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Professor Dr Rohit Shankar MBE has been shortlisted for the esteemed Royal College of Psychiatrist’s Academic Researcher of the Year Award.

Professor Shankar will be invited to the awards in November. The awards celebrate the best and brightest teams and individuals. They also mark the highest level of achievement within the field of psychiatry.

Professor Shankar is a consultant in developmental neuropsychiatry and clinical director at the Trust. He's also a professor in neuropsychiatry with the University of Plymouth Medical School and director of its Cornwall Intellectual Disability Equitable Research unit.

In 2018 he was awarded an MBE for services to the learning disability community. He has achieved a vast array of national and international awards over the years. This includes the British Medical Journal awards for mental health, education, neurology, and innovation.

Most notably, Professor Shankar is one of the brains behind the award-winning EpSMon self-monitoring epilepsy app. After users answer a short assessment on their mobile device, the EpSMon will produce an easy-to-read summary. The summary shows which risks are getting better, which have worsened and which have stayed the same. This enables users to show their GP on their next visit, or to help them to decide whether to seek help earlier. The ethos of the app is to enable self-empowerment for people with epilepsy who have an elevated risk of death.

With an array of titles under his belt, such as:

• associate professor (Honourable) at University of Exeter Medical School
• a fellow at Falmouth University
• chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ south-west division

Professor Shankar has also written over 200 peer reviewed journal papers, book chapters and has contributed to various national reports.

In Cornwall, he has established protocols for improved care in people with intellectual disabilities. He has also led various national studies including the recently concluded Brain in Hand study for autistic people.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for this award. All the research I undertake is to improve the lives of people with intellectual disability and/or autism. And to demonstrably reduce deaths, improve health, social and quality of life outcomes, where they could otherwise be prevented.

“I am proud to work with a passionate group of researchers, colleagues, patients, their families, carers, and charities from across the Trust and the university. This includes, both nationally and internationally. From a range of intersectional fields such as engineering, robotics, artificial intelligence, genetics, pharmacy to charities and medical administration. Without their enthusiastic collaboration, many of my ideas would remain as ideas.” Professor Shankar