NHS CHECK: Understanding and mitigating the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on...
PROJECT
ARC ROLE
Principal Investigator
PROFESSIONAL ROLE
Professor at KCL
EXPERTISE AND INTERESTS
Simon Wessely is a psychiatrist and epidemiologist. He started his psychiatry training at the Maudsley in 1984, and joined King’s College School of Medicine, as it was then called in 1991. He has been at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, ever since.
Professor Wessely is currently Professor of Psychological Medicine.
He did pre-clinical at Trinity Hall Cambridge, with a BA in History of Art, and then BM BCH at University College Oxford. His Masters and Doctorate are in epidemiology.
He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Psychiatrists and Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2021 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society.
His is the first ever Regius Chair to be appointed at King's College London, and the first Regius Chair of Psychiatry in the United Kingdom. He established the King’s Centre for Military Health Research in 1996, and remains the Co-director. He directed the the PHE NIHR Health Protection Unit for Emergency Response and Preparedness between 2013 and 2021.
He is a Past President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal Society of Medicine. Between 2017-19, he led the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, which paved the way for new legislation in 2022.
He became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2022, and a Knight Grand Cross (GBE) in 2025
He is a Past President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal Society of Medicine. Between 2017-19, he led the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, which paved the way for new legislation in 2022.