Trustees and supporters of Mental Health Research UK (MHRUK), along with the scholars and their supervisors, gathered on an unseasonably sunny London on 22 February for this year’s Scholars’ Day. This year’s event was hosted on my ‘home turf’ at King’s College London. This was my second year of attending the event, and it was lovely to see some familiar faces (as well as the new!) upon arrival.

After a warm welcome from Prof Clair Chilvers (Founding Trustee and Chair of Trustees), the day was led by Prof Sir Michael Owen (MHRUK Chair of PhD Scholarship Awards Committee) and Dr Vanessa Pinfold (MHRUK Trustee and co-founder of the McPin Foundation), with the smooth running of the presentations of course also supported by David Riggs. Twelve scholars presented their research, all at different stages of their work – from one student who was a few weeks from submitting her final thesis, to a student who was just a few weeks into their PhD journey. We were provided with some interesting updates and achievements about projects we saw last year, with the introduction of some exciting new projects from recent awardees.

It was wonderful to see the variety of research which MHRUK is supporting, with projects on a broad range of topics, and I was particularly pleased to see the focus towards such a range of ages and settings within mental health. It was also great to see such a vast mix of methodologies being implemented and developed, it was easy to see the quality and rigour of these projects, the thought and hard work put into them.

Everyone who contributed to questions at the end of the presentations had a genuine interest in what they had heard, carrying the day with a feeling of energy and enthusiasm. I was happy to receive some helpful feedback on my own research - it has provided me with ideas to reflect upon and I am sure it will help shape the rest of my project. These annual events are a pleasure to attend and I find that they act as a supportive environment for scholars to discuss their work, share ideas and really feel like they are part of a community with the common interest of research into mental illnesses, their causes and treatments.

Mental health is a subject close to my heart and I am truly grateful to Mental Health Research UK and trustees for supporting such important work and for creating this annual event. I wish the best of luck to all scholars on their endeavours for the next 12 months, and I look forward to seeing everyone next year!

Heather McDonald
Mental Health Research UK PhD Scholar
IoPPN, King’s College London,
heather.mcdonald@kcl.ac.uk