Chief Executive of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families re-appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator

Senior investigators are the country’s most outstanding leaders of clinical and applied social care research. Peter is being recognised for his leadership of research that is relevant to patients and the public, the translation of his work in to improvements in healthcare and his patient public involvement in research. He has also made a significant contribution to the NIHR and a strong track record in training researchers.

Peter Fonagy said: “It was a great privilege to be one of 200 NIHR Senior Investigators as a developmental researcher for the last four years. But to be one of the few reappointed for a further term is both totally unexpected and an incredible honour which I shall work hard to try to merit."

Some of the highlights of his achievements are:

• Leading or co-leading seven major research programmes, including two major trials of interventions for adolescent mental health problems
• Research into parent child attachment that has reinforced the need for early intervention to ensure the best outcomes for children
• Pioneering an evidence-based approach to psychological therapies
• Developing with colleagues a novel psychotherapeutic approach to personality disorder
• Chairing and contributing to the development of National Instutute of Health and Clinical Excellence Guidelines. 

The award brings substantial financial support for research infrastructure (£75,000 PA) to the host Trust and a smaller sum (£15,000 per annum) to support incidental expenses of the senior investigator. The award lasts four years and he was made a Senior Investigator in 2011 and has been re-appointed in the 8th annual round of the competition.