Professor Shitij Kapur joins King’s College London today as our new President & Principal.

A distinguished university leader and academic, Professor Kapur comes to King’s from the University of Melbourne, where he spent four years as Dean and Assistant Vice Chancellor (Health) for the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and interim Deputy Vice Chancellor (International).

Professor Kapur is well known at King’s having previously served, between 2007 to 2016, as Assistant Principal (Academic Performance), Dean and Head of School for the Institute of Psychiatry and the founding Executive Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN).

Professor Kapur adds: ‘King’s is a place of talent, excellence, creativity and resilience that has for nearly two centuries been defined by a spirit of service to society. I firmly believe there has never been a better time for universities to redefine their place in the world by supporting a global recovery from COVID in way that leads to a better world for all.

‘Thank you for welcoming me back into the King’s family. I am energised by the opportunities ahead and look forward to leading King’s as we generate knowledge with purpose and support our students to become the critical thinkers and global actors the world needs.’

Professor Kapur graduated from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in 1988. He went on to complete his residency training in Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, and a Fellowship in Schizophrenia and a PhD in Neuroscience from the Institute of Medical Science, both at the University of Toronto.

During his time in Melbourne, Professor Kapur significantly increased the educational footprint of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, introducing innovative models of learning, increasing both research income and impact, while doubling philanthropic support. In collaboration with colleagues across the university and medical research Institutes he was involved in creating the Centre for the Digital Transformation of Health and establishing the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery. He Co-Chaired the Australian Million Minds Mission and during the Covid pandemic took a lead role in bringing together scholars from the Group of Eight Universities to deliver the ‘Roadmap to Recovery – a Report for the Nation’.

Professor Kapur is recognised worldwide for his own research on understanding psychosis and antipsychotic treatment – with over 300 papers, numerous presentations and an H-index of over a hundred. While at King’s he led NEWMEDS, an international consortium of scientists from 19 institutions from nine EU countries, which was one of the largest academic-industry research collaboration projects in its time.

He has received many awards and honorary fellowships including the honours of Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK), a Fellow of the Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (Australia) and a Fellow of King's College London with an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Copenhagen.