Sir Robin MacGregor Murray
FRS (born 31 January 1944 in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
) is a Scottish psychiatrist, Professor of Psychiatric Research at the
Institute of Psychiatry
The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a research institution dedicated to discovering what causes mental illness and diseases of the brain. In addition, its aim is to help identify new treatments for them and ways ...
,
King's College London.
He has treated patients with
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...
and
bipolar illness referred to the
National Psychosis Unit of the
South London and Maudsley NHS Trust because they fail to respond to treatment, or cannot get appropriate treatment, locally; he sees patients privately if they are unable to obtain an NHS referral.
Education and career
Robin Murray trained in medicine at the University of Glasgow. After qualifying, he researched chronic renal failure induced by the massive abuse of a local headache powder,
Askit Powders. Then he started training in psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital in London, and has remained there ever since apart from one year at the National Institute of Mental Health in the USA. He has been Dean of the
Institute of Psychiatry
The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a research institution dedicated to discovering what causes mental illness and diseases of the brain. In addition, its aim is to help identify new treatments for them and ways ...
,
King's College London, and Professor of Psychiatry there, but now focuses on research into, and care of people with psychotic illness. In 1987 he and Shon Lewis were among the first to suggest that schizophrenia might in part be a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Professor Murray is part of The Psychosis Research Group at the Institute of Psychiatry, perhaps the largest (by number of papers produced per annum) in the world. It uses a range of methods to improve understanding and treatment of
psychotic illnesses, particularly
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...
. Murray is ranked as one of the most influential researchers in psychiatry by
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre.
Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...
' ''Science Watch'' and 3rd in schizophrenia research.
[Profile in Science Watch and interview with Murray]
sciencewatch.com, 8 March 2008; accessed 1 September 2014.
In 1994, he was the president of the European Association of Psychiatrists; now the
European Psychiatric Association
The European Psychiatric Association (EPA) is the main association representing psychiatry in Europe.
History
The EPA was founded in October 1983 as the Association of European Psychiatrists (AEP), at the University of Strasbourg, by twelve Frenc ...
. He is a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
(elected 2010) and also a Fellow of the
Royal College of Psychiatrists.
[ Murray is co-editor-in-chief of '']Psychological Medicine
''Psychological Medicine'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal in the field of psychiatry and related aspects of psychology and basic sciences. According to the '' Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2020 impact factor of 7.723.
His ...
''. He was Chairman of the Schizophrenia Commission which, over 2011 and 2012, reviewed in detail the care of people with psychosis in England, and concluded people with this illness were neglected, often poorly treated and subject to discrimination. The Commission made numerous recommendations for improvement.
Robin Murray and colleagues were among the first to demonstrate that prolonged heavy abuse of cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
can contribute to the onset of psychosis, and that starting early before 15 years and using high potency cannabis (e.g. skunk) particularly increase the risk. Currently, they are researching why some people are especially vulnerable to this drug while most develop no problems. In 2009 Murray had a public disagreement with David Nutt
David John Nutt (born 16 April 1951) is an English neuropsychopharmacologist specialising in the research of drugs that affect the brain and conditions such as addiction, anxiety, and sleep. He is the chairman of Drug Science, a non-profit w ...
in the pages of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' about the dangers of cannabis in triggering psychosis
Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
.
Murray previously wrote that while the risk increase is "about five-fold ..for the heaviest users", the issue has become a political football
A political football is a topic or issue that is seized on by opposing political parties or factions and made a more political issue than it might initially seem to be. "To make a political football" ut of somethingis defined in William Safire ...
.[ Murray has commented repeatedly on these issues in ]BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
in the 2011 New Year Honours for his services to medicine.