Barbara Sahakian

Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian DSc FMedSci is Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Research Council (MRC)/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge. She is also an Honorary Clinical Psychologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. She has an international reputation in the fields of cognitive psychopharmacology, neuroethics, neuropsychology, neuropsychiatry and neuroimaging.

Professor Sahakian is a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge. She is currently President of the International Neuroethics Society (INS), of which she is a founder member. She is Past-President of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP), having served as President from 2012 to 2014.

Sahakian completed her PhD in Psychopharmacology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. Following this, Sahakian studied for a Diploma in Clinical Psychology and became a Chartered Psychologist.

Sahakian is best known for her work on cognitive enhancement using pharmacological treatments, early detection of Alzheimer's disease, cognition and depression and neuroethics. Sahakian's research is aimed at understanding the neural basis of cognitive, emotional and behavioural dysfunction to develop more effective pharmacological and psychological treatments. The focus of her lab is on early detection of neuropsychiatric disorders, differential diagnosis and proof of concept studies using cognitive enhancing drugs and cognitive training.