Young People 16-25

Join the Hub for Metabolic Psychiatry Lived Experience Advisory Panel

Bipolar • Depression • Lived experience • Physical health • Psychosis

What’s the project?

What is Metabolic Psychiatry?

Metabolism refers to all the chemical reactions that take place in the body to convert food into energy and building blocks, and to eliminate waste products. When this does not occur as usual metabolic conditions can arise.

There is growing evidence for a connection between metabolic and mental health. People with severe mental illness (SMI) are more likely to develop metabolic conditions, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. There is also research showing that metabolism-based treatments, such as the ketogenic diet and certain medications (metformin, GLP-1 agonists, statins), may be effective in improving both metabolic and mental health outcomes in people with SMI. Metabolic psychiatry is the discipline investigating this connection between metabolic and mental health.

What is the Hub for Metabolic Psychiatry?

The Hub for Metabolic Psychiatry is one of five new research hubs forming the basis of the UKRI Mental Health Research Platform (MHP), established to accelerate progress towards novel and more effective treatments for SMI.

The Hub for Metabolic Psychiatry comprises a network of four universities: The University of Edinburgh, King’s College London, University of Bristol and University of Exeter, with generous co-funding from Baszucki Group, and partnered with The McPin Foundation.

Across six workstreams, the hub aims to:

  1. Bring together metabolic science and mental health researchers that previously have not worked closely together to increase research activity and capacity in metabolic psychiatry.
  2. Advance our understanding of the connection between metabolic and mental health.
  3. Work closely with people with lived experience to identify, prioritise, develop and test acceptable metabolism-based treatments for SMI.

Find out more

McPin are co-leading Workstream 6: Patient and Public Involvement, Engagement (PPIE) and Dissemination, alongside Iain Campbell at The University of Edinburgh. Part of this workstream has involved establishing a Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAP) currently comprising 9 members with lived experience of SMI and reduced metabolic health.

We are looking for 3 more people with relevant lived experience aged 16 – 25 to join us.

Commitment

The Hub LEAP meets online for 1.5 hr every other month for the 5 year duration of the study to input into Hub activities across all 6 of the workstreams, including:

  • Regular communication and priority setting with workstream leads and relevant stakeholders, including a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership on the most important research questions to ask about metabolic interventions for SMI.
  • Working with a PhD student to co-produce a Metabolic andMental Health Accelerator (MMHA) online platform. The MMHA will combine continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), weight, BMI and self-reported symptoms to allow individuals with SMI to gain insight into trajectories of their own metabolic markers and potential relationships with mental health symptoms.
  • Co-production of a Lived Experience Impact Score (LEIS), a scoring system to rate the quality of lived experience involvement throughout the activities of each workstream.
  • Dissemination and public engagement, ensuring outputs are understandable and accessible.
  • Opportunities for lived experience leadership feeding into the Hub management group and wider UKRI MHP.

  • Direct lived experience of SMI (schizophrenia / psychosis, major depression and/or bipolar), with related reduced physical / metabolic health.
  • Interest in the connection between metabolic health and mental health.
  • Access to a computer, tablet, or phone, with camera and stable internet connection to be able to join online meetings with video.

Mental health issues affect everyone, but recruitment to LEAPs does not always reflect this. We actively encourage applications from systemically underrepresented groups, and those who have not been involved in research before.

  • Meetings and ad-hoc work will be paid at a rate of £25 per hour.
  • Reasonable travel and subsistence expenses will be reimbursed.
  • Appropriate support, training and development where needed.

To apply please complete this application form and email it to Annie Walsh at the following email address: [email protected]. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Annie if you have any questions, need any assistance completing the application form, or would like to discuss alternative ways to apply.

13th February 2025!

Please note that the McPin Foundation regularly promotes opportunities on behalf of other institutions; we are not responsible for the continuation or contents of further correspondence with any project partners where we are not listed as the project main point of contact.

Read the McPin Privacy Policy