Dr. Rachel Upthegrove

Biography

Rachel Upthegrove is a Professor of Psychiatry and Director at the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre. With a background in Medicine from the Royal Free Hospital, University of London, she completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham, focusing on depression, suicidality, and psychotic episodes. Her research emphasizes identifying novel treatments in the early stages of severe mental illness, particularly co-morbidity. She leads the Psychosis Immune Mechanism Stratified Medicine Study (PIMS), a collaborative project that investigates inflammatory mechanisms and the phenotypic profile of psychosis. PIMS is currently conducting a targeted trial of Tocilizumab in patients with early psychosis, building on evidence of immune activation. Rachel is also the chief investigator for several NIHR-funded trials of repurposed targeted treatments, including the NIHR HTA ADEPP study aimed at antidepressant prevention of depression in psychosis. Her translational research also includes the NIHR-funded Early Psychosis Informatics Care (EPICare), a project that develops a national digital registry and clinical decision support system for early intervention services.

Research Interests

Experience