RCSI researcher receives ERC grant for research into psychotic experiences in young people

Professor Mary Cannon from RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) Department of Psychiatry has been awarded a highly prestigious European Research Council’s (ERC) Consolidator Grant for research into psychotic experiences in young people. Just 314 projects from 2,274 applications across Europe were funded with Professor Mary Cannon being the only researcher in an Irish institution to be awarded.

Professor Mary Cannon, Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Youth Mental Health in RCSI and Consultant Psychiatrist at Beaumont Hospital, was funded for a project entitled ‘iHEAR. Investigating the meanings and mechanisms of psychotic experiences in young people: a novel, mixed-methods approach’. This multidisciplinary project will draw together many different specialities such as epidemiology, social science and neuroscience to examine the relationship between early life stress and psychotic experiences in young people.

Speaking after the announcement of the funding Professor Mary Cannon said:

I am delighted to have been awarded this research grant from the ERC. One fifth of young people have experienced psychotic symptoms, such as hearing voices, at some point in their lives.

“This funding will allow my team to find out why some young people have these experiences and some do not. The iHEAR programme will result in new information which will help to determine which of these young people might be at risk for mental health problems in adulthood and allow the development of innovative interventions.” concluded Professor Cannon.

Director of Research and Innovation at RCSI, Professor Ray Stallings, welcomed the announcement this morning saying:

Professor Cannon and her team have been doing some pioneering work in the area of youth mental health over the past several years and the awarding of this grant is a tremendous testament to her dedication and the importance of the work that she does.

As one of Ireland’s leading researchers in the field of young people’s mental health, Professor Cannon researches risk factors for psychosis and other mental illnesses in young people. In 2014 she was the only woman among eleven Irish researchers named in the Thomson Reuters "World's Most Influential Scientific Minds" report. This report honours the 3,000 most highly cited scientists in the world. Professor Cannon was appointed by Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Helen McEntee TD, to a new taskforce on youth mental health in August.

These coveted ERC Consolidator Grants support research in the life sciences, physical sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities and form part of the “Excellent Science” pillar of the European Union research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020.

Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation stated:

The ERC has been established to find the best quality in science, to cherish it and support it, making Europe a centre of international scientific excellence. The new grant winners have been awarded this competitive funding because they are top-notch scientists with truly ground-breaking ideas - investment in their success will pay back.

The ERC evaluated 2,274 research proposals during this round, out of which 13.8% have been selected for funding. Twenty-eight percent of grants were awarded to female applicants. The maximum grant awarded for an individual project was €2 million. The grants will create an estimated 2,000 jobs for postdocs, PhD students and other staff working in the grantees' research teams in 23 countries across Europe.

RCSI is ranked in the top 250 institutions worldwide and joint 1st place in the Republic of Ireland in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2016-2017). It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide.