Mental health inspires student to carry out innovative study
An MSc Diagnostic Radiography student has been reflecting on his passion for psychology and research.
Nima Sherpa got the opportunity to present at a British Association for Psychopharmacy event in July, where he shared his findings on the impact of creatine on depression.
GCU marks the latest chapter in Nima’s career journey, with his degree allowing him to develop his knowledge and understanding of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
We sat down with Nima to find out more:
How did you come to study at GCU?
“I completed my Undergraduate and Masters in Psychology back in India, where I’m from. The reason I studied Psychology was because of the mental health struggles I saw within my family. It really intrigued me.
“After doing my Undergraduate over three years, I then did a year-long placement at All India Institute of Medical Sciences. I was based there as an Assistant Psychologist, working as a research assistant for a Consultant Psychologist. It really helped me and made me realise that I wanted to do Psychology full time – I was hooked.
“I then did a two-year Masters in Applied Psychology, and that’s where I stumbled upon creatine, which is used by athletes, MMA players, rugby players. I was interested to see if this nutraceutical product had an anti-depressant effect. The overall trial I was involved in carrying out should have went better, but it did show positive results and the whole thing opened new avenues for me.”
An MSc in Diagnostic Radiography at GCU seems to be quite different to Psychology, how did that all come about?
“It all started when I was doing my previous Masters dissertation. One of the most frequently used methods to study mental health now is through MRI scans in research settings. My dissertation looked at how everyone’s brain is different structurally and the impact damage to these structures can have.
“Different areas of the brain use blood to work and blood contains oxygen. If a person is depressed then the area of the brain which is affected by depression would not be working properly. Functional MRIs help show that the area does not have as much blood as it should. My work on that obviously had a clear link to radiography, so that was how I found myself at GCU – and I’ve never been happier!”
How much have you enjoyed your time at GCU so far?
“This has definitely been the best experience of studying that I have ever had. The University is nicely set-up - everything runs very smoothly. If you’re an international student then you don’t have to run around from department to department - everything is clearly signposted. If one person can’t help you then they will point you in the direction of someone who can. That makes everything so much easier for me.
“The international community here is very good as well. Everyone is very proactive to promote themselves, for example at Freshers’ Fayre each year where the different societies have their stalls. I’ve made very good friends through coming to GCU, and it has really helped me a lot.”
“The course itself has been intense because it’s a pre-registration degree, which means you have four years of Undergraduate teaching condensed into a two-year Masters. I must say, my lecturers have been very helpful - they’ve always supported me to attend conferences and seminars. My module lead is Karen Brogan and she’s done a lot of MRI work throughout her career, so she’s an amazing contact to have.”
Tell me a bit about the opportunity to get involved in the British Association for Psychopharmacy (BAP) event earlier this year?
“I won the George & Dorothy Irving Magnusson Award at the start of 2024. This allowed me to go to the University of Oxford to train in a methodology called ‘Evidence Synthesis’. This basically looked at how there are multiple medicines for different diseases. For example with depression there are 21 anti-depressants available, so how does one doctor know what to give – especially considering the different side effects? Network Meta Analysis makes it simpler for the doctor or psychiatrist to prescribe you something based on different factors like your age and sex. I wanted to learn this and Oxford is the only place that offers it in-person. I spent three days there all thanks to the Magnusson Award.
“While I was there, I met a few researchers who had a similar interest to me. They had a really impressive knowledge around pharmacology and mental health. My conversations with them allowed me to hear about their association with the British Association for Psychopharmacy. Their conferences basically focus between Psychology and Pharmacology, so you see a lot of Psychologists who want to investigate different compounds and their impact on psychology. That was how I came to hear about it and I was lucky enough to be offered the chance to present a poster. The topic of both the poster and my talk was my previous Masters dissertation, so I obviously already had a good understanding of what I was going to say.”
What was it that made you focus your research on creatine in the first place?
“Creatine, in very simple terms, holds water and in turn gives you more strength. As far as I’m aware, it first became popular during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The talk back then was that it was a steroid and should be banned. After years of research, it’s been shown to be safe. The only real side effect is possible impact on your kidneys, but that can be avoided by drinking two to three litres of water along with a balanced diet.
“It’s also very good for small micro TBIs (Traumatic Brain Injuries) which can occur during the likes of football and rugby. If you play these sports for a long period of time then this can lead to a clinical result or some sort of disease, but creatine also helps you fight that.
“The research team I worked with were the first group to show that creatine actually has anti-depressant effects. This follows on from the fact that a lot of medicines used in psychiatry were initially developed for something completely different.”
Was it difficult for you to narrow down such a broad topic to a presentation and poster?“It was at first but this was the third time I’d gone to a conference. The first time was the NHS Scotland’s annual mental health conference where I presented some findings from this trial for the first time. I also got an opportunity to present online in Germany with Max Planck Institute and then presented in Edinburgh at another conference.
“The short oral talk I gave in Birmingham was probably in front of 80 people and then the poster there was probably around 100 people walking around looking at my work. I felt I covered everything that I wanted to share and got across the main point that creatine can positively impact mental health.”
“I was also very blessed to see the work of other researchers while I was there in Birmingham. The beauty of BAP is that it’s held over three days. Most conferences are one day and things can feel very busy. BAP was very relaxed and you have the chance to meet different people and build a rapport.
“I came across three or four researchers who were doing amazing work around mental health. They all made the effort to teach me about their work, which definitely further motivated me.”
Are you looking to further develop your work around creatine in future?
“I previously focused on clinical trials with my work but now I would like to use more brain imaging scans and apply more of the knowledge learned throughout my time here at GCU. It would be great to see if the results are also shown on scans because our outcomes previously have been measured through questionnaires with the patients.
“I think this is a really important step for the study and will show in greater detail the impact creatine can have. I would love to go on and complete a PHD looking at this through the use of MRI.
“I’ve also started working with one of the boards of the Society of Radiographers to help with my Continue Professional Development (CPD). I’m hoping to put forward some imaging studies focusing on mental health so that other radiographers can learn a bit more about that side of the profession.”
Find out more about GCU’s MSc in Diagnostic Radiography
By Ross Clark
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter