UK - Proud to share that the University of Lincoln and University of Nottingham have been awarded £10.96m by NIHR

UK - Proud to share that the University of Lincoln and University of Nottingham have been awarded £10.96m by NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) to establish the Lincolnshire Unit for Mental Health Research. What makes this initiative truly transformative is its foundation in lived experience and community partnership. This isn't research being done TO communities – it's research being done WITH them. The Unit will work directly with people with lived experience, NHS partners, local authorities, and voluntary organizations to tackle the unique mental health challenges facing rural, coastal, and small urban-deprived areas in Lincolnshire. These communities face: → Geographic isolation → Poor transport links → Digital exclusion → Unequal access to services → Some of England's highest suicide rates The research will focus on practical, scalable solutions for prevention, crisis response, and long-term wellbeing – grounded in the realities of everyday life in these communities. Led by Professors David Dawson and Nima Moghaddam, with support from Professor Mike Slade and colleagues at Nottingham's Institute of Mental Health, this community-led hub represents a new model for place-based mental health research. The Unit launches formally in May 2026, and I'm excited to see the meaningful change this partnership will bring to communities that have historically been underserved by mental health research.