2026 Projects

Below is a full list of the available projects for our 2026 cohort. Projects are grouped by theme. The list specifies the name of the lead project supervisor and their institution. To view more information about the individual projects, please click the project title.

Please note that the institution of your lead supervisor would be where you will be registered for your PhD if you are offered a place on the 2026 cohort for your chosen project.

For more information on the approaches listed on the project pages, and for details of our theme and approach leads, please visit our research page.

2026 Projects by Theme

Children, Young People and Perinatal Mental Health

Led by Professor Kapil Sayal (Children and Young People Mental Health)

Project Title
Supervisor
Institution
Supporting Parents of Anxious Children Dr Diane Levine University of Leicester
Trialling two digital innovations to identify and reduce significant mental health problems in parents with babies requiring intensive care Professor Don Sharkey University of Nottingham
Reducing pain reactivity for children in the Emergency Department using non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation Professor Marcus Kaiser University of Nottingham
Developing and piloting a group based, parental accommodation focused, parent led intervention for severe childhood anxiety Dr Tim Carter University of Nottingham

 

Common Mental Health

Led by Professor Richard Morriss and Professor Steven Marwaha

Project Title
Supervisor
Institution
Understanding Parental Mental Health and Resilience Following Paediatric Intensive Care Admission Dr Sarah Seaton University of Leicester
Training AI to perform semi-structured psychopathology assessments of common mental health symptoms reliably and to scale Professor Traolach (Terry) Brugha University of Leicester
Evaluating the effectiveness of an adapted protocol of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD): A Mixed-Methods Study Dr Elena Nixon University of Nottingham
Improving antidepressant safety and polypharmacy: Combining epidemiology and Patient Perspectives Professor Roger Knaggs University of Nottingham
Leveraging population-level data for precision image-derived phenotyping in mental health Professor Stamatios Sotiropoulos University of Nottingham
Digital delivery of mental healthcare and its impact on the lived experience and societal perception of stigma Professor Frances Griffiths University of Warwick
Mapping Intersectional Inequalities: Racism and Mental Health in the Midlands Ethnic Minority Communities Professor Lisa Dikomitis University of Warwick

 

Dementia

Project Title
Supervisor
Institution
Refinement and validation of a new computerised tool for the culture-fair screening for early signs Alzheimer’s disease Dr Carlo De Lillo University of Leicester

 

Physical Health and Mental Health Multimorbidity

Led by Professor Holly Blake

Project Title
Supervisor
Institution
Understanding and Improving Physical Health Services Utilisation among Individuals with Severe Mental Illness Dr Emma Palmer University of Leicester
Co-Designing a Culturally Competent Intervention to Enhance Multiple Mental Health Literacies among Underserved Cancer Patients and Caregivers in the East Midlands Dr Gianina-Ioana Postavaru University of Leicester
Existential distress in palliative care Dr Michelle O’Reilly University of Leicester
Mental distress and harms associated with tapering of opioid medicines Professor Nicole Tang University of Warwick

 

Severe Mental Health

Led by Dr Vivek Furtado

Project Title
Supervisor
Institution
Developing an intersectional screening approach for cardiovascular disease in severe mental Illness; a mixed-methods study Dr Claire Lawson University of Leicester
EmpaMEG: Developing A Neurobiological Understanding Of Cognitive And Affective Empathy In Antisocial Personality Disorder And Psychopathy using OPM-MEG Dr John Tully University of Nottingham
Mental health, suicidal thoughts and behaviours in neurodivergent parents Dr Samantha Flynn University of Warwick