Professor Mario Juruena is a Clinical Professor in Affective Disorder and Translational Psychiatry at the Centre for Affective Disorders in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London.

He is also a Consultant Psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the National Affective Disorder Service, where he serves as the Clinical Lead for the Maudsley Advanced Treatment Service for Difficult-to-Treat Depression and Bipolar Disorders with Suicidal Behaviours and the Maudsley ECT Service.

Mario Juruena obtained his medical degree from the Pontifical Catholic University in Brazil, completed his Psychiatry Training at Saint Peter Hospital/Public Health School, and earned an MPhil in Psychopharmacology from the Federal University of Sao Paulo.

He later pursued an MSc in Affective Neuroscience at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and a Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Dip CBT) at the Beck Institute in the USA. He completed his PhD at King’s College London/University of London, focusing on Treatment-Resistant Depression, prediction of treatment response, and stress hormones.

Juruena has authored over 200 original research articles and edited five books. His work primarily explores the neurobiology, diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment of Affective Disorders (Clinical Research).

He is an editor for the Special Issues of the Journal of Affective Disorders and an Associate Editor for the British Journal of Psychiatry (Open). He is also an Adjunct Professor at McGovern Medical School, University of Texas, an Honorary Professor at the Federal University of São Paulo and a Visiting Professor at The Albert Einstein Education, Research Centre and Faculty of Health Sciences.

Juruena’s contributions to psychiatry have been recognised with numerous prestigious awards, including the Senior Clinical Psychopharmacology Award from the British Association for Psychopharmacology, the Robert W Kerwin Prize from the Royal College of Psychiatrists for the best article in the British Journal of Psychiatry, and the Newton Research Fellowship from the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Research interests

The main focus of his research is diagnostic, biomarkers, psychopharmacology and psychoneuroendocrinology in Affective Disorders. Mainly Difficult to Treat Affective Disorders, looking to understand the aetiology, neurobiology and long-term outcome of Treatment-Resistant Depression, Resistant Bipolar, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Treatment-Resistant Personality Disorders and relation to Early Life Stress.

Other research interests include: Clinical trials for new targets in pharmacotherapy, neuroimaging and neuromodulation in affective disorders, including fMRI studies in depression and Bipolar investigating the neural correlates with separate symptom constructs – affective, behavioural and cognitive; the impact of early life trauma and the effects of pharmacotherapy on these brain networks; the effects of psychological therapy on these systems; and early neural markers of treatment response.

Contribution to the Field

Since his early career he has been studying the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) function and their modulation in Affective disorders. In his doctorate (PhD) from the University of London, it became more significant with the developing of a novel suppressive test for the HPA axis using prednisolone (Juruena et al. 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013).

For the first time, Dr Juruena et al. analysed the extent to which Mineralocorticoid Receptors (MR) contribute to HPA axis suppression in Treatment-Resistant Depressed (TRD) patients. It has become more significant with the developing of a novel suppressive test for the HPA axis using prednisolone (Juruena et al. 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2018).

Additionally, his studies found a marked hypercortisolism in TRD sufficiently severe to require inpatient treatment and was able to link the MR function prospectively at the baseline to the long-term therapeutic response to the antidepressant treatment in a prospective component of the study in TRD patients. 

Research Groups

• Centre for Affective Disorders (CFAD)
• Maudsley Neurotechnology (MNT)

Research Projects

• Oral Ketamine
• EDEN Project: a randomised study to investigate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics including safety, tolerability, metabolism and comparable bioavailability of oral ketamine in capsule delivery formulations versus IV ketamine, in healthy volunteers. 

• The Signature Study: Synaptic Imaging and Network Activity in Treatment Resistant Depression
• Psych-STRATA: Psych-STRATA - A Stratified Treatment Algorithm in Psychiatry: A programme on stratified pharmacogenomics in severe mental illness. Howes, O., Cleare, A., Juruena, M., Strawbridge, B. & Young, A. TSB Technology Strategy Board 1/10/2022 → 30/09/2027. Project: Research
• PSY-PGx: New Intervention for Implementation of Pharmacogenetics in Psychiatry. Young, A., Juruena, M. & Kerr Gaffney, J. EC European Commission; 1/03/2021 → 28/02/2026. Project: Research
• The clinical and cost-effectiveness of Stimulant compared with Non-stimulant medication for adults with Attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder and a history of Psychosis or biPolar disordER: SNAPPER. Young, A., Asherson, P. & Juruena, M. NIHR National Institute For Health & Care Research 1/01/2021 → 31/10/2025. Project: Research
• Mineralocorticoid receptor assessment in bipolar depression with early life stress. Young, A., Cleare, A. & Juruena, M. Royal Society 1/02/2016 → 31/01/2018. Project: Research

• Vagus nerve stimulation as adjunctive therapy in patients with difficult-to-treat depression (RESTORE-LIFE): a real-world post- market study

• International Consortium on the Genetics of Electroconvulsive Therapy and Severe Depressive Disorders (Gen‐ECT‐ic)

Teaching

• Co-Module Leader Research Project on Affective Disorders at MSc in Affective Disorders
• Adjunct Professor, Dept of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Science Center in Houston
• Honorary Professor, Dept of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo
• The Maudsley MRCPsych
• Maudsley Learning

Expertise and Public Engagement

• Royal College of Psychiatrists - UK
• GMC Specialist Register Specialty: General Adult Psychiatry
• London Region Section 12/AC Panel S12/AC approval
• CCST by Specialist Training Authority - Medical Royal Colleges
• British Association for Psychopharmacology
• British Medical Association
• European Psychiatric Association
• European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
• Brazilian Psychiatry Association
• American Psychiatry Association, USA
• National Affective Disorder Service, Maudsley Advance treatment Service (MATS), and Maudsley Hospital ECT Clinic (clinical profile)
• Bipolar Disorder: From Neuroscience to Treatment
• The complexities of bipolar disorder with Dr Mario Juruena
• GlobePerson Beyond Mental Health Borders: Mario Juruena

Publications

Dr Juruena has published over 150 original research articles, reviews and book chapters, and edited five books. He has approximately 600 abstracts published in more than 750 meeting presentations. H-Index = 42; >8370 citations; >4500 citations in the last 5 years (Apr 2024).

The vast majority of his studies are related to the neurobiology, diagnostic, pathophysiology, and therapeutics of Affective Disorders (Depression, Bipolar, Anxiety, PTSD), including Treatment-Resistant, Psychopharmacology (antidepressants, mood stabilizers, atypical antipsychotics, new drugs, clinical trials), Psychoneuroendocrinology (HPA axis, Stress), Neuromodulation and their approach to Mental Health. See details on the publications tab below, or at the following links:

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