Publish date: 25 September 2024
Congratulations to Professor Sofia Pappa, the Trust's Research Lead for Mood and Psychosis, who has been appointed Professor of Practice in Psychiatry at Imperial College London.
The College awards Professor of Practice status to staff who are international leaders in their field and have made significant contributions to the College.
This is the first time in the history of the College that this prestigious title has been awarded in the field of psychiatry.
Sofia said: “It is a great honour to be recognised in this way by Imperial College. I hope this promotion will further strengthen the links between the Trust and Imperial, enhance clinical academic pathways and ultimately improve the care we can offer people in North West London and beyond. I am particularly thankful to all my colleagues for their generous support over the years.”
Professor Derek Tracy, Chief Medical Officer of West London NHS Trust, said: “This is a huge but enormously well-deserved honour for Professor Pappa. Imperial College, one of the world's leading universities, has incredibly stringent criteria about who is eligible for such promotions, and the scrutiny upon applicants is severe. This is the first time that such a title has been given to a psychiatrist, making this all the more unique. However, knowing Sofia and her work for some years, I'm not in the least surprised. We are really very lucky to have her work with us in West London.”
Professor Anne Lingford-Hughes, Head of Division of Psychiatry at Imperial College London, said: “I am very pleased that Sofia’s substantial contributions to psychiatry through her research and clinical work have been recognised with the prestigious title of Professor of Practice at Imperial College. We look forward to further developing our clinical academic work with her and increasing our links with West London NHS Trust. Many congratulations.”
Sofia joined the Trust as a consultant psychiatrist in 2006 and is currently the academic lead of the Trust’s innovative Neuromodulation Service. She was dual trained in psychiatry and neurology, followed by a competitively funded PhD in neuropsychopharmacology, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.
She has received a number of awards and grants, has acted as Principal Investigator for several clinical trials and has published extensively in high impact journals.
She is also Specialty Lead in Mental Health for the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).