King's College London has received a transformative gift from the Dr. Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation to establish the Dr. Mortimer D. Sackler Chair in Translational Neurodevelopment and the Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment.
As a result of this gift we are delighted to announce that Professor Declan Murphy, Head of the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's has been appointed the Dr. Mortimer D. Sackler Chair in Translational Neurodevelopment and will lead the new Institute.
The Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment aims to transform our understanding of how disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy and Down's syndrome develop over a lifespan, to improve diagnostic approaches and to develop innovative treatments for these disorders.
King's has an established reputation in neurodevelopmental research and the creation of the Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment will allow for greater collaboration between research teams across King's and drive the translation of findings into patient benefit.
Based at Institute of Psychiatry at King's the new Sackler Institute aims to:
- Advance our understanding of the origin, biological mechanism and lifespan evolution of challenging neurodevelopmental disorders
- Develop and evaluate novel diagnostic and treatment biomarkers to create individualised medicine
- Discover and test novel psychopharmacologic, behavioural and bioengineering interventions
- Pioneer genetic and cell therapies and offer state-of-the-art genetic counselling
- Foster interdisciplinary research training of postdoctoral students and clinicians
Professor Sir Rick Trainor, Principal of King's College London says: "We are hugely honoured and grateful to the Sackler Foundation for this gift. Improving our understanding of neurological disorders and developing treatments for them, are central pillars of King's research. This major gift will allow us to harness this expertise and translate and expedite discoveries into patient care."
Dame Theresa Sackler of the Dr. Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation, says: "We are delighted to hear that Professor Declan Murphy has been appointed the Dr. Mortimer D. Sackler Chair in Translational Neurodevelopment and we wish Professor Murphy and his team of scientists great success in challenging and resolving Neurodevelopmental disorders in their work at The Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment at King's."
Professor Shitij Kapur, Dean and Head of School of the IoP at King's says: "We are very grateful to the Sackler Foundation for their generous donation and honoured that this exciting new centre will be based at the IoP. We are delighted to appoint Professor Murphy as the Dr. D Mortimer Sackler Chair in Translational Neurodevelopment. He is a world leader in this field and is reaching out to some of the most distinguishing scientists at King's to develop the Sackler Institute faculty. This will help attract the best minds to work on innovative solutions to complex problems."
Professor Declan Murphy, Dr. D Mortimer Sackler Chair in Translational Neurodevelopment and Head of the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science at the IoP at King's, says: "I am honoured to have been offered this position. I look forward to working with colleagues across King's, other Sackler Centres and international networks to translate new findings from basic science into treatment advances."
The Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment will become the fourth Sackler Institute in the UK, and the second at King's, joining the Sackler Institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology.
Notes to editors:
Contact: Seil Collins, Press Officer, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. Email: seil.collins@kcl.ac.uk or tel: (+44) 207 848 5377
About King's College London:
King's College London is one of the top 30 universities in the world (2012/13 QS international world rankings), and was The Sunday Times 'University of the Year 2010/11', and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 25,000 students (of whom more than 10,000 are graduate students) from nearly 140 countries, and more than 6,500 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.
King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £525 million (year ending 31 July 2011).
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar.
King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: http://www.kingshealthpartners.org.
The College is in the midst of a five-year, £500 million fundraising campaign – World questions|King's answers – created to address some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity as quickly as feasible. The campaign's five priority areas are neuroscience and mental health, leadership and society, cancer, global power and children's health. More information about the campaign is available at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/kingsanswers.