ProfessorThomas Barnes

Professor Barnes MB BS MD(Res) FRCPsych DSc is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and a past Head of Department. He is also the joint Head of the Prescribing Observatory for Mental Health (POMH) in the Centre for Quality Improvement at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Professor Barnes trained in psychiatry in London and Cambridge, developing an interest in the psychopharmacology of schizophrenia. His research in schizophrenia and its treatment, which includes the West London first-episode study, the development of the Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale, and clinical trials of both pharmacological and psychological interventions, has generated over 350 publications. Current appointments include membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Psychopharmacology Special Committee. He is a past member of the Committee on Safety of Medicines and the MHRA Neurology, Pain & Psychiatry Expert Advisory Group, a past President of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP), and has been a member of both NICE and BAP schizophrenia treatment guideline development groups. He was awarded the BAP Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and admitted as a Fellowship member in 2024. He is a co-editor of The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines in Psychiatry.