Laith is an Academic Clinical Fellow in Translational Psychiatry, who joined King’s College London in 2020. He is working with the Centre for Affective Disorders and Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, where his expertise includes psychopharmacology and neuroimaging.

He completed his medical degree & PhD at the University of Cambridge, using non-human primate models to understand the contribution of the anterior cingulate cortex to behavioural and cardiovascular dysfunction relevant to depression. He showed that rapidly acting antidepressants like ketamine can modulate activity in these brain regions to ameliorate symptoms.

Laith has taught extensively both at the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. In addition to his medical degree and PhD, Laith holds membership at the Royal College of Physicians and Associate status at Advance HE. He has published book chapters, including a chapter in the Cambridge Textbook of Neuroscience for Psychiatrists. He has been awarded Junior Doctor of the Year by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (2021) and the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ London Division Trainee of the Year award (2022).

Research Interests

• The role of the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex in mood disorders
• The discovery and development of novel antidepressants
• The aetiology and pathogenesis of bipolar affective disorders
• The epidemiology of mood disorders

Teaching

Laith lectures and supervises students on the MSc in Affective Disorders. He is also part of the Psychiatry Early Experience Programme (PEEP).

Expertise and public engagement

Laith sits on the Board of Governors for South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He also sits on the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Psychiatric Trainees’ Committee. He regularly writes articles about his research and contributes to wider public engagement initiatives. 

Publications

Alexander L, Hawkins PCT, Evans JW, Mehta MA, Zarate Jr CA (2023), “Preliminary evidence that ketamine alters anterior cingulate resting-state functional connectivity in depressed individuals” Translational Psychiatry

Wood CM, Alexander L, Alsio J, Santangelo AM, McIver L, Cockcroft GJ, Roberts AC (2023), “Chemogenetics identifies separate area 25 brain circuits involved in anhedonia and anxiety in marmosets” Science Translational Medicine

Alexander L, Jelen LA, Mehta MA, Young AH (2021), “The anterior cingulate cortex as a key locus of ketamine’s antidepressant action” Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

Alexander L*, Wood CM*, Gaskin PLR, Sawiak SJ, Fryer TD, Hong YT, McIver L, Clarke HF, Roberts AC (2020), “Over-activation of primate subgenual cingulate cortex enhances the cardiovascular, behavioural and neural responses to threat” Nature Communications

Alexander L, Gaskin PLR, Sawiak SJ, Fryer TD, Hong YT, Cockcroft GJ, Clarke HF, Roberts AC (2019), “Fractionating Blunted Reward Processing Characteristic of Anhedonia by Over-Activating Primate Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex” Neuron

Alexander L, Clarke HF, Roberts AC (2019), “A Focus on the Functions of Area 25” Brain Sci