Clinical Brain Sciences (Research)

This programme integrates laboratory and clinical research to study the causes, consequences and treatment of major brain disorders.

Research strengths

Our major research strengths are:

• cerebrovascular disease, including stroke and small vessel diseases

• neurodegenerative diseases: multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, dementias

• neuroimaging

• psychiatry, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression; autism, neurodiversity and learning disability

• Prion diseases

• synaptic biology & disease

• epilepsy

• neonatal development and the effect of premature birth

• neuro-oncology / Translational Neurosurgery

• functional disorders

• sleep medicine

Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences

The Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences (CCBS) combines laboratory and clinical research to study the causes, consequences and treatment of major brain disorders.

The Centre comprises 58 Principal Investigators, including 19 Chairs. 70% of our Principal Investigators are NHS clinicians.

CCBS has approximately 55 postgraduate students across its two programmes: Clinical Brain Sciences and Psychiatry. It is particularly strong in PhD training for clinicians.

CCBS subscribes to Edinburgh Medical School’s “One Health” vision. Laboratory scientists, clinical academics and informaticians work alongside one another. This encourages the free-flowing exchange of ideas, an efficient use of clinical data and joint academic/health service delivery.

CCBS is part of Edinburgh Neuroscience, an umbrella organisation that facilitates interaction among researchers working at all levels of neuroscience.