The Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC) is a partnership of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Liverpool, set up in 2023.
It is a groundbreaking research facility based in the Civic Health Innovation Labs at Liverpool Science Park (pictured). Its overall aim is to improve future mental health services and treatments
M-RIC was awarded £10.5 million by the Office for Life Sciences and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration Mission (NIHR MH-TRC), hosted by the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre. As one of the two key demonstrator sites, M-RIC’s aim is to create a bold and ambitious ‘learning system’ where care is continuously improved the more treatments are used, studied and refined.
What does the Centre do?
The Centre brings together academic researchers, healthcare providers, service users, carers and industry to develop and evaluate new treatments and deliver innovative services.
This includes trialling new drugs and new uses of existing drugs. It also involves researching digital therapies such as apps and artificial intelligence for delivering virtual talking therapies and new ways to support mental wellbeing.
The aim is to improve mental healthcare by shortening the time it takes to translate research into real benefits for our local communities.
Who leads M-RIC?
Prof Dan Joyce (left) and Prof Iain Buchan (right) co-lead M-RIC.
Prof Dan Joyce is the Research and Innovation Director at Mersey Care and Professor of Connected Health at the University of Liverpool.
Prof Iain Buchan is W.H. Duncan Chair in Public Health Systems, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Civic Health Innovation Labs (CHIL) Director at the University of Liverpool. He is also a Non-Executive Director at Mersey Care.
Find out more about M-RIC at mric.uk.
You can contact M-RIC using the online form.
