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Johnny Downs

Johnny Downs

Senior Clinical Lecturer (Honorary Consultant) in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Research interests

  • Child & Family
  • Psychiatry

Contact details

Biography

Johnny is an NIHR Clinician Scientist at the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent lead, Centre for Translational Informatics. His research focuses on the use of digital information for epidemiological studies examining risks factors and outcomes for childhood neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders. Johnny's interests lie within four main areas – patient portals to enhance patient reported outcomes, natural language processing to refine the data extracted from free-text electronic records, data-linkage to integrate non-health data into clinical record analysis, and the integration of remote monitoring technology into clinical care.

Research interests

Clinical domains:

  • Autism
  • ADHD
  • Education/school performance
  • Conduct problems

Methodology:

  • Epidemiology
  • Data linkage
  • Natural language processing
  • User experience/co-design
  • Remote monitoring technology
  • Objective/multimodal assessment of mental health problems using speech, video and movement analyses

Teaching

  • Child & Adolescent Mental Health MSc
  • Centre for Urban Science and Progress MSc
  • Mental Health Studies MSc (Big Data in Mental Health Module)

Expertise and public engagement

  • 2020 – Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Integrated Academic Trainee Lead (SLaM/KCL)
  • 2019 - NIHR South London Applied Research Collaboration (Applied Informatics Theme)
  • 2019 - NIHR Child Health and Policy Research Unit (Vulnerability Theme)
  • 2019 - NIHR London Research for Patient Benefit Advisory Panel Member
  • 2019 - NIHR Longitudinal Outcomes of Gender Identity in Children (LOGIC) Steering Committee, Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust
  • 2018 - Lead, NIHR BRC Centre for Translation Informatics Child and Adolescent theme
  • 2017 - NIHR Mental Health and Policy Research Unit (Prevention Theme)

    Research

    myjourne picture
    MyJournE - A remote mood-monitoring and life event tracker for school-aged cohorts

    This project looks to assess the feasibility and acceptability of embedding an e-platform for remote mood monitoring and life event tracking within schools.

    Project status: Completed

    optima-logo.xeb57b25a
    Online Parent Training for the Initial Management of ADHD referral (OPTIMA)

    We have created a mobile phone app that provides advice and access to a set of parenting tools that can be easily provided at the point that families seek help.

    Project status: Ongoing

    The longitudinal association between school performance trajectories and offending behaviour

    A project using linked data from the National Pupil Database and Police National Computer to investigate educational trajectories and offending outcomes.

    Project status: Ongoing

    CTI-AI
    Centre for Translational Informatics (CTI)

    The Centre for Translational Informatics (CTI) is finding new ways to improve healthcare through digital technologies and accelerating their delivery to patients.

    News Story Images Template (16)
    NIHR Policy Research Unit in Mental Health

    The NIHR Policy Research Unit in Mental Health (MHPRU) at King's and UCL conducts rapid research to inform mental health policy.

    ART-Transition (1)
    ART-transition - ADHD Remote Technology and ADHD transition: predicting and preventing negative outcomes

    ADHD Remote Technology and ADHD transition: predicting and preventing negative outcomes (ART-transition) is a five-year MRC-funded research programme.

    Project status: Ongoing

    News

    Better care integration needed for mothers in substance use services

    New research has used electronic health records to identify how to better integrate policy and practice for parents involved in public family law proceedings...

    mother and child hands

    New £7M research investment to investigate population-based improvement of mental health

    £7 million funding from UK Research and Innovation, has been awarded to lead partner King’s College London to establish a research theme in Population Mental...

    Crowd in London

    £2.5m funding to study transition to adulthood for individuals with ADHD

    The Medical Research Council (MRC) has awarded £2.5 million funding to principal investigator, Professor Jonna Kuntsi, and team to use remote technology to...

    ART Transition

    IoPPN researchers celebrate wins at the ACAMH Awards 2023

    The ACAMH Awards recognise work of exceptional quality in the discipline of child and adolescent mental health.

    Award

    Children with ADHD frequently use healthcare services before diagnosis, study finds

    Children and young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) use healthcare services twice as often in the two years before their diagnosis,...

    Image of child and caregiver speaking to a healthcare professional

    IoPPN researchers announced winners of the 2022 ACAMH Awards

    Several researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) won awards at the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health...

    star

    Five IoPPN research projects receive UKRI funding

    A total of £4.4 million funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Medical Research Council (MRC) has been awarded to research projects at the...

    Clapping Award 800x450

    Autism, ADHD and school absence are risk factors for self-harm, according to new study

    Using data from over 11,000 adolescents, researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience have identified key risk factors associated...

    Teenager sitting

    Events

    29Oct

    King's Experts Series: New Technologies for Mind and Body

    The mind and body have long been a source of scientific and philosophical discussion and debate. But with new technologies transforming our understanding of...

    Please note: this event has passed.

    23Jun

    Partnering for Change: AI predicting mental health - possible futures

    Part of the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health Festival 2022: Partnering for Change

    Please note: this event has passed.

      Research

      myjourne picture
      MyJournE - A remote mood-monitoring and life event tracker for school-aged cohorts

      This project looks to assess the feasibility and acceptability of embedding an e-platform for remote mood monitoring and life event tracking within schools.

      Project status: Completed

      optima-logo.xeb57b25a
      Online Parent Training for the Initial Management of ADHD referral (OPTIMA)

      We have created a mobile phone app that provides advice and access to a set of parenting tools that can be easily provided at the point that families seek help.

      Project status: Ongoing

      The longitudinal association between school performance trajectories and offending behaviour

      A project using linked data from the National Pupil Database and Police National Computer to investigate educational trajectories and offending outcomes.

      Project status: Ongoing

      CTI-AI
      Centre for Translational Informatics (CTI)

      The Centre for Translational Informatics (CTI) is finding new ways to improve healthcare through digital technologies and accelerating their delivery to patients.

      News Story Images Template (16)
      NIHR Policy Research Unit in Mental Health

      The NIHR Policy Research Unit in Mental Health (MHPRU) at King's and UCL conducts rapid research to inform mental health policy.

      ART-Transition (1)
      ART-transition - ADHD Remote Technology and ADHD transition: predicting and preventing negative outcomes

      ADHD Remote Technology and ADHD transition: predicting and preventing negative outcomes (ART-transition) is a five-year MRC-funded research programme.

      Project status: Ongoing

      News

      Better care integration needed for mothers in substance use services

      New research has used electronic health records to identify how to better integrate policy and practice for parents involved in public family law proceedings...

      mother and child hands

      New £7M research investment to investigate population-based improvement of mental health

      £7 million funding from UK Research and Innovation, has been awarded to lead partner King’s College London to establish a research theme in Population Mental...

      Crowd in London

      £2.5m funding to study transition to adulthood for individuals with ADHD

      The Medical Research Council (MRC) has awarded £2.5 million funding to principal investigator, Professor Jonna Kuntsi, and team to use remote technology to...

      ART Transition

      IoPPN researchers celebrate wins at the ACAMH Awards 2023

      The ACAMH Awards recognise work of exceptional quality in the discipline of child and adolescent mental health.

      Award

      Children with ADHD frequently use healthcare services before diagnosis, study finds

      Children and young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) use healthcare services twice as often in the two years before their diagnosis,...

      Image of child and caregiver speaking to a healthcare professional

      IoPPN researchers announced winners of the 2022 ACAMH Awards

      Several researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) won awards at the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health...

      star

      Five IoPPN research projects receive UKRI funding

      A total of £4.4 million funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Medical Research Council (MRC) has been awarded to research projects at the...

      Clapping Award 800x450

      Autism, ADHD and school absence are risk factors for self-harm, according to new study

      Using data from over 11,000 adolescents, researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience have identified key risk factors associated...

      Teenager sitting

      Events

      29Oct

      King's Experts Series: New Technologies for Mind and Body

      The mind and body have long been a source of scientific and philosophical discussion and debate. But with new technologies transforming our understanding of...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      23Jun

      Partnering for Change: AI predicting mental health - possible futures

      Part of the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health Festival 2022: Partnering for Change

      Please note: this event has passed.