Dr David Cousins
Chair, Psychopharmacology Committee
Dr David Cousins is a Clinical Senior Lecturer and Director of Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre, Newcastle University. As an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the Regional Affective Disorders Service (Cumbria Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust), he leads a specialist inpatient facility for those with difficult to treat mood disorders. He is a Visiting Professor at Milan University and a member of the International Group for the Study of Lithium treated patients (IGSLI) and the ISBD International Lithium Task Force.
His research focusses on the optimal use of lithium in psychiatry, informed by the development and application of advanced imaging techniques capable of directly determining the distribution of lithium in the brain (7Li-MRI). He leads a multinational network applying these novel techniques to better understand the actions of lithium, the prediction of response through the identification of biomarkers, and the personalisation of lithium initiation and dosing regimen. Dr Cousins provided expert input to the recent revision of the BNF monograph on lithium and the update to the patient information resource for lithium (Purple Pack).