Thomas Steare

Student Advisory Board member; PhD student (Mental Health Science), UCL

I am a Wellcome-funded PhD student researching Mental Health Science at University College London. I first became interested in mental health research whilst studying an undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Birmingham, and went on to complete a Master’s degree at University College London in Clinical Mental Health Sciences. Before starting my PhD I worked as a Research Assistant, most recently with the NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit, where I had the opportunity to be involved with research in a range of key mental health policy areas. 

I have a strong interest in student mental health, and in the reasons behind the alarming rise of mental health problems in students over the last decade. Spending over 5 years at university to date, I know first-hand the social and academic challenges students face at university. I am particularly interested in the role academic pressure has in the development of mental health problems, and I am conducting a systematic review in this area with Dr Gemma Lewis from the Division of Psychiatry.  

I am excited to have the opportunity as a Student Advisory Board Member to advise the strategy of PsychUP for Wellbeing. I will bring my experience as both a mental health researcher and student to help the programme achieve its mission to improve the quality of the mental health support offered by the Higher Education sector.