Biography

Professor Saeed Farooq is a clinician scientist with extensive research in public health mental health. He has over 150 papers in international peer reviewed scientific journals. He trained in Psychiatry both in Pakistan and UK. He led the development of academic psychiatry in Northern Pakistan. He trained large number of psychiatrists who are now leading services in the region as well conducted clinical studies in a conflict afflicted area.

Saeed moved to the UK to pursue his research interests and completed his PhD on the impact of Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP) in low and middle-income countries. Saeed joined Keele in 2015 and is a member of the Mental Health Research Group. He has produced significant evidence for treating schizophrenia and mental health care in conflict-affected areas. He has been member of the editorial board of number of peer reviewed international journals.  He was part of the working group that developed classification of psychotic disorders for International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). 

As a founding member of the South Asian Cochrane Network (SACN), he served on the steering committee of SACN for several years. His work on improving treatment adherence, subtyping schizophrenia based on treatment response and providing care in population affected by trauma and conflict had significant impact on policy and professional practice.

His research interests include improving the outcomes in severe mental illness by using evidence based interventions, physical health in severe mental illness and global mental health.  Saeed is passionate about providing evidence-based health care using a public health approach for the disadvantaged communities.

Research and scholarship

Professor Saeed Farooq has led a catalogue of strong interdisciplinary research and has worked closely with the social sciences, psychiatry, and pharmacological sciences. His work includes the effects of fasting during Ramadan on serum Lithium and other biochemical parameters as well as the role of fixed-dose combination products to improve treatment adherence in mental health. Working closely with colleagues in social sciences, Saeed has produced randomised controlled trial based evidence on a psychological intervention (PM+) for conflict-affected areas. The Problem Management Plus (PM+), which is based on cognitive behaviour therapy principles is now adopted by the World Health Organisation. The WHO has produced a manual of the intervention for use in conflict-afflicted communities (http://www.who.int/mental_health/emergencies/problem_management_plus/en/). His research on working through interpreters is widely recognised and he has also developed an on online module for the Royal College of Psychiatrists continuing medical education programme on how to work effectively through interpreters.

In recent years, Saeed has shifted his focus to the treatment of severe mental illness including research on improving physical health outcomes in schizophrenia. He is leading an MRC funded clinical trial in improving treatment adherence for schizophrenia in low and middle-income country settings. Saeed work also involves treatment optimisation in treatment-resistant schizophrenia using large databases and his publications on subtyping schizophrenia based on treatment response are widely recognised.

Teaching

Saeed has been involved in teaching for postgraduate psychiatric education and research methodology. He has led several workshops on research methodology. The workshops on the identification and development of research questions and medical writings have consistently received good feedback. Saeed is the academic secretary to the West Midlands division of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and has successfully organised the division academic meetings twice a year.