£11m Research England grant to help transform research into children and young people’s mental health

Over £11m of funding from UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRIPF) for King’s College London will fund cutting-edge brain imaging equipment and a pioneering mental health research collaboration hub at the Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People.

The Pears Maudsley Centre, which the Maudsley Charity has helped to fund, will open in South London in 2024 and will house state of the art clinical research facilities, alongside modern inpatient, outpatient and crisis mental health care facilities for children and young people.

The state of the art equipment that this grant will fund will transform understanding of why some children develop mental health problems, allowing researchers to develop effective ways to prevent and treat mental illness both in the UK and around the world. To date, many studies have been carried out with equipment designed for adults or those without neurodevelopmental conditions. The new equipment is specifically designed for use with babies, children and young people to enable the study of their brain structure and function, cognition and emotions.

The funding from UKRIPF was made possible by £22m of donations from the Maudsley Charity and other philanthropic support including the Pears Foundation, The Rayne Foundation, The Charles Wolfson Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and The Prudence Trust.

Rebecca Gray, Chief Executive of the Maudsley Charity said: “This grant has been made possible because of the extent of philanthropic partnership and support. We have worked with a group of funders who are genuinely aligned to our vision of a future where all children enter adulthood in good mental health. “

Around half of adult mental health conditions begin by the time a child reaches 14, rising to 75 per cent by the age of 24. Learn more about our campaign to ‘Change the Story’.