Dr Benjamin I. Perry BSc, MBBS, MSc, MRCPsych, PhD

• PhD Psychiatry – University of Cambridge, 2021
• MSc Health Research – University of Warwick, 2018
• MRCPsych – 2017
• MBBS Medicine – Barts and The London, University of London, 2013
• BSc Neurosciences – Queen Mary, University of London, 2009

Ben’s interest in psychiatry began during his medical studies in East London. His experiences on clinical placements in particular widened his eyes to the poor physical health outcomes too often experienced by people with mental illness. After joining the academic clinical training program in Cardiff where he trained in psychiatric genetics, he moved to the University of Warwick as an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow, training in epidemiology and biostatistics. Then, having been awarded a prestigious NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship, Ben moved to University of Cambridge to undertake his PhD. He was subsequently appointed Clinical Lecturer in Psychiatry at University of Cambridge and completed his clinical training in Cambridgeshire before moving to University of Birmingham.

Ben has a track record of delivering teaching on biostatistical and epidemiological concepts in an accessible manner. He has taught modules on epidemiology and critical appraisal at multiple institutions for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

 Ben will teach and supervise students on the MSc in Mental Health, and other courses within the School of Psychology and Medical School.

Ben is delighted to receive expressions of interest from academic clinical trainees, doctoral students, MRES, MSci, and Intercalated BMedSci students, to discuss projects in areas related to his research interests. Students interested in working with Ben should contact him in the first instance at b.i.perry@bham.ac.uk

Discovery

People with severe mental illnesses have a 15-20 year shortened life-expectancy, mostly due to preventable physical causes like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. The causes behind this are complex involving lifestyle factors, healthcare inequalities, medication adverse effects, and common genetic underpinnings. However, there is also a growing body of evidence for a common underlying biological link, possibly involving insulin signalling and the immune system. Current projects aim to leverage large-scale genetic, cohort and electronic health record datasets to better unpick and understand this biological link, and highlight the potential for novel therapeutics for both mental illness and its associated physical morbidity.

 Prediction

Predictive algorithms are routinely used for cardiovascular primary prevention in the general population, but do not work well in young people with mental illness, contributing to a worsening of existing health inequities for this population. Current projects are focused on developing risk prediction algorithms for psychiatric populations - for example PsyMetRiC, which is the first cardiometabolic risk prediction algorithm tailored for young people at the onset of psychosis - and ensuring they work equitably for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. PsyMetRiC has now been tested in eight countries across four continents, and is being turned in a clinician-facing app.

 Implementation

Only a minority of risk prediction algorithms developed across biomedicine ever receive adequate testing (“external validation”). Far fewer still are ever implemented into clinical practice. Current projects focus on exploring these implementation barriers, and use mixed methods and co-production to develop knowledge for the implementation of well-validated cardiometabolic risk prediction algorithms like PsyMetRiC into routine clinical practice.