Matthew Kempton

Dr. Matthew Kempton is a Reader in Neuroimaging Psychiatry at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, within the School of Academic Psychiatry and Department of Psychosis Studies. His research focuses on structural MRI analysis in psychosis disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, with a particular emphasis on improving neuroimaging sensitivity and developing tools like the ENIGMA VBM software. He leads the Precision in Neuroimaging project to enhance MRI accuracy and chairs the Department of Psychosis Studies PhD Committee. His work involves extensive meta-analyses on psychiatric disorders and collaborations with the ENIGMA consortium. He has been funded by the MRC, NIHR, Wellcome Trust, and EU.

Teaching responsibilities include statistics for Masters students and neuroimaging lectures, alongside Deputy Programme Leadership for the Psychiatric Research MSc. His team develops open-access tools such as ALVIN (MRI segmentation) and databases like depressiondatabase.org for major depressive disorder research.

Recent research highlights include identifying grey matter changes in early-onset psychosis and investigating stress and adversity impacts on brain structure. Awards include an MRC Career Development Fellowship. His research group emphasizes translational neuroscience, aiming to bridge neuroimaging findings with clinical practice through initiatives like the SLaM Image Bank and Psy-ShareD data resource.

Advising and grants involve MRC DTP studentships and King’s China Council scholarships. Current projects explore cannabis use in psychosis risk, proteomic prediction models, and neuroimaging reliability in multicenter studies. His work integrates clinical, neuroimaging, and genetic data to advance precision medicine in psychosis.