Pathway Journey
PhD Project: Improving prediction of psychosis risk
• Performed first international replication and first implementation study for transdiagnostic risk calculator for psychosis
• Developed, digitally implemented and piloted novel multivariate assessment for exposure to environmental risk and protective factors for psychosis risk
Biography
Psychiatric researcher with a strong research background, supported by an extensive publication record and responsibility for coordinating both research and teaching. I am interested in improving prediction of psychosis risk, particularly in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P), and cannabinoid psychopharmacology.
Why did you choose the DTP?
I knew what kind of research I wanted to go into but I didn’t have the relevant experience for that field if I was applying directly. I knew that the DTP application process would allow me to showcase my capabilities as a PhD candidate generally but allow me the freedom to select the project that fit best, regardless of my experience.
What are you up to now? How has the MRC DTP helped to get you to this point?
I am now a Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Oxford and Visiting Research Associate at King’s College London, continuing the line of research I started in PhD. Through the MRC funding I was able to gain lots of research experience, develop myself and start building an academic network through conferences and other opportunities through the MRC supplement fund.
What is your best piece of advice for those making an application?
Think about what skills and experience make you unique compared to others in your position. This could be niche types of analyses that you have played a role in or contact with specific populations (e.g. patients, vulnerable people) that tie into the research area you want to go into. Setting yourself apart is key.
Publications
1. The importance of external validation to advance precision psychiatry
Oliver, D. Lancet Regional Health – Europe 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2022.100498
2. Prognostic accuracy and clinical utility of psychometric instruments for individuals at clinical high-risk of psychosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Oliver, D., Arribas, M., Radua, J., Salazar de Pablo, G., De Micheli, A., Spada, G., Mensi, M.M., Kotlicka-Antczak, M., Borgatti, R., Solmi, M., Shin, J.I., Woods, S.W., Addington, J., McGuire, P. & Fusar-Poli, P. Molecular Psychiatry 2022 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01611-w
3. Psychiatric and neuropsychiatric presentations associated with severe coronavirus infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis with comparison to the COVID-19 pandemic
Rogers, J.P., Chesney, E., Oliver, D., Pollak, T., McGuire, P., Fusar-Poli, P., Zandi, M., Lewis, G. & David A.S. Lancet Psychiatry, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30203-0
4. Real-world implementation of precision psychiatry: Transdiagnostic risk calculator for the automatic detection of individuals at-risk of psychosis Oliver, D., Spada, G., Colling, C., Broadbent, M., Baldwin, H., Patel, R., Stewart, R., Stahl, D., Dobson, R., McGuire, P. & Fusar-Poli, P. Schizophrenia Research, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2020.05.007
5. Transdiagnostic Individualised Clinically-based Risk Calculator for the Automatic Detection of Individuals at-Risk and the Prediction of Psychosis: External Replication in 2,430,333 US Patients Oliver, D., Wong, C. M. J., Bøg, M., Jönsson, L., Kinon, B. J., Wehnert, A., Jørgensen, K. T., Irving, J., Stahl, D., McGuire, P., Raket, L. L. & Fusar-Poli, P. Translational Psychiatry, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-01032-9
6. Real-world digital implementation of the Psychosis Polyrisk Score (PPS): a pilot feasibility study Oliver, D., Spada, G., Englund, A., Chesney, E., Radua, J., Reichenberg, A., Uher, R., McGuire, P., Fusar-Poli, P. Schizophrenia Research, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2020.04.015
7. Neurochemical models of psychosis risk and onset Oliver, D., Modinos, G. & McGuire, P.
Chapter In: Risk Factors for Psychosis: Paradigms, Mechanisms, and Prevention, 2020
8. Psychosis Polyrisk Score (PPS) for the detection of individuals at-risk and the prediction of their outcomes Oliver, D., Radua, J., Reichenberg, A., Uher, R. & Fusar-Poli, P. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2019 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00174
9. What causes the onset of psychosis in individuals at clinical high risk? A meta-analysis of risk and protective factors Oliver, D., Reilly, T., Baccaredda Boy, O., Petros, N., Davies, C., Borgwardt, S., McGuire, P. & Fusar-Poli, P. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbz039
10. Can we reduce the duration of untreated psychosis? A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled interventional studies Oliver, D., Davies, C., Crossland, G., Lim, S., Gifford, G. W. G., McGuire, P. & Fusar-Poli, P. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbx166
11. Meta-analytical prognostic accuracy of the Comprehensive Assessment for At Risk Mental States (CAARMS): the need for refined prediction Oliver, D., Kotlicka-Antczak, M., Minichino, A., Spada, G., McGuire, P. & Fusar-Poli, P. European Psychiatry, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.10.001
12. What causes psychosis? An umbrella review of risk and protective factors.
Radua, J., Ramella-Cravaro, V., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Reichenberg, A., Phiphopthatsanee, N., Amir, T., Too, H. Y., Oliver, D., Davies, C., Morgan, C., McGuire, P., Murray, R. M. & Fusar-Poli, P.
World Psychiatry, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20490
Awards
IoPPN Early Career Research Award 2022
British Association for Psychopharmacology Post Doc Award 2022
International Cannabinoid Research Society Pre-Doctoral Trainee Award 2020
Schizophrenia International Research Society Early Career Award 2020
Conferences
1. Addiction – Acute effects of four CBD:THC ratios on attentional bias to cannabis and food cues: a randomized, double-blind, crossover study (Talk)
2. British Association for Psychopharmacology – Acute subjective effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC): a systematic review and meta-analysis (Poster)
3. Schizophrenia International Research Society – Prognostic accuracy and clinical utility of psychometric instruments for individuals at clinical high-risk of psychosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Poster)
4. Schizophrenia International Research Society – Real-World Implementation of Precision Psychiatry: Transdiagnostic Risk Calculator for the Automatic Detection of Individuals At-Risk of Psychosis (Talk)
5. Schizophrenia International Research Society/British Association for Psychopharmacology – Cerebral Blood Flow across the Spectrum of Psychosis Risk: A Pseudo-Continuous Arterial Spin Labelling Study (Poster)
6. Schizophrenia International Research Society – Real World Implementation of a Transdiagnostic Risk Calculator for the Automatic Detection of Individuals at Risk of Psychosis in Clinical Routine (Poster)
7. NIHR BRC Maudsley/Schizophrenia International Research Society/World Psychiatric Association – Psychosis Polyrisk Score (PPS): Improving Detection of Individuals At-Risk and Prediction of Clinical Outcomes (Poster)
8. KEPS International Symposium and Workshop, Jeonju, South Korea – Improving prediction of psychosis risk (Talk)
9. British Association for Psychopharmacology/International Cannabinoid Research Society – Acute effects of combinations of δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol on facial emotion recognition: a randomised, double-blind, crossover study (Poster)
10. British Association for Psychopharmacology – What leads to psychosis transition? A meta-analysis of risk and protective factors in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (Poster)
11. MQ/Schizophrenia International Research Society – Can we reduce the duration of untreated psychosis? A systematic review and meta-analysis (Poster)