NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in General Psychiatry (Mental Health) & NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in General Psychiatry (Brain Frontiers) in London

Department: Psychological Medicine

About us:

King’s hosts a world-leading, interdisciplinary mental health research environment, recognised in REF21 with 100% 4* for UoA4 at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN). Our mental health research outputs are among the most highly cited globally, with more top 1% citations than any other centre internationally (SciVal), supported by a research income of over £80.5M/year. The schools of Academic Psychiatry and Mental Health and Psychological Sciences encompass all mental health across the lifespan, from childhood to older age, using diverse methods from molecular to social and policy. Our strong translational partnership with the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM) is exemplified by our NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre and Clinical Research Facility (combined £47M), which drives pioneering translational research.

We contribute to high-impact initiatives, including the NIHR Translational Research Collaboration in Mental Health, the NIHR BioResource and UK Biobank. We co-lead the NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit (MHPRU-2) with UCL (£2.2M) and the NIHR Addictions Policy Research Unit with Sheffield (£4M). Enriching the academic training environment, our strategic awards include the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health (£7.6M), the UKRI Population Mental Health Consortium (£8.8M, 2024), the Compass Centre for Mental Health Research and Innovation (£11M, 2023), and the Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People, housing a new Clinical Research Facility for research on children’s mental health (combined investment of >£80million from SLaM, UKRIPF, King’s College London and philanthropy, opening in 2025).

About the role:

There are two posts available, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in General Psychiatry (Mental Health) and NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in General Psychiatry (Brain Frontiers). These posts will provide ACLs with an exciting range of academic psychiatry opportunities to develop their research careers. The posts are designed to enable ACLs to establish and develop their research towards successful intermediate level fellowships. They address a pressing need to train the next generation of academic psychiatrists in a broad range of translational and experimental medicine skills with the ability to integrate a broad range of translational technologies (imaging, electrophysiology, neural interfaces, cognitive neuropsychology, early-stage clinical trials). We also welcome applications from those interested in other aspects of psychiatry, including, for example, those interested in epidemiology, social psychiatry, data science, digital, artificial intelligence, or global mental health).

Example project areas for Mental Health Research theme:

• Population mental health: study of drug-related deaths using the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality; investigating internet-based platforms for rapid triage, e-recruitment and delivery of therapy trials.
• Social science, systems and policy: research into the impact of digitised advance choice documents (ACDs) on subsequent routine clinical care following detention under the Mental Health Act.
• Novel treatments: neuromodulation and pharmacological, e.g. Temporal Interference stimulation for Depression targeting the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex, using fMRI to assess changes in response; Anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects and clinical response in psilocybin-treated ASD, anorexia nervosa or treatment-resistant depression in phase 2 trials; Effect of Riluzole in reducing the glutamate elevation seen in antipsychotic treatment-refractory schizophrenia.
• Precision psychiatry: fMRI or EEG brain activation as predictors of treatment response for alternative non-drug treatments for ADHD, including non-invasive brain stimulation (eTNS and TMS); using cardiac MRI and immune/metabolomic profiling to compare cardiac structure and function in antipsychotic-naïve people with healthy controls, to characterise mechanisms of cardiac fibrosis/inflammation.

Example project areas for Brain Frontiers Response Mode:

• Mental-physical interface: improving clinical recognition and outcomes for patients with autoimmune encephalitis, using novel cognitive and digital behavioural tests, neuroimaging and neuro-immunological methods including autoantibody analysis.
• Neuromodulation e.g. transcranial direct current stimulation in depression.
• Functional neurological disorders, e.g. differentiation between epileptic seizures and dissociative seizures.
• Novel biomarker driven translation, e.g. in long COVID.
• Translating AI-enabled neuroimaging (e.g. using SLaM image bank) and biomarker tools into real-world clinical use, with the aim of improving diagnosis, prognosis, patient stratification, and trial readiness.

This is a full-time post (40 hours per week) and you will be offered a fixed term contract of up to 4 years.

About you:

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria:

• PhD or MD (research) in a relevant subject (Thesis must be submitted at time of application and PhD must be awarded by start date).
• Full GMC registration at time of application.
• Must have 12 months training remaining at point of entry.
• Evidence of good progress in clinical training and that completion of specialty training may be accommodated either during or after the 4 year period of the NIHR CL award.
• Demonstration of acquisition of the level of knowledge and skills necessary for the achievement of Foundation and clinical (matched to the entry level) competencies or equivalent. Candidate must be at ST4 or above at start date.
• Demonstrable potential for high-quality research in General Psychiatry.
• Evidence of scientific publications, and presentations.
• Demonstration of understanding, commitment to an academic career and the potential for scientific independence.

Desirable criteria:

• Intercalated honours degree and/or additional qualifications e.g. MSc etc.
• Successful involvement in grant applications as a named researcher or co-investigator.
• Demonstration of the potential for scientific independence and the ability to lead a research team.

Further Information:

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university. The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination. When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day. We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

In addition to the King's job application, please also complete NIHR CL application form parts 1, 2 and 3.

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and Occupational Health clearances.

Interview date: Thursday 10 September 2026 - Thursday 17 September 2026 (subject to change)

Interview venue: Remote interviews via Microsoft teams (access to a microphone, camera and good Wi-Fi connection is essential).

Posts start date: 03-Feb-2027

Grade and Salary: £65,048 - £73,992 per annum, plus £2,162 London Weighting Allowance.

Contact Person: Paul Shotbolt

Contact Details: paul.shotbolt@kcl.ac.uk