Research is often not easy and takes commitment, hard work and creativity. Martin has shown these attributes in bucket loads and has overcome lots of challenges; not least recruiting a rare patient group during the COVID pandemic. He is also scientifically curious and collaborative. These awards are a fitting marker of his achievements and that his commitment has paid off. I know there are lots of talented people in the department, but it is great to see external organisations recognise that as well!
Professor Oliver Howes, Head of Department, Psychosis Studies
10 July 2026
Dr Martin Osugo receives three prestigious awards
This summer Dr Osugo has received recognition from the British Association for Psychopharmacology, the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Dr Martin Osugo, Postdoctoral Academic Clinical Fellow in the Department of Psychosis Studies and Specialist Registrar at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded the Junior Translational Psychopharmacology Award 2026 from the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP), is recipient of the Rafaelsen Young Investigator Award 2026 from the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP), and most recently was recognised as the Royal College of Psychiatrists London Core Resident Doctor of the Year 2026.
Dr Osugo qualified in medicine at the University of Glasgow in 2017. He completed an intercalated BSc in Psychological Medicine in 2015, after deciding to pursue psychiatry as a career in his first year of medical school.
After qualifying, he undertook the NIHR Academic Foundation Programme at Imperial College London, during which he began his collaboration with Professor Oliver Howes. He later undertook a PhD supervised by Professor Howes in the IoPPN’s Department of Psychosis Studies.
His doctoral research investigated the neurobiology of negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. He combined experimental psychopharmacology with translational neuroimaging to understand dopaminergic and serotonergic mechanisms underlying these domains in both people with schizophrenia and healthy humans.
After completing the experimental work, Dr Osugo returned to postgraduate clinical training in 2024 as an Academic Clinical Fellow in General Adult Psychiatry at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, receiving his PhD partway through his first year as an ACF.
Alongside motivational impairments and cognitive dysfunction, his research interests include non-dopaminergic mechanisms underlying psychosis and the use of evidence synthesis to evaluate and refine treatment models in schizophrenia.
Dr Osugo received his Royal College of Psychiatrists London award at the London Division awards ceremony at the end of June. He also received the CINP award at the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology Annual World Congress in Glasgow. He will receive the award from BAP later this summer, at the British Association for Psychopharmacology Summer Meeting in Birmingham.
Dr Osugo said, “I am honoured to receive these awards from BAP, CINP and the Royal College of Psychiatrists – unsurprisingly this has been the best period of my career! I returned to Glasgow to receive the CINP award, which was particularly special as I studied there as an undergraduate. Having our work recognised by BAP is fantastic, as being part of BAP has supported my development as a researcher greatly.
Being recognised at the RCPsych London awards is another incredible honour, and it was great to receive this alongside other clinicians and academics working at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and as part of King’s College London."
These achievements would not have been possible without so many fantastic colleagues and friends here, but the biggest thanks go to Oliver, for teaching me so much since we started working together in 2019, and for supporting me in so many ways over the last 7 years.
Dr Martin Osugo, Postdoctoral Academic Clinical Fellow, Department of Psychosis Studies
Dr Osugo’s current projects include a leadership role in forthcoming BAP guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia and a novel public-engagement initiative that he established on the online community r/schizophrenia.
He is also undertaking further analyses of his PhD data to investigate the time course over which impairments induced by sustained antipsychotic administration resolve after treatment is stopped to examine the behavioural and neuroimaging correlates of serotonin release across diagnostic groups.
Dr Osugo will present his work on serotonin release at the BAP Summer Meeting on 21 July in his invited prize talk entitled, “A new treatment target for negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunction? Findings from the first in vivo investigation of serotonin release in schizophrenia.” He will also present his work on antipsychotic cessation at the meeting, within a symposium on psychotropic withdrawal he has organised on 20 July, “Forever chemicals? Neurochemical alterations, symptom profiles and withdrawal effects after stopping antipsychotics or antidepressants.”