David Cotter

Prof David Cotter is a Professor of Psychiatry at RCSI, affiliated with Beaumont Hospital. His work focuses on neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorder. He holds an MB BCH BAO from University College Dublin (1987), a PhD from the University of London (1998), and has been awarded multiple grants including HRB Clinician Scientist funding. His research combines cellular pathology with proteomic approaches to identify biomarkers for mental disorders. Notable achievements include identifying glial cell deficits in psychiatric disorders and discovering age-11 biomarkers for psychosis. He leads international studies like the AMP® SCZ initiative and the VISTA mental health policy project.

Professional activities include over 20 grants from HRB, SFI, and EU Horizon programs, totaling millions in funding. He has supervised four major research theses and is a member of prestigious societies like the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Awards include the NARSAD Independent Investigator Award and Wellcome Trust University Award. His current focus is on preventing mental disorders through early biomarker identification in youth.

Labs/Teams: Lead researcher in FutureNeuro (SFI-funded), collaborator in the TRUSTING EU project, and principal investigator in the BIOTRIP and YOUTH GEMS initiatives.