Department of Old Age Psychiatry

The Department of Old Age Psychiatry work to develop new treatments and find ways of getting the best for our patients from treatments that are already available. We are a friendly and motivated team who welcome collaboration and are keen to train the next generation of researchers in our field.

Members of the Department carry out biological and clinical research that we believe will gave an important impact upon our understanding of dementia and other mental illnesses that affect older people and lead to the development of better treatments. We do this by working in close collaboration with the IoP's Department of Neuroscience, MRC Centre for Neurodegeneration Research and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health.

Our research into the basic biology of Alzheimer's disease, the clinical features and aetiology of psychosis in later life and the conduct of randomised controlled trials, is internationally regarded. We have a particular commitment to the conduct of high quality independent clinical trials because the results of these can impact positively upon the availability of effective treatments.

Ongoing Department projects include:

Brains for Dementia Research
DOMINO - AD
Plasma based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease
Screening for drugs to inhibit Alzheimer's disease progression
Uncovering the molecular mechanism of the amyloid cascade
A blood test for Alzheimer's disease
Cognitive training using chunking in Alzheimer's disease
Brains for Dementia Research
Psychosis in Alzheimer's disease
Rationalisation of antipsychotic drug use in older people

The IoP shares the same site as the world famous Maudsley Hospital, which is part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) - one of the largest mental health providers in Europe. King’s is committed to translational research and is proud to be the only university in the country to host three National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) and six MRC centres. At the IoP we partner with SLaM to host the only specialist BRC for Mental Health in the UK working towards better treatment, earlier diagnosis and individualised healthcare. Students also have access to the largest library in Europe dedicated to psychiatry and related disciplines.