NCMH investigator Prof Mike Owen receives knighthood

Posted June 17th 2014

NCMH Principal Investigator Professor Mike Owen has received a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Professor Owen, who is also Director of the MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (MRC CNGG) at Cardiff University, received the award for services to neuroscience and mental health.

Speaking to the BBC, Professor Owen said that the award recognised Cardiff University’s work to ‘put psychiatry on the map’. He also acknowledged the importance of his colleagues and support team, and the University as a whole.

NCMH director Professor Ian Jones said:

“Professor Owen has more than earned this honour. We are privileged to count a researcher of his calibre among our colleagues. His exceptional work in understanding the genetics behind conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and Alzheimer’s disease has been nothing short of groundbreaking.

“It’s only with the support of exceptional academics like Professor Owen that organisations such as the NCMH will succeed in researching a better future for the millions of people affected by mental illness.”

Professor Owen studied medicine and neurosciences in Birmingham and psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital, London, before training in molecular genetics at St Mary’s Hospital, London.

Professor Owen has published over 600 scientific papers, directs Cardiff University’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI) and heads the School of Medicine’s Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences.

Past honours Professor Owen has received include the 2012 Lieber Prize and the William K Warren Distinguished Investigator Award for schizophrenia research in 2013, both of which were awarded jointly with fellow NCMH Principal Investigator Professor Mick O’Donovan.