Mary Cannon

Prof. Mary Cannon holds the position of Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Youth Mental Health at the Department of Psychiatry, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. She concurrently serves as a Consultant Psychiatrist at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Her research focuses on early risk and protective factors for mental illnesses, particularly psychosis in young people, with a strong emphasis on epidemiological and translational research. She leads the ERC-funded iHEAR project investigating psychotic experiences in youth and has held prestigious fellowships from the Wellcome Trust and Health Research Board (Ireland).

Education: MB, BCh BAO from University College Dublin (1988), MRCPsych (1992), MSc Epidemiology (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 1995), PhD (University of London, 2002).

Research interests span psychiatric epidemiology, youth mental health policy, and biological mechanisms of mental disorders. She is a member of editorial boards for journals like Schizophrenia Bulletin and British Journal of Psychiatry. Awards include the Royal Academy of Medicine’s Doctor Award (2013) and Research Award (2015), and inclusion in the 2020 Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers list (top 1%).

Professional roles include Vice-Chair of the Academic Faculty at the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland and Co-Chair of the Youth and Student Mental Health Special Interest Group. She has contributed to national taskforces on youth mental health and substance use policy.

Key grants include EU Horizon 2020 funding for the iHEAR project and Health Research Board grants investigating cannabis use and inflammation in youth.