Overview
The overarching mission for the UCD Centre for Psychosis Research is to conduct and translate innovative research that will result in meaningful improvements in the lives of people living with psychosis and their caregivers. In particular, the UCD Centre for Psychosis Research is focused on addressing the major health inequalities that exists for people affected by psychosis and is conducting research into reducing the early mortality associated with this mental health disorder. We aim to improve treatment by developing clinical tools, such as guidelines and clinical decision support systems and integrating them into services.
The UCD Centre for Psychosis Research brings together researchers from within UCD in specialties such as psychiatry, psychology, lab-based research, general practice and other medical specialities and computer science. Importantly, the UCD Centre for Psychosis Research has people with lived experience of psychosis and their caregivers as core members of the team. The Centre is strengthened by its national and international collaborations.
- Shared decision-making application for choice of antipsychotic medication
- Reducing cardiovascular risk factors in psychotic disorders
- Identifying treatment resistance and reducing barriers to initiation of clozapine
- Special considerations for prescribing antipsychotic medications for females
- Screening and management of negative symptoms and cognitive difficulties
- Discontinuation of antipsychotic medication – guideline development & clinical decision support system
- Smoking cessation project
- START GAINS – Resistance training to prevent antipsychotic induced weight gain
- Effectiveness and outcomes of antipsychotic medications in First Episode Psychosis
- Admissions in First Episode Psychosis
| Title |
Authors |
Journal & date |
DOI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metformin: translating the evidence for prevention of weight gain | Aoife Carolan, Caroline Hynes-Ryan, Donal O’Shea, Dolores Keating, Brian O’Donoghue | Lancet Psychiatry December 2025 |
DOI: (opens in a new window)10.1016/S2215-0366(25)00309-8 |
| Duration of active psychosis: A scoping review of definition, measurement and relationship with outcomes | Paul Crowley, Jack Healy, Nick McNamara, Ralph Twomey, Ewa Sadowska, Joseph Firth, Kelly Allott, Jai Shah, Brian O’Donoghue. John Lyne | Schizophrenia Research 8th October 2025 |
(opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2025.09.032 Full text available until end Nov 25: (opens in a new window)https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1luzt3HQGmm77u |
| Fighting fire with fire: the need to use metformin to combat antipsychotic-induced weight gain and metabolic complications | Faye Carrington, Dolores Keating, Michael Norton, John Paul Lyne, Dan Siskind, Donal O’Shea, Brian O’Donoghue | Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine 13th August 2025 |
(opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.10084 |
| Metformin for the Prevention of Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain: Guideline Development and Consensus Validation | A Carolan , C Hynes-Ryan , M Agarwal , R Bourke , W Cullen , F Gaughran , M Hahn , A Krivoy , J Lally , S Leucht , J Lyne , R McCutcheon , M Norton , K O’Connor , B Perry , T Pillinger , D Shiers , D Siskind , A Thompson , D O’Shea , D Keating , B O’Donoghue | Schizophrenia Bulletin 9th December 2024 |
(opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbae205 |
| Psychiatrists’ views on clozapine prescribing in Ireland | Andrew Grant, Roisin McManus, H. Belay, M. Mahon, F. Murad, Brian O’Donoghue, John Lally |
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine 2nd October 2024 |
(opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2024.35 |
| Funding awarded to the UCD Centre for Psychosis Research |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project | Funding Body | Amount (€) | Lead PI | Start date | Duration | Status |
| Integrating smoking cessation interventions into mental health services | Health Research Board | 219,950 | Prof Brian ODonoghue | December 2025 | 2 years | Not yet started |
| Optimising the use of antipsychotic medications in first episode psychosis | Health Research Board | 349,926 | Prof Brian ODonoghue | December 2025 | 3 years | Not yet started |
| Achieving Recovery in psychotic disorders with comprehensive clinical guidelines | Health Research Board | 2,499,904 | Prof Brian ODonoghue | November 2023 | 5.5 years | In progress |
| Awards/ Honours Received by the UCD Centre for Psychosis Research |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Project | Award | Organisation | Recipient |
| Guideline for the use of metformin to prevent antipsychotic induced weight gain | Best Research Paper/ Project | Irish Healthcare Awards | Aoife Carolan, Caroline Hynes-Ryan & Dolores Keating |