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ProfessorDasha Nicholls

Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

Department of Brain Sciences - Faculty of Medicine

BIO

I lead the Child and Adolescent Mental Health research team in the Division of Psychiatry, of which I am also Deputy Head, and deputy lead for Multimorbidity and Mental Health for the North West London Applied Research Collaboration (ARC). Our research aims to improve understanding and interventions for children and young people (CYP) with feeding and eating disorders and those living at higher weight, as well as a broader focus on CYP mental health through population health research. We focus on risk factors and early intervention, and seek practical and scale-able solutions, from parent training to policy change, that directly influence outcomes. Our ARC applied health and care research responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems for the care of CYP with or at risk of mental disorders.

I am National Speciality Advisor on All Age Eating Disorders to NHS England, developing and disseminating best practice and training for the care of people with eating disorders from prevention through to inpatient care, and also CYP at higher weight, for example through the CYP obesity oversight board. Until recently, I was a practising Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in CNWL Children and Young People's Eating Disorders Service and prior to that co-led the National Feeding and Eating Disorders service at Great Ormond Street Hospital. I co-led the National Whole Team training for CYP EDS and the training academy for CNWL CAMHS and Eating Disorders services.

I am Clinical and Strategic Director for National Audits and Research in the College Centre for Quality Improvement at the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), with current responsibility for delivery on the National Audits of Psychosis, Eating Disorders and Dementia. I co-founded the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Surveillance System (CAPSS) and am past chair of the RCPsych Eating Disorders Faculty and member of the RCPsych Board of Trustees and the International Advisory Committee. I led development and revision of the guidelines on the management of medical emergencies in eating disorders (MEED). I am Past President of the Academy of Eating Disorders, the largest international eating disorders professional association, and instigated development of the British Eating Disorders Society.

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
    Imperial College London, Division of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, United Kingdom1 May 2018 - present

DEGREES

  • MBBS
    St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School, London, United Kingdom3 Oct 1983 - 30 Jun 1988
  • MD(Res)
    University College London, London, United Kingdom1 Oct 1997 - 22 May 2001

FACULTY

  • Faculty of Medicine

POSITION NAME

  • Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

FIELDS OF RESEARCH