Anne Lingford-Hughes

Professor Anne Lingford-Hughes is Professor of Addiction Biology at Imperial College and Head, Centre for Psychiatry. She is also a Consultant Psychiatrist with a particular interest in pharmacological treatments of alcohol and opiate dependence at Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

She graduated in medicine from Oxford University, completed her PhD at Cambridge University, and trained in psychiatry at The Bethlem and Maudsley Hospitals and Institute of Psychiatry. Her research has focused on using neuroimaging, pharmacological and behavioural challenges to characterize the neurobiology of addiction to alcohol, opiate, cocaine, gambling and nicotine.

Her work particularly focuses on improving relapse prevention. She is currently investigating the potential of an NK1 antagonist (aprepitant) and a GABA-B agonist (baclofen) to improve opiate detox and relapse prevention. She leads an MRC funded PhD programme to produce future clinical addiction academic leaders: MARC – MRC Addiction Research Clinical Training.

Professor Lingford-Hughes was Honorary General Secretary of the British Association for Psychopharmacology through which she co-developed and wrote their guidelines about the pharmacological management of substance misuse and addiction and comorbidity with psychiatric disorders. In addition, she has contributed to NICE guidance about opiate detoxification and alcohol dependence and contributing to PHE guidelines about managing alcohol problems. She is currently Professional Liaison Officer, British Neuroscience Association and recent past-Chair of the Academic Faculty of Royal College of Psychiatrists.