace Projects
• Citizens UK National Academy for social prescribing