PESHAWAR
Prof Saeed Farooq, a Pakistani psychiatrist, has been selected by National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) for UK’s Global Health Professorship Award.
Prof Saeed, who has to his credit 250 publications in high impact journals, worked for more than a decade at LRH during which the psychiatry unit was recognised by College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) for postgrad uate training. He also established Journal of Pakistan Psychiatric Society (JPPS) and worked as its chief editor for almost a decade.
The NIHR selected seven leading health researchers working in Africa, South America and Asia. The selection process involved a competitive peer review of research plan submitted by applicants from UK and globally, fol- lowed by interview by a panel of world leading researchers.
He completed PhD in mental health in 2012 in UK and joined School of He conducted one of the largest trials of Medicine Keele University, UK, in 2016. a psychological therapy for people in humanitarian context, widely known ash PM+ (problem management plus) in Peshawar. The PM+ is now recognised by World Health Organisation (WHO) as standard treatment for people in con flict zone and being used worldwide in similar situations.
Prof Saeed, a graduate of Khyber Medical College, is the only Pakistani to win the award. A total of seven research- ers earned the NIHR global research professorship, the most prestigious and highly competitive award. The awar dees also include UK institutions such as King College London, which is among the top 10 universities in the world.
Saeed Farooq is professor of psychia try and public mental health at School of Medicine, Keele University, and hon- orary consultant psychiatrist Midlands Partnership National Health at Service Foundation Trust. During his tenure of research profes
He has achieved multi-million pound research funding, which is now support on reducing the treatment gap for ing world leading research in Pakistan severe mental illness. It helps in provid ing services to people with psychosis.
sorship, Saeed Farooq will conduct research on “Translating evidence for early intervention in psychosis (Translate) in low and lower-middle coun- tries (LMIC): implementation and evalu ation’. As part of this project, he will lead establishing and evaluating a service for young people with psychosis at five sites in Pakistan and one in Sri Lanka.
Prof Saeed is leading one of the larg est capacity building programmes in research in mental healt i countries.
A native of Swabi and now settled in Haripur, he received higher training in Birmingham, UK, and returned in 1995 to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), where he established a state-of-the-art psychia try department.
