18 December 2025

Funding from the King’s Health Partners (KHP) Centre for Translational Medicine has allowed Dr Wiaam Al-Hasani to progress her research into how metabolic dysregulation affects brain structure and function, and conversely, how psychotic disorders and their treatments shape metabolic health.

Please describe your day-to-day work and research specialism

I am a final-year registrar in Metabolic Medicine/Chemical Pathology and a Clinical Research Fellow in the Psychosis Department at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), with co-supervision from Prof Oliver Howes and Dr Toby Pillinger in psychiatry, and Prof Anthony Wierzbicki in metabolic medicine. While this dual role may appear unconventional, it sits precisely at the intersection where my clinical practice and research ambitions meet.

In my clinical practice, I manage a broad spectrum of metabolic disorders - ranging from cardiovascular and bone disease to endocrine and rare inherited metabolic conditions. These disorders are not confined to a single organ system - they influence whole-body physiology, including the brain.

My research is themed on this bidirectional link between metabolism and severe mental illness. I investigate how metabolic dysregulation affects brain structure and function, and conversely, how psychotic disorders and their treatments shape metabolic health.

Insulin resistance is the current focus of my work. We are combining PET neuroimaging and neuroendocrine imaging with a novel radioactive tracers to characterise the effects of antipsychotic medications on the pancreas. Conversely, we are examining how peripheral insulin resistance relates to changes in brain structure. 

How has pilot funding from the KHP Centre for Translational Medicine (CTM) helped your research?

KHP pilot funding was instrumental in kick-starting the pilot stage of my project, enabling me to establish proof of concept and assess the feasibility of using novel tracers in my research. This early support made future research in this area possible by generating the preliminary data needed to move forward with confidence.

On a personal level, the funding provided protected time to develop vital research skills. I gained hands-on experience in acquiring and interpreting neuroimaging data, and in conducting robust meta-analyses across both clinical and preclinical studies. I also developed valuable experience working with people with lived experience to co-design collaborative research projects. Together, these opportunities have significantly strengthened my development as an independent translational researcher.

Crucially, the funding also gave me the time and headspace to plan a future career pathway in academia. During this period, I explored and applied for a range of internal and external funding opportunities. This, in part, culminated in securing a part-time post at the IoPPN as a Clinical Research Fellow with Prof Howes, working towards a PhD.

How does your research have the potential to impact patients? 

My research has the potential to directly improve both the physical and mental health outcomes of people living with severe mental illness. Individuals with psychotic disorders experience disproportionately high rates of metabolic disease, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which significantly contributes to premature mortality. Yet the biological mechanisms linking mental illness, its treatments, and metabolic dysfunction remain poorly understood.

In the long term, this research could enable more personalised and safer treatment strategies. For example, it may help clinicians identify which patients are most vulnerable to antipsychotic-induced metabolic complications, allowing earlier intervention, tailored medication choices, and targeted prevention strategies. 

This work is closely aligned with what matters most to patients - improving quality of life, reducing treatment burden, and reducing the physical health inequalities faced by people with severe mental illness. Ultimately, it aims to bridge psychiatry and metabolic medicine to support more holistic patient care.

How does working within KHP benefit your research? 

KHP brings together world-class clinical research centres in metabolic medicine at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (FT) and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS FT, alongside internationally renowned expertise in psychiatry at the IoPPN. This unique combination of expertise and creativity across disciplines is difficult to match in more siloed institutions. It enables truly interdisciplinary research with supervision from leading experts across both metabolic medicine and psychiatry.

KHP serves a population with a high prevalence of severe mental illness and one of the most diverse communities in Europe. With South London and Maudsley NHS FT as one of the KHP founding partners, we gain opportunities to collaborate directly with clinicians who work daily with people experiencing mental health disorders. This ensures that our research remains grounded in real-world clinical need and has relevance for patients.
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Visit this webpage to learn more about the work of the KHP Centre for Translational Medicine and view its latest funding offers.