New research and treatments to improve lives
From depression to dementia, brain and mental illnesses are some of the most pressing health, social and economic issues of our time.
Around one in four people will experience a mental health challenge every year.1 Nearly a million people in the UK currently have dementia, a number expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.2
Though the number of people affected grows, prevention and treatments have not yet caught up. This has a huge impact on the individuals affected, their families and their communities, not to mention the wider impacts on society, the NHS and the economy. It is estimated that poor mental health costs the UK economy £110 billion per year.3
Innovations in mental and brain health care have the potential to reduce waiting lists and costs, get more people back to work quicker and build economic productivity and growth.
World-leading teams at Oxford are at the very cutting edge of brain and mental health research – accelerating our understanding and working at speed to translate scientific breakthroughs into benefits for patients.
Working with partners in industry and charitable foundations, researchers are developing the latest treatments and technologies for some of the most prevalent neurological and mental health conditions. Oxford is a world leader in the development and dissemination of new and highly effective psychological therapies. Our work is both improving patient outcomes and helping prevent and detect disease.
Our researchers work with communities all over the world, aiming to improve mental health provision and care locally, nationally and on a global scale through the life course, with a focus on helping people lead healthier lives – understanding and preventing sickness, as well as treating it.
- In children and adolescents, we’re developing, testing and rolling out effective and scalable new therapies and improving ways of supporting young people.
- In adults, we’re using innovative techniques and artificial intelligence to help diagnose and find the best treatments for serious mental illnesses such as psychosis and depression.
- In older adults and those affected by dementias, we’re using the latest scientific evidence and technology to speed up our ability to prevent, diagnose and treat conditions.
Warneford Park in Oxford will see the creation of the UK’s pre-eminent mental health and brain science campus.
Purpose built and fit for the future, it will tackle the world’s biggest brain and mental health challenges and further strengthen the UK’s role as a global leader in life sciences.
Bringing together science and clinical care on one site will see the benefits from mental health research translated directly into clinical practice, delivered by top class specialists focused on preventing, diagnosing, and treating mental illness early.
It provides an unparalleled opportunity to discover new tests, treatments and drugs that have a positive impact on patients, their families and communities both here in the UK and across the world.
As solutions are found to the most pressing brain and mental health challenges, patients will be able to lead healthier, more independent lives in their homes and communities, with the potential to bring down waiting lists on the NHS, enable people to return to work and society quicker, and grow the local and national economy.
[1] NHS England » Adult and older adult mental health
Last reviewed: 6 February, 2025