Professor Cynthia Fu

Professor Cynthia H.Y. Fu is Professor of Affective Neuroscience and Psychotherapy in the Centre for Affective Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, and an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist in the National Affective Disorders Tertiary Clinic and OPTIMA Bipolar Disorders Service at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.

Her research focuses on identifying biomarkers to improve the classification of mood disorders and predict treatment response at the individual level, alongside the development of innovative treatments. She leads the COORDINATE‑MDD consortium, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse large neuroimaging datasets to identify predictors of treatment outcomes. In pioneering novel treatments, she has conducted clinical trials of neuromodulation therapies, integrating psychoanalytic perspectives with neuroscience to develop personalised approaches to care.

Professor Fu has received major research funding from the NIHR, NIMH (USA), MRC, Wellcome Trust, Baszucki Brain Research Milken Institute, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (NARSAD), Rosetrees Trust, and the International Psychoanalytical Association.

She is also Programme Lead for the MSc in Clinical Psychotherapy at King’s College London, Section Editor for Brain Research Bulletin, and a member of the British Association for Psychopharmacology and the British Psychoanalytical Society.