Early Psychosis

Workstream leads

Research focus 

The Early Psychosis workstream is a nationally coordinated initiative within the Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration (MH-TRC) Mission, designed to advance the early identification, treatment, and prevention of psychotic disorders. Building on the UK’s globally unique network of Early Psychosis services, the workstream aims to establish a representative research platform that integrates clinical care with cutting-edge translational research. 

Psychosis presents a significant burden to individuals, families, and society, and remains a priority area for innovation in mental health. This workstream seeks to address the urgent need for earlier intervention and more effective treatments by leveraging digital technologies, informatics, and biomarker science to transform how psychosis is detected and managed. 

Regional context 

The workstream is led by a multidisciplinary team spanning several UK regions, including Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Manchester. It is supported by a network of universities and NHS Trusts, enabling broad geographic coverage and diverse population engagement. 

Research activities are concentrated in areas with high incidence of psychosis, while also expanding into regions historically underrepresented in early psychosis research. This ensures both equity in research participation and relevance of findings across varied clinical and demographic contexts. The infrastructure developed will be deployed across at least five geographically dispersed NHS Trusts, enhancing national capacity for early psychosis research and care. 

Research Aims

The primary aim of the Early Psychosis workstream is to develop a UK-wide translational research infrastructure that facilitates earlier detection, personalised treatment, and prevention of emerging psychosis. Specific objectives include: 

• Deployment of EPICare Infrastructure: Building and scaling the Early Psychosis Informatics into Care (EPICare) platform, which enables patients to report symptoms via mobile devices and integrates data from electronic health records to support clinical decision-making and research. 

• Early Detection System: Establishing a system to identify individuals at elevated risk of psychosis, enabling timely clinical intervention and recruitment into research studies at the earliest stages of illness. 

• Cohort Development: Recruiting a large, representative cohort of individuals with early psychosis across the UK for the Early Intervention Mission study. This cohort will include genomic, biomarker, psychological, social, and clinical data, collected via mobile technologies and health records, to support discovery science and personalised treatment development. 

Impact

This workstream is positioned to deliver transformative outcomes in the field of psychosis research and care. By integrating digital symptom tracking, harmonised health data, and biomarker science, it will enable earlier and more accurate identification of psychosis, improve clinical decision-making, and support the development of targeted interventions. 

The creation of a national cohort and data resource will accelerate discovery research and facilitate the translation of findings into clinical practice. Furthermore, by expanding research activity into underserved regions and collaborating with the MH-TRC Mission’s Capacity Development workstream, this initiative will strengthen the UK’s research infrastructure and workforce, ensuring long-term sustainability and impact. 

For more information on the Early Psychosis workstream email: eim@psychiatry.cam.ac.uk