Professor Nick Glozier awarded 2024 RPA Foundation Research Medal for his groundbreaking work in psychiatry.
 

Professor Nick Glozier has been named the winner of the 2024 RPA Foundation Research Prize for his pioneering work in the treatment of chronic and disabling mood disorders, and improving functional outcomes in mental health. 

Known for his efforts in the public sector evaluation and implementation of innovative service models and therapies, including ketamine and new psychedelics, Professor Glozier and his team have significantly contributed to improving the lives of patients with chronic mental health disorders. 

“I am very honoured to receive the RPA Research Foundation Medal,” Professor Glozier said. 

“The work we do at RPA is driven by a passion for improving the mental health of individuals who have not responded to traditional treatments. It is a privilege to be recognised for these efforts in making such treatments more accessible to disadvantaged groups." 

Professor Glozier – who has been a Senior Staff Specialist at the RPA Department of Psychiatry since 2009 and a Professor at the University of Sydney since 2014 – has made substantial progress in implementing novel drug-assisted therapies for people with mood disorders. He leads Australia’s only public sector clinic providing such treatments, serving more than 15 patients a week at the Professor Marie Bashir Centre. This clinic, established to rapidly implement cutting-edge treatments, plays a critical role in addressing mental health treatment inequities, by ensuring that individuals from all socioeconomic backgrounds have access to life-changing therapies.
 

In addition to his clinical work, Professor Glozier is the chief investigator on the $12 million national adult psychiatry clinical trials network, “MAGNET,” and a program leader of the $32 million Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course. His extensive research has influenced national health and social policy strategies, including the $90 million NSW Mentally Healthy Workplaces Strategy and international guidelines on mental health at work for the World Health Organisation. 

Professor Glozier said he plans to use the $50,000 prize funding to support two major projects. The first involves lived experience research, where participants and staff will evaluate treatment experiences and address barriers to the delivery of psychedelic and ketamine-assisted therapies. The second initiative will pilot a program combining ketamine treatments with behavioural activation, a psychological intervention aimed at extending ketamine's antidepressant effects. 

“Our goal is to ensure that the therapies we develop are rapidly translated into clinical practice, cutting down the long delay that often accompanies new medical innovations,” he said. “This funding will be instrumental in supporting research that not only advances the field but also directly benefits Sydney Local Health District patients.”