Barbara J. Sahakian

Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology · University of Cambridge · company speakers →

Professor Barbara J Sahakian is based at the University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute. Sahakian is also an Honorary Clinical Psychologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2024, she was awarded a CBE by His Majesty King Charles III for Services to Research in Human Cognitive Processes. She was a Member of the International Expert Jury for the 2017 Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung Prize. She is a Past President of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) and of the International Neuroethics Society. In 2010 she received the Senior Investigator Award from the International College of Geriatric Psychoneuropharmacology, in 2016 she received the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology Ethics Prize and in 2021 she received the BAP Lifetime Achievement Award. According to Research.com she is one of the very top researchers worldwide in the fields of neuroscience and psychology. Sahakian has an international reputation in the fields of psychopharmacology, neuropsychology, neuropsychiatry, neuroimaging and neuroethics. She is best known for her work on problems of cognition and motivation in brain injury, ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ cognitive deficits in depression and early detection and early treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors in Alzheimer’s disease. She has published on cognitive reserve and resilience across the lifespan. She has over 600 publications in high impact scientific journals. Google Scholar credits her with a Hirsch (h) index of 173 and an i10-index of 592. Sahakian co-invented the neuropsychological CANTAB, which is now used in over 1000 institutes, universities and hospitals in over 100 countries, and EMOTICOM tests ( www.cambridgecognition.com ) as well as the University of Cambridge/PEAK Advanced Training Programme and the Wizard Apprentice Memory Game ( www.peak.net ). Sahakian has contributed to Neuroscience and Mental Health Policy, including the UK Government Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing (Beddington et al., 2008, Nature), the Strategy for Mental Health for the Medical Research Council (Sahakian et al., 2010, The Lancet) and the Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health (Collins et al., 2011, Nature). She was a member of the Institute of Medicine Planning Committee (USA) on Enabling Discovery, Development, and Translation of Treatments for Cognitive Dysfunction in Depression. She was on the Committee for the Strategy for Neuroscience and Mental Health for the Department of Health. In March 2017, she participated in the Global Council on Brain Health meeting in Washington, DC. She has spoken at the World Economic Forum, Davos, 2014 and is a member of the WEF on the Future of Neurotechnologies and Brain Science. She was also on the Clinical Advisory Board of the Human Brain Project. She was a member of the Wellcome Trust Science Innovation Translation Programme Advisory Group, and the Wellcome’s Innovator Awards Advisory Group. She was recently the Academic Committee Member for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidelines on "Harmful Gambling: Identification, Assessment and Management", published in 2025. She was a member of the Irish ResearchCouncil Laureate Awards Committee. She is the co-author of the books Bad Moves: How decision-making goes wrong and the ethics of smart drugs (2013); Sex, Lies & Brain Scans: How fMRI reveals what really goes on in our minds (2017) which was been awarded the British Psychological Society Popular Science Award and Brain Boost: Healthy habits for a happier life (2025). She regularly writes public articles for The Conversation and received the 2023 Sir Paul Curren Award in recognition. She has been a witness for the House of Lords Select Committee's Report on Science, Technology and Healthy Living ( https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5801/ldselect/ldsctech/183/18313.htm#_idTextAnchor166 ). She has published on the effects of COVID-19 on the brain, cognition, mental health and wellbeing in scientific and popular journals.

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