Professor Rachel Upthegrove MBBS, FRCPsych, PhD

School of Psychology
Professor of Psychiatry and Youth Mental Health
Consultant Psychiatrist Early Intervention in Psychosis

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0)121 414 6241
Email: r.upthegrove@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @RachelUTG

View my research portal

Address: School of Psychology
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Rachel is Professor of Psychiatry and Youth Mental Health at the University of Birmingham, and Consultant Psychiatrist in the Birmingham Early Intervention Services. Her research Interest is within the field of major mental illness; particularly schizophrenia and co-morbid depression in early phases of illness. Recent projects have developed the investigation of inflammatory models of psychosis and machine learning in prognostic indicators in early phases of developing mental ill health.

Qualifications

PhD Birmingham 2011
MPhil Birmingham 2001
FRCPsych 2017
MRCPsych 1999
MBBS University of London, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine 1994

Teaching

Intercalated Degree Psychological Medicine Course Lead

Postgraduate supervision

Professor Upthegrove's primary research interests and background encompass the investigation of schizophrenia and psychosis, with particular emphasis on translational research, transdiagnostic psychoimmunology and new treatments. She is happy to research doctoral projects on these themes.

Other activities

NIHR CRN Specialty Lead for the West Midlands

Council Member of the British Association for Psychopharmacology

Deputy Editor for the British Journal of Psychiatry

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Penzel, N, Antonucci, LA, Betz, LT, Sanfelici, R, Weiske, J, Pogarell, O, Cumming, P, Quednow, BB, Howes, O, Falkai, P, Upthegrove, R, Bertolino, A, Borgwardt, S, Brambilla, P, Lencer, R, Meisenzahl, E, Rosen, M, Haidl, T, Kambeitz-Ilankovic, L, Ruhrmann, S, Salokangas, RRK, Pantelis, C, Wood, SJ, Koutsouleris, N, Kambeitz, J & PRONIA Consortium 2021, 'Association between age of cannabis initiation and gray matter covariance networks in recent onset psychosis', Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 2021, no. 00, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-00977-9

Perry, BI, Osimo, E, Mallikarjun, P, Upthegrove, R, Perez, J, Stochl, J, Zammit, S, Howes, O, Jones, P & Khandaker, G 2021, 'Development and external validation of the Psychosis Metabolic Risk Calculator (PsyMetRiC): a cardiometabolic risk prediction algorithm for young people with psychosis', The Lancet Psychiatry.

Lalousis, PA, Wood, S, Schmaal, L, Chisholm, K, Griffiths, L, Reniers, R, Bertolino, A, Borgwardt, S, Brambilla, P, Kambeitz, J, Lencer, R, Pantelis, C, Ruhrmann, S, Salokangas, RKR, Schultze-Lutter, F, Bonivento, C, Dwyer, D, Ferro, A, Haidl, T, Rosen, M, Schmidt, A, Meisenzahl, E, Koutsouleris, N, Upthegrove, R & PRONIA Consortium 2021, 'Heterogeneity and classification of recent onset psychosis and depression: a multimodal machine learning approach', Schizophrenia bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbaa185

Perry, BI, Stochl, J, Upthegrove, R, Zammit, S, Wareham, N, Langenberg, C, Winpenny, E, Dunger, DB, Jones, P & Khandaker, GM 2021, 'Longitudinal trends in insulin levels and BMI from childhood and their associations with risks of psychosis and depression in young adults', JAMA psychiatry, vol. 2021, no. 00, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.4180

Bashir, Z, Griffiths, L & Upthegrove, R 2021, 'Recognition and management of depression in early psychosis', BJPsych Bulletin, vol. 2021, no. 00, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2021.15

Perry, BI, Burgess, S, Jones, HJ, Zammit, S, Upthegrove, R, Mason, AM, Day, FR, Langenberg, C, Wareham, NJ, Jones, PB & Khandaker, GM 2021, 'The potential shared role of inflammation in insulin resistance and schizophrenia: a bidirectional two-sample mendelian randomization study', PLoS Medicine, vol. 18, no. 3, e1003455. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003455

Haas, SS, Antonucci, LA, Wenzel, J, Ruef, A, Biagianti, B, Paolini, M, Rauchmann, BS, Weiske, J, Kambeitz, J, Borgwardt, S, Brambilla, P, Meisenzahl, E, Salokangas, RKR, Upthegrove, R, Wood, SJ, Koutsouleris, N & Kambeitz-Ilankovic, L 2020, 'A multivariate neuromonitoring approach to neuroplasticity-based computerized cognitive training in recent onset psychosis', Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 2020, pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-020-00877-4

the PRONIA-consortium 2020, 'Basic Symptoms Are Associated With Age in Patients With a Clinical High-Risk State for Psychosis: Results From the PRONIA Study', Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 11, 552175. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.552175

Sampson, K, Upthegrove, R, Abu-Akel, A, Haque, S, Wood, S & Reniers, R 2020, 'Co-occurrence of autistic and psychotic traits: implications for depression, self-harm and suicidality', Psychological Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720000124

BeneMin Study team 2020, 'Deconstructing depression and negative symptoms of schizophrenia; differential and longitudinal immune correlates, and response to minocycline treatment', Brain, Behaviour, and Immunity, vol. 0, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.10.026

McGinty, J & Upthegrove, R 2020, 'Depressive symptoms during first episode psychosis and functional outcome: a systematic review and meta-analysis', Schizophrenia Research, vol. 218, pp. 14-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2019.12.011

Fisher, E, Wood, S, Upthegrove, R & Aldred, S 2020, 'Designing a feasible exercise intervention in first-episode psychosis: exercise quality, engagement and effect', Psychiatry Research, vol. 286, 112840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112840

Jones, R, MacCabe, J, Liu, X, Price, M & Upthegrove, R 2020, 'Effect of age on the relative efficacy of clozapine in schizophrenia', Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.13156