
Johnny Downs
Senior Clinical Lecturer (Honorary Consultant) in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Research interests
- Child & Family
- Psychiatry
Contact details
Biography
Johnny is an NIHR Clinician Scientist at the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent lead, Centre for Translational Informatics. His research focuses on the use of digital information for epidemiological studies examining risks factors and outcomes for childhood neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders. Johnny's interests lie within four main areas – patient portals to enhance patient reported outcomes, natural language processing to refine the data extracted from free-text electronic records, data-linkage to integrate non-health data into clinical record analysis, and the integration of remote monitoring technology into clinical care.
Research interests
Clinical domains:
- Autism
- ADHD
- Education/school performance
- Conduct problems
Methodology:
- Epidemiology
- Data linkage
- Natural language processing
- User experience/co-design
- Remote monitoring technology
- Objective/multimodal assessment of mental health problems using speech, video and movement analyses
Teaching
- Child & Adolescent Mental Health MSc
- Centre for Urban Science and Progress MSc
- Mental Health Studies MSc (Big Data in Mental Health Module)
Expertise and public engagement
- 2020 – Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Integrated Academic Trainee Lead (SLaM/KCL)
- 2019 - NIHR South London Applied Research Collaboration (Applied Informatics Theme)
- 2019 - NIHR Child Health and Policy Research Unit (Vulnerability Theme)
- 2019 - NIHR London Research for Patient Benefit Advisory Panel Member
- 2019 - NIHR Longitudinal Outcomes of Gender Identity in Children (LOGIC) Steering Committee, Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust
- 2018 - Lead, NIHR BRC Centre for Translation Informatics Child and Adolescent theme
- 2017 - NIHR Mental Health and Policy Research Unit (Prevention Theme)
Research
MyJournE - A remote mood-monitoring and life event tracker for school-aged cohorts
This project looks to assess the feasibility and acceptability of embedding an e-platform for remote mood monitoring and life event tracking within schools.
Project status: Completed

Online Parent Training for the Initial Management of ADHD referral (OPTIMA)
We have created a mobile phone app that provides advice and access to a set of parenting tools that can be easily provided at the point that families seek help.
Project status: Ongoing

The longitudinal association between school performance trajectories and offending behaviour
A project using linked data from the National Pupil Database and Police National Computer to investigate educational trajectories and offending outcomes.
Project status: Ongoing

Centre for Translational Informatics (CTI)
The Centre for Translational Informatics (CTI) is finding new ways to improve healthcare through digital technologies and accelerating their delivery to patients.
News
IoPPN researchers announced winners of the 2022 ACAMH Awards
Several researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) won awards at the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health...

Five IoPPN research projects receive UKRI funding
A total of £4.4 million funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Medical Research Council (MRC) has been awarded to research projects at the...

Autism, ADHD and school absence are risk factors for self-harm, according to new study
Using data from over 11,000 adolescents, researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience have identified key risk factors associated...

Events

Partnering for Change: AI predicting mental health - possible futures
Part of the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health Festival 2022: Partnering for Change
Please note: this event has passed.
Research
MyJournE - A remote mood-monitoring and life event tracker for school-aged cohorts
This project looks to assess the feasibility and acceptability of embedding an e-platform for remote mood monitoring and life event tracking within schools.
Project status: Completed

Online Parent Training for the Initial Management of ADHD referral (OPTIMA)
We have created a mobile phone app that provides advice and access to a set of parenting tools that can be easily provided at the point that families seek help.
Project status: Ongoing

The longitudinal association between school performance trajectories and offending behaviour
A project using linked data from the National Pupil Database and Police National Computer to investigate educational trajectories and offending outcomes.
Project status: Ongoing

Centre for Translational Informatics (CTI)
The Centre for Translational Informatics (CTI) is finding new ways to improve healthcare through digital technologies and accelerating their delivery to patients.
News
IoPPN researchers announced winners of the 2022 ACAMH Awards
Several researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) won awards at the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health...

Five IoPPN research projects receive UKRI funding
A total of £4.4 million funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Medical Research Council (MRC) has been awarded to research projects at the...

Autism, ADHD and school absence are risk factors for self-harm, according to new study
Using data from over 11,000 adolescents, researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience have identified key risk factors associated...

Events

Partnering for Change: AI predicting mental health - possible futures
Part of the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health Festival 2022: Partnering for Change
Please note: this event has passed.