Sir Robin MacGregor Murray (born 1944) is Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London, United Kingdom.. He also sees patients with schizophrenia and bipolar illness at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. He is originally from Glasgow.

He is part of The Psychosis Research Group, one of the largest outside the USA. It uses a range of methods to improve understanding and treatment of psychotic illnesses

Psychosis

Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...

, particularly schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...

. For the 1997-2007 decade Murray was ranked 8th most influential researcher in psychiatry by Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters Corporation is a provider of information for the world's businesses and professionals and is created by the Thomson Corporation's purchase of Reuters Group on 17 April 2008. Thomson Reuters is headquartered at 3 Times Square, New York City, USA...

' Science Watch,Scientist Rankings in Psychiatry/Psychology and 3rd in schizophrenia research.Profile in Science Watch and interview with Murray

In 1994 he was the President of the European Association of Psychiatrists; now the European Psychiatric Association. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society

Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

 and also a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists

Royal College of Psychiatrists

The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom responsible for representing psychiatrists, psychiatric research and providing public information about mental health problems...

. Murray is one of two Editors of Psychological Medicine

Psychological Medicine

Psychological Medicine is a peer-reviewed medical journal in the field of psychiatry and related aspects of psychology and basic sciences. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2010 impact factor of 5.200, ranking 6th out of 73 journals in the category "Psychology", 11th out...

.

In 2009 Murray had a public disagreement with David Nutt

David Nutt

David John Nutt is a British psychiatrist and neuropsychopharmacologist specialising in the research of drugs that affect the brain and conditions such as addiction, anxiety and sleep. He was until 2009 a professor at the University of Bristol heading their Psychopharmacology Unit...

 in the pages of The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

about the dangers of cannabis

Cannabis

Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...

 in triggering psychosis

Psychosis

Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...

. Murray previously wrote that while the risk increase is "about five-fold [...] for the heaviest users", the issue has become political football

Political football

A political football is a political topic or issue that is continually debated but left unresolved. The term is used often during a political election campaign to highlight issues that have not been completely addressed, such as the natural environment and abortion.There are many reasons that an...

. Murray has commented repeatedly on these issues in BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 articles and programmes,Cannabis 'disrupts brain centre'. Scientists have shown how cannabis may trigger psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia including in the Panorama

Panorama (TV series)

Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...

 documentary on BBC One

BBC One

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

. He has also been critical of the proposed use of cannabis for its anti-depressive effects as a "very big leap of faith" based solely on preclinical data.

Murray was knighted

Knight Bachelor

The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to medicine.

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