Dr Mario Juruena commenced his academic journey at King’s College London by enrolling in a PhD program and undergoing enriching academic training at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, and the South London and Maudsley Trust (SLaM) from 2003 to 2008.

He currently holds the position of Reader in Translational Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Centre for Affective Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine at King’s College London, UK.

Between 2009 and 2015, he held a substantive academic appointment as a Professor Doctor at the Deptartment of Neurosciences and Behaviour, Division of Psychiatry at the University of Sao Paulo.

Dr Juruena returned to the UK in 2015 after being awarded the Newton Research Fellowship from the Royal Society and Academy of Medical Sciences.

His expertise primarily focuses on Treatment-Resistant Affective Disorders such as Depression and Bipolar disorder. He explores biomarkers, particularly neuroendocrine factors, and their association with stress, childhood trauma, and cognitive impairment in treatment-resistant affective patients. Additionally, he conducts clinical trials for new targets in pharmacotherapy, neuroimaging and neuromodulation in affective disorders.

He graduated in Medicine (MD) from Pontifical Catholic University, Southern Brazil. Dr Juruena completed his Psychiatry Training at the Saint Peter Hospital/ Public Health School and received his MPhil in Psychobiology at the Federal University of Sao Paulo and then MSc in Affective Neuroscience at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. He has also completed Cognitive Psychotherapy Training at Beck Institute (Dip CBT), Philadelphia, USA.

Dr Juruena completed his PhD in Treatment-Resistant Depression and Stress Hormones at the University of London/King’s College London in 2007

Dr Juruena holds the position of adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Science Center in Houston, and is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Federal University of Sao Paulo.

He has been honoured with awards such as 'The Senior Clinical Psychopharmacology Award' by the British Association for Psychopharmacology and the 'Robert W. Kerwin Psychopharmacology Prize' from the Royal College of Psychiatrists for the best article published on the subject in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

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

•  KCL 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

• Clinical Reader in Translational Psychiatry, Dept of Psychological Medicine, IoPPN, King’s College London
• Co-Module Leader Research Project on Affective Disorders at MSc in Affective Disorders: https://keats.kcl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=105500&section=1
• 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: http://www.maudsleytraining.com/index.html
• Maudsley Learning: https://maudsleylearning.com/dr-mario-f-juruena/ 

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 - link to profile
• Bipolar Disorder: From Neuroscience to Treatment - link to book
• The complexities of bipolar disorder with Dr Mario Juruena - link to podcast
• GlobePerson Beyond Mental Health Borders: Mario Juruena -  link to interview

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:

https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/mario.juruena.html

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Co4_RtYAAAAJ&view_op=list_works