Study Team

Chief investigator

Professor R. Hamish McAllister-Williams, BSc, MB,ChB, Ph.D., M.D., FRCPsych

Professor of Affective Disorders in the Northern Centre for Mood Disorders, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University

Professor McAllister-Williams qualified in medicine at Edinburgh, Scotland in 1987.

Following qualification he held a post as a Wellcome Trust Clinical Training Fellow in the Department of Pharmacology in Edinburgh gaining a PhD in Neuropharmacology for work studying serotonergic (5-HT) responses in central neurones. He subsequently undertook his initial clinical training in Psychiatry at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital and then moved to Newcastle in 1995 as a Clinical Lecturer. In 1999 he was awarded a UK Medical Research Council Clinician Scientist Fellowship at Senior Lecturer level to investigate the pathophysiology of affective disorders, in particular the role of serotonin and cortisol. He completed a research MD degree at Newcastle describing a novel method of exploring 5-HT function in man that has been used to study corticosteroid-5-HT interactions and 5-HT abnormalities in depressed patients. In 2004 he was appointed a Reader in Clinical Psychopharmacology and then Professor of Affective Disorders in 2017 at Newcastle University. He is the Lead for the Mental Health, Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disorders Research Theme at the University.

His research focuses on the pathophysiology and treatment of both bipolar and unipolar affective disorders. He works clinically in the tertiary level specialist Regional Affective Disorders Service in the Cumbria, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, providing outpatient and inpatient services for patients with treatment refractory mood disorders. He is a past General Secretary of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) and was appointed in 2012 as the BAP Director of Education. He is a major contributor to their CPD programme. He has published in excess of 150 journal papers, reviews, book chapters and conference abstracts.

Co-applicants

The Co-Applicants for the PAX-BD study are a group of individuals who were involved in the development of the study and provide ongoing input and expertise on particular aspects of the study. The Co-Applicants for the PAX-BD study include:

Professor Daniel Smith

Professor Richard Morriss

Professor Judit Simon

Dr Stuart Watson

Professor John Geddes

Dr Thomas Chadwick

Mr Tony Fouweather

Mr Paul Courtney

Dr Paul Stokes

Professor Allan H. Young

Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit (NCTU)

NCTU is responsible for the setup, management and closedown of the trial, including performing off and on site monitoring to ensure the trial is conducted to Good Clinical Practice and regulatory standards. The team include:

Senior Trial Manager - Nicola Goudie

Trial Managers - Andrew Swain

Clinical Trial Administrator - Eva-Maria Holstein

Clinical Trial Administrator - Abigail Moore

Data Manager - Chris Weetman

Research Assistants

The central study Research Assistants play a pivotal role in the study, supporting the participants and carrying out central data collection. The PAX-BD Research Assistants are:

Lumbini Azim and Paul Hindmarch