WHO WE ARE

EDGI is a collaborative effort between King’s College London, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) BioResource and Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity. For more information on each organisation, please read below or visit their webpages.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) BioResource is a group of re-contactable volunteers who are willing to be approached to take part in research studies. To date, 150,000 volunteers have donated biological samples and allowed secure access to their medical records and clinical information for research purposes. This enables research to occur at a quicker rate so that we can better understand both physical and mental health conditions and discover new treatment options. Throughout England, there are 13 NIHR BioResource and Clinical Research Facilities. EDGI is funded and supported by the NIHR BioResource.

The NIHR BioResource Centre Maudsley is focussed on mental health research as part of the NIHR BioResource. The centre supports a large range of mental health studies to recruit new participants into the NIHR BioResource, and also leads EDGI which is the UK’s largest eating disorder research study. They also run the world’s largest genetic study into anxiety and depression called the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) study aiming to recruit 40,000 individuals with anxiety and/or depression.

We at EDGI have partnered with Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, which “exists to end the pain and suffering caused by eating disorders.” Beat works directly with people with lived experience of eating disorders and their families. Beat works tirelessly to highlight the challenges of those affected and campaigns for change. For more information on Beat and its support services, please visit the Beat webpage or our dedicated page to Beat in our resources section.

The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Professor Gerome Breen

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Scientific Lead

Gerome is the Chief Investigator of EDGI. His primary research interest lies in the biological basis of common mental health disorders and determining the genetic links in eating disorders, affective (mood) disorders and psychosis. Through his role as lead of the NIHR BioResource Centre Maudsley, in which he heads a biobanking and genomics/biomarker laboratory, he facilitates numerous genetic studies investigating the influence of genes on mental health.

More about Gerome
NIHR Maudsley BioResource
Follow @psychgenomics

Professor Janet Treasure

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Clinical Lead

Janet is a psychiatrist who has specialised in the treatment of eating disorders for more than 35 years, currently working in the academic section of the Eating Disorder Unit at King’s College London and the clinical section of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.

More about Janet
Hear Janet talk about eating disorders
Get your hands on some of Janet’s books

Professor Thalia Eley

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Co-Investigator

Thalia is the co-investigator on co-morbidity studies with EDGI, and is the Chief Investigator for the Talking Therapies Research Resource (TTRR). She runs the EDITlab at King's College London, a group of researchers focusing on what factors may influence why people respond differently to life’s experience. She is particularly interested in anxiety and depression, and which psychological treatments work best for different people and whether their genetics may play a part in how people respond.

More about Thalia
EDITlab website
Editlab Blog
Follow @thaliaeley

Dr Gursharan Kalsi

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NIHR Maudsley BioResource Manager

Gursharan is the BioResource Co-ordinator and Manager of the recruitment team at the NIHR BioResource Centre Maudsley. She has been involved in mental health research for several years, working in the UK and the USA. She is interested in the overlap between the various mental health disorders and their common and distinct pathways at the molecular level. She is also interested in mental health in minoritised ethnic groups.

More about Gursharan
Follow @gursharan_kalsi

Tom Quinn

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Director of External Affairs at Beat

Tom has worked at Beat, the UK's eating disorder charity, for almost 4 years, where he is currently the Director of External Affairs. EDGI works in collaboration with Beat, whose mission is to end the pain and suffering caused by eating disorders.

Follow @tomquinn1

Developed in collaboration with Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, and with patients and service users.

To take part in the Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative, part of the NIHR BioResource, you must:

- - - Have experienced, or have been diagnosed with an eating disorder
  - - Be aged 16 and above
  - Live in England

The EDGI enrollment process consists of four steps:

- - Reading the Information Sheet
- - - Providing consent
  - Completing our questionnaire
- - Providing a saliva sample

*Please note this refers to assigned sex at birth

Please click here if you would like to subscribe to Beat's newsletter.

If you are younger than 16 and interested in taking part, please contact the EDGI team at edgi@kcl.ac.uk.

Please verify that you are over 16 years of age and that you consent to being contacted by the EDGI research team about your participation in this study:

You can withdraw from the project at any time.

Please note that it may take up to 30 seconds to process your sign-up and create your account.

WHO WE ARE

Team Members

Investigators

Professor Gerome Breen

Scientific Lead

Professor Janet Treasure

Clinical Lead

Professor Thalia Eley

Co-Investigator

Dr Gursharan Kalsi

NIHR Maudsley BioResource Manager

Tom Quinn

Director of External Affairs at Beat

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WHO WE ARE

Team Members

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