In the latest of our 60 second interview series, we spoke with Professor Jeremy Hall, who was recently appointed as Chair of Translational Psychiatry at the University of Oxford and Deputy Director of NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Oxford Health.
In this article, Professor Hall discusses his recent move from Cardiff University to the University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry and our BRC, and how he was attracted to the opportunity to progress a range of research areas that deliver real-world patient benefit.
Professor Hall shares his ambition to support researchers across career stages, strengthen national and interdisciplinary links, and integrate neuroscience, psychology and emerging molecular methods into his work.
Tell us briefly about your background and what attracted you to take up this role at BRC: Oxford Health.
I’m an academic psychiatrist moving to Oxford from May to take up the Chair of Translational Psychiatry and Deputy Directorship of the BRC. It is a hugely exciting time in our field with a real prospect of seeing significant patient benefit across a range of research areas. The NIHR BRC: Oxford Health is a fantastic environment in which to help catalyse that progress. It will be very exciting to be at the heart of such a vibrant ecosystem.
In simple terms, what is the main focus of your role, and what difference do you hope it will make to researchers across BRC: Oxford Health?
Beyond my own research, I will be looking to help support researchers across different career stages in developing their work within the BRC. I am also very keen to support linking our researchers to other groups nationally as I take up Chairing the NIHR Translational Research Collaboration: Mental Health from September. I believe that networking researchers across centres is critical to making advances in the treatment of brain conditions.
What is at the top of your priority list as you step into this position?
There are real opportunities to integrate with the broader neuroscience and psychology communities in Oxford to bring additional research methods and ideas to bear on brain health. I am looking forward to reaching out and trying to make those connections. For example, we are beginning to see methods coming to fruition that enable us to look at the molecular changes underlying mental health conditions. This is a huge advance that could revolutionise patient care in neglected areas such as severe mental illness.
Looking ahead, what is your vision for the next phase of work in this role?
It will be very exciting to work with the individual themes of BRC: Oxford Health as they develop their ideas going forward. I am keen to stimulate as much interdisciplinary activity as possible as I think advances often come on the boundaries between disciplines. I am also excited to see our research impacting the experience of patients with mental health and brain conditions.
What experiences or influences have most shaped your career journey so far?
I have been very fortunate to work in some great neuroscience and mental health centres, most notably in Cambridge, Edinburgh and Cardiff. In each of those places I have had superb mentors and colleagues who have inspired me and taught me a huge amount. I am however very happy to now be returning to Oxford where I did my undergraduate degree in Biology before going into Medicine. I think that grounding in biological sciences has always remained with me in my own research.
What motivates or inspires you in your work, particularly within health and research?
I believe that advancing our biological understanding of severe mental health problems is critical to the development of more reliable diagnostic tests and interventions. As a biologist at heart, I am very excited to see methods developing that now enable us to bridge this gap in understanding for mental health conditions, as we have already seen in other areas of medicine. It is my ambition to see these developments impact patient care in my lifetime.
Outside of work, what helps you switch off or keeps you grounded?
Spending time with my family above all else. I am also a keen amateur singer and gardener – both those activities help me switch off and recharge.
