Welcoming Professors Kivimäki and Singh-Manoux to Division of Psychiatry

We are delighted to welcome Prof Mika Kivimäki and Prof Archana Singh-Manoux to the Division of Psychiatry. Mika is the Director of the Whitehall II study and Archana leads the work on cognitive ageing within the programme.  Archana Singh-Manoux is an Honorary Professor at UCL and is based in INSERM in Paris.  They are both internationally renowned and highly cited researchers who have made an exceptional contribution to their fields.

Both have moved from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care in the Faculty of Population Health Sciences to join us in the Division.

Professors Kivimäki and Singh-Manoux have been collaborating with members of the Division on dementia research for some years and their move is prompted by their wish to apply results from their epidemiological work to inform clinical interventions and trials in dementia. We think their arrival will create further opportunities for exciting and impactful research in dementia in the years ahead. However, we expect that there will be other collaborative opportunities. For example, the Whitehall II study also has mental health data on depression and anxiety. Michael Marmot founded the Whitehall II study in 1985.

Since joining the division, Prof Kivimäki has published a paper that suggests that autoimmune dysfunction may play a key role in diseases causing dementia and could be a potential drug target. Further details are given below.

Links

• Mika Kivimäki's academic profile
• Archana Singh-Manoux's academic profile
• UCL News: Study identifies autoimmunity as a key component in dementia causing pathologies