Roger Webb

Roger Webb is a Professor of Mental Health Epidemiology at The University of Manchester and serves as Senior Postgraduate Research Tutor in the Division of Psychology & Mental Health. He is based at the Centre for Mental Health & Safety. His career began in 1998 at the University of Manchester, where he worked as a research associate in the School of Primary Care and later at the Arthritis Research Campaign Epidemiology Unit. Prior to this, he conducted perinatal epidemiological studies in the National Health Service (NHS) from 1991–1998.

• PhD in Medicine (Psychiatric Epidemiology): University of Manchester (2007)
• MSc in Epidemiology & Biostatistics: University of Manchester (2002)
• MA in Applied Social Research: University of Manchester (1995)
• BA in History & Politics: University of Nottingham (1990)

His research focuses on understanding pathways to self-destructive behavior in youth, suicide risk in offender populations and individuals with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He also investigates patient safety in primary care for self-harm patients and mortality patterns in children with mentally ill parents. Methodologically, he specializes in large observational studies using population-based datasets from the UK, Denmark, and Sweden, including cohort and nested case-control analyses.

Webb has secured significant grant funding including a €1.5M European Research Council grant (2014–2018) and a £203,000 Department of Health grant (2013–2015). His current projects include the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (2022–2027) and multiple collaborations with institutions such as the University of Aarhus, Karolinska Institute, and University of Oxford.

He has contributed to impactful initiatives like developing community resilience measures and datasets on psychotropic medication in prisons. His work addresses critical issues such as suicide prevention strategies, improving healthcare outcomes for vulnerable populations, and translational research in patient safety.