Manuela Russo joined the Centre for Implementation Science, at the Health Service & Population Research Department in March 2022 as a Research Fellow in the King’s Improvement Science (KIS) team.

Her background is in psychosis and neurocognition, and implementation of psychosocial intervention for psychosis in low- and middle-income countries.

Before joining the KIS team, Manuela worked as Project Manager/Research Fellow at the Unit of Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London, for a large EC funded multisite effectiveness-implementation project in the Balkans.

Her postdoctoral appointments includes both national (Department of Psychosis at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience; IoPPN) and international experience (Department of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, USA) during which she gained expertise in coordinating trials in schizophrenia, better understanding of bipolar disorder, and neurocognitive profiles.

Manuela obtained her PhD in Psychosis in 2012 at the IoPPN with a thesis on symptom dimensions in first episode psychosis and associated neurocognitive functioning. Prior to her PhD program, Manuela was a visiting researcher at the IoPPN and a trainee in clinical psychologist at the University of Palermo (Italy).

Research interests

• Psychosis
• Neurocognition
• Psychosocial intervention
• Implementation science

Public engagement

• Organiser and panellist for the webinar: ‘Patient preferences and experiences of waiting for heart surgery’ Patient preferences and experiences of waiting for heart surgery: webinar (19 Sept 2024)
• Member of the panel ‘The value to healthcare of engaging with patient and public involvement work’, as part of the PPI event ‘King’s Improvement Science introduces: The Value of Partnering with the Public to Improve Health Services’ (3 October 2024)