“I am absolutely delighted by this award. I hope this will help to shine a light on the needs and plight of people affected by eating disorders, and on the fact that research really makes a tangible difference to these people's lives.”
Professor Ulrike Schmidt
02 January 2024
Professor Ulrike Schmidt recognised in New Year Honours
Professor Ulrike Schmidt has been awarded an OBE for services to people with eating disorders in the New Year Honours list.
Professor Ulrike Schmidt is Professor of Eating Disorders and Director of the Centre of Research on Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW) at King’s IoPPN, which celebrated its launch earlier this year. She is a Consultant Psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and she leads the Eating Disorders and Obesity Theme at the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre.
She has led the development and research on FREED, First Episode Rapid Intervention for Eating Disorders, which is now available in NHS Trusts across the UK and she is the Principal Investigator of a large research consortium on early intervention for eating disorders.
Professor Schmidt’s research has been instrumental in enabling interventions to receive NICE recommendations so they can reach patients and carers. These include guided self-help for bulimic eating disorders, and MANTRA, a first line treatment for adults with anorexia nervosa. She has pioneered the use of novel brain-targeted interventions such as non-invasive neuromodulation for people with persistent eating disorders.
After completing her medical studies at the University of Dusseldorf, Ulrike went on to train in psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital, and has been a consultant in the Eating Disorders Service there since 1998, and Professor of Eating Disorders at the IoPPN since 2006.
Professor Matthew Hotopf, CBE, Executive Dean, IoPPN, said "I’m absolutely delighted that Professor Ulrike Schmidt has been recognised in this way. She has contributed decades of research, advocacy and clinical service to improve the lives and experiences of people with eating disorders, always placing their needs at the centre of her work. The impact of her work is felt internationally, including the successful development and evaluation of innovative treatments for eating disorders which are now implemented across the UK. Ulrike is also a wonderful colleague, mentor and supporter of early career researchers.”
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In this story
Professor of Eating Disorders
Executive Dean, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience