News Professor Dan Joyce appointed as M-RIC’s new Co-Director
Professor Dan Joyce has recently taken up the position of Co-Director at The Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC). Prof Joyce brings a wealth of clinical and academic knowledge and expertise to his new role in M-RIC, which is a partnership of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Liverpool. M-RIC is also a key demonstrator site in the NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration Mission.
Prof Joyce’s appointment follows his inspirational leadership of two M-RIC research work packages – mood disorders care innovations and mental health avatar. His pioneering efforts to enhance mental health care and treatments integrate cutting-edge technologies, novel approaches, and dynamic industry partnerships. Most recently, his work on mood disorder care innovations led to creation of a new regional mood clinic at Mersey Care, offering personalised treatments for people with difficult to treat depression.
Prof Dan Joyce is also a Consultant Psychiatrist and Director of Research and Innovation Director at Mersey Care and the Chair of Connected Mental Health at the University of Liverpool. He also has a background in Computer Science before his medical training.
He will succeed Prof Nusrat Husain, who is stepping down from his role as M-RIC Co-Director after two years to focus on leading Mersey Care’s Global Centre for Research on Mental Health Inequalities.
Prof Joyce said: “I am delighted to take up the post of M-RIC Co-Director working alongside Prof Iain Buchan who, alongside my predecessor Prof Nusrat Husain, has been integral to creating strong foundations for M-RIC. Together they have created a culture of new ideas, innovations and collaboration between healthcare, academia, data scientists, service users, carers and industry, driving advancements in mental health care research and innovation. I look forward to continuing this excellent work.”
Prof Joyce joins M-RIC’s founding Director and Principal Investigator, Prof Iain Buchan, who is the W.H. Duncan Chair in Public Health Systems at the University of Liverpool, where his is also Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Director of Civic Health Innovation Labs (CHIL), and a Non Executive Director at Mersey Care.
Prof Buchan said: “I am delighted to welcome Prof Dan Joyce to the helm of M-RIC, and I want to thank Prof Nusrat Husain for his service in helping to establish our Centre.”
“Although our local communities face unprecedented challenges, M-RIC is providing a beacon of hope by bringing world class research and innovation to Liverpool City Region to enable new discoveries and advances in care. We are using data and technologies in new ways to understand and support mental health. Dan brings exceptionally valuable and timely experience to this mission. As a psychiatrist who studied computer science to doctoral level before medicine, he can easily translate between what is possible and what is important in a future where data and AI play a bigger role in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions and supporting mental wellbeing”.
“I look forward to expanding work with Dan in M-RIC to benefit the communities we serve over the coming years.”