Professor Joyce succeeds Professor Nusrat Husain, who has served in the same role for the past two years.

In his new position, Professor Joyce aims to create a dynamic and inclusive research environment that nurtures creativity, fosters inter-disciplinary collaboration, and drives scientific breakthroughs.

He will be exploring two work streams from the Mental Health Research and Innovation Centre (M-RIC) - Mental Health Avatar and Mood Disorder Care Innovations.

A consultant psychiatrist, Professor Joyce currently works for Mersey Care and the University of Liverpool as the chair of Connected Mental Health within M-RIC. Prior to that he worked at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust as a consultant psychiatrist in Early Intervention for Psychosis and as a senior clinical research fellow at the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry.

Professor Hussain will continue to lead Mersey Care's Global Centre for Research on Mental Health Inequalities, which brings together academics, clinical practitioners, patients, carers, and the wider public from different research disciplines and global regions to advance research and learning to address mental health inequalities.

Professor Joyce said: ‘I'm passionate about the role of research in the development of healthcare and improving outcomes for all patients in all different communities.

‘I want to build on the work of Professor Hussain and develop Mersey Care's Research and Innovation team to reach new heights, contributing to significant advancements in our field.'

Dr Noir Thomas, Mersey Care's chief medical officer, added: ‘Professor Hussain has done a great job for the last two years in guiding our research and innovation and we are delighted he is continuing with his work on the Global Centre for Research on Mental Health Equalities.

‘His replacement, Professor Joyce, is already well known to Mersey Care in his work with M-RIC and I'm sure that experience will enable a smooth transition and bright future as we continue to establish Mersey Care as one of the most respected mental health research centres in the country.'

Professor Joyce will begin his new role on 1 December.