Melanie Amna Abas

Melanie Amna Abas
EducationUniversity of Auckland
University of Birmingham
Scientific career
WorkplacesInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience
King's Global Health Institute
ThesisSocio-economic deprivation and length of psychiatric inpatient stay (2003)

Melanie Amna Abas is a British psychiatric epidemiologist who is Professor of Global Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience and Director of the King's Global Health Institute at King's College London.[1] She is also a consultant psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and a member of the Zimbabwe College of Psychiatrists [2]

Her research focuses on improving access to effective mental health care, particularly for depression and anxiety, in low-resource settings. This has included developing and evaluating psychological interventions that can be delivered by non-specialists in primary and community care[1]. Much of her work has been conducted in sub-Saharan Africa, including Zimbabwe, as well as in the United Kingdom.

Early life and education

Abas attended Ysgol David Hughes in North Wales and studied medicine at the University of Birmingham.[1] She became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians before specialising in psychiatry.[1] Two years of her training as a psychiatrist was at Harare Hospital, Zimbabwe. She later completed an MSc in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and a doctorate at the University of Auckland in 2003,[1] where her research examined associations between socioeconomic deprivation and mental health outcomes.[3]

Research

Abas is well known for establishing conclusive evidence, with Dixon Chibanda and others, on the effectiveness of the low-cost 'Friendship Bench' talking therapy for depression, which has made a global impact.[4] The Friendship Bench is a globally recognized, evidence-based mental health intervention that uses trained community ''grandmothers'' to deliver problem-solving therapy.[5][6] Originating in Zimbabwe, the intervention has been associated with reductions in symptoms of depression and has been implemented in multiple countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom.[7][8] It has also been described as a cost-effective approach to addressing gaps in mental health care in low-resource settings. Together with Dixon Chibanda, she co-directs the African Youth in Mind programme, which adapts the Friendship Bench intervention for young people, and is now moving into digital tools for depression.[9][10][11]

She is also recognised for improving mental health among trafficked persons.[1] Her research with the PROTECT team informed UK policy changes and NHS training to support survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery.[12]

Abas has brought together a team of clinicians, researchers and implementers who focus on integrating mental health into care for people living with HIV, especially in countries with high HIV burden.[1] Together they have contributed to international policy, and also developed the TENDAI intervention for improving depression and medication adherence.[13][14][15]

Her earlier research examined the social determinants of depression among women in Zimbabwe.[1] She has been credited with helping to 'bust the myth' that depression does not occur in people in poorer countries.[16]

Career

Abas has held academic and clinical roles at King's College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust since 2008.[1] She served as Deputy Director of the Centre for Global Mental Health, a joint initiative between King's College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.[1]

In 2023, she was appointed Director of the King's Global Health Institute.[17]

Academic service

Abas co-founded the MSc in Global Mental Health, taught jointly between King's College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Her work has been characterised by building capacity in groups classically under-represented in academia, for example by contributing to African-led research and training programmes such as the US–African Medical Education Partnership Initiative and the African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI).[18]. capacity building amongst African researchers.[19] As Director of the King's Global Health Institute she is leading strategy on equitable partnerships and nurturing early career researchers.

Personal life

Abas is of British and Pakistani heritage. She is married and has three children. Her father, Syed Jan Abas, was a mathematician.[20]

Selected publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Professor Melanie Amna Abas". King's College London. 15 December 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  2. ↑ "Medical and Dental Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe". Medical and Dental Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  3. ↑ Abas, Melanie Amna (2003). Socio-economic deprivation and length of psychiatric inpatient stay (MD – Psychiatry thesis). University of Auckland. hdl:2292/5494.
  4. ↑ "REF 2021 Impact Case Study: King's College London – Global Mental Health research impact". Research Excellence Framework 2021. UK Research and Innovation. 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  5. ↑ Chibanda, Dixon (2015). "The Friendship Bench programme: a cluster randomised controlled trial". International Journal of Mental Health Systems. 9: 21. doi:10.1186/s13033-015-0013-y. PMC 4940904. PMID 27408619.
  6. ↑ "Friendship Bench: a community led approach to mental health care". King's College London. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "From Zimbabwe to the World". King's College London. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
  8. ↑ Abas, Melanie Amna; Weiss, Helen Anne; Simms, Victoria; Verhey, Ruth; Rusakaniko, Simbarashe; Araya, Ricardo; Chibanda, Dixon (June 2020). "The effect of co-morbid anxiety on remission from depression for people participating in a randomised controlled trial of the Friendship Bench intervention in Zimbabwe". eClinicalMedicine. 23 100333. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100333. ISSN 2589-5370. PMC 7329733. PMID 32637890.
  9. ↑ "African Youth in Mind". Centre for Global Mental Health. King's College London and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. 17 September 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "Over £5m Wellcome funding to digitalise the Friendship Bench". King's College London. 15 December 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  11. ↑ London, King's College. "Professor Melanie Abas receives £2.75m in UKRI funding". King's College London. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  12. ↑ "PROTECT – Provider Responses, Treatment and Care for Trafficked People". King's College London. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "The TENDAI Study". King's College London. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "The TENDAI Study - Task shifting to treat depression and HIV medication nonadherence in low resource settings". Centre for Global Mental Health. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  15. ↑ "Preventing AIDS by lifting mood". King's College London. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  16. ↑ Rosenberg, Tina (30 April 2019). "Busting the myth that depression doesn't affect people in poor countries". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "New Director of the King's Global Health Institute Announced". King's College London. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "AMARI-II: African Mental Health Research Initiative". King's College London. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "Researcher capacity building: Supporting the career development of emerging research leaders in Africa". 2022.
  20. ↑ "Abas, Syed Jan". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.