Dr Hind Khalifeh
MRC population health scientist fellow at University College London.
Dr Hind Khalifeh is a hospital- and community-based psychiatrist. Her MRC fellowship is funding a Masters degree in epidemiology and a PhD investigating crime against people with severe mental illness (such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Hind’s research project is in collaboration with the Institute of Psychiatry and Victim Support.
Hind says “My MRC Population Health Scientist Fellowship is enabling me to get the training in epidemiology I need to do my research project, as well as giving me more time to do the research alongside my clinical duties. Applying for this scheme can be daunting as it funds postdoctoral researchers as well as predoctoral candidates like me. But the process was much friendlier than I’d expected and I think my enthusiasm for the project paid off.
“My PhD topic was informed by my clinical experience of caring for people with severe mental illness who were victims of crime or violence. I noted that past research and policy focused on violence perpetrated by people with severe mental illness, rather than on their vulnerability to being a victim. Our research aims to produce the best assessment yet of how widespread crime against people with severe mental illness is when compared with the general population, and how clinical services and other agencies, such as the Criminal Justice System, can respond better.
“In the long term, I plan to work as a clinical academic psychiatrist, with a focus on the interaction between the social and biological determinants of health in adults with severe metal illness.”
Published November 2011