A national effort to transform research into severe mental illness has taken a significant step forward with the launch of the SMILE BioResource, a new UK-wide initiative designed to deepen scientific understanding of psychosis and related conditions.
The programme is led by the NIHR BioResource in partnership with the University of Oxford and forms part of a broader push across Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust to accelerate mental health research and improve patient outcomes.
SMILE BioResource is building a re-contactable cohort of volunteers living with severe mental illnesses.
The aim is to recruit up to 2,000 participants aged 16 and over from across the UK, each of whom will provide a small blood or saliva sample and consent to be invited to future research studies that match their health profile.
By linking biological information with clinical data, researchers hope to uncover the causes of severe mental illness and identify new routes to treatment.
The initiative sits alongside the Early Intervention Mission, a UK-wide cohort focused on first episode psychosis. Together, the two programmes are intended to create a more complete picture of psychosis across its stages, from early onset to long-term experience.
Oxford Health describes the dual launch as a major milestone in its national Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration Mission, which aims to bring together researchers, clinicians, industry partners and people with lived experience to accelerate progress in mental health science.
Professor Rachel Upthegrove, Chief Investigator of the NIHR SMILE BioResource, said:
"We are delighted to announce the opening of the NIHR SMILE BioResource. This project represents a meaningful step forward in our efforts to improve understanding of severe mental illness and has the potential to inform future discoveries for many years to come,
“The study has been carefully designed in collaboration with experts by experience and public contributors, and we are grateful to everyone involved in bringing it to life.
"We look forward to the insights and impact that the severe mental illness longitudinal evaluation study will generate."
A key feature of the SMILE BioResource is its emphasis on patient involvement. A dedicated patient and public involvement panel has helped shape the study design and reviewed participant-facing materials to ensure the language is accessible and the research reflects the priorities of those most affected by severe mental illness.
John Laftah, a member of the participant panel helping to shape the SMILE programme, said:
“Through SMILE, I learned to smile, embracing unconditional self-acceptance and the value of my lived experience of psychosis.”
This approach aligns with Oxford Health’s wider commitment to strengthen public involvement across its research infrastructure, including through groups such as ENGAGE, which codesign materials and support accessibility audits.
The launch comes during a period of rapid growth for research at Oxford Health. In 2025, the Trust reported strong recruitment across major national trials, faster study start-up times, and new investment to improve engagement with underserved communities.
The NIHR Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility was recognised as one of Europe’s leading sites for complex mental health trials, while the Biomedical Research Centre supported advances in dementia prevention, digital therapies for childhood anxiety, and inclusive mental health care initiatives such as Oxford’s first Neurodiversity Conference.
The SMILE BioResource is expected to play a central role in allowing ethically approved researchers to access de-identified samples and data, helping to drive discoveries in genetics, treatment response and long-term outcomes in severe mental illness.
The SMILE team emphasises that the success of the programme depends on partnership with participants. By contributing a sample and sharing their experiences, participants help build a resource that could shape mental health care for years to come.
Our Director, Prof. Nathalie Kingston, said:
“We’re thrilled to launch our newest cohort that will support this critical need in mental health research
“Working with dedicated researchers and thousands of generous participants has already made an impact on mental health care, and we look forward to continuing this work together.”
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