Ebenezer Oloyede

Ebenezer Oloyede’s motivation for research started with a desire to see things change. Specialising in first-episode psychosis, he has been made all too aware of the life-changing impact conditions such as treatment-resistant schizophrenia have on individuals and their families, as well as the important role pharmacy plays in optimising their treatment. 

“I noticed from my clinical work that many patients were having treatment discontinued unnecessarily or there was a reluctance to initiate treatment,” he explains. “I realised there is only so much you can do to change things in a ward round and that if you want to make changes that can benefit the whole population, research is essential.”

He also describes the deep-rooted problems and health inequalities that impact mental health care, including stigma around treatment of psychosis, the overrepresentation of patients from minority ethnic backgrounds, a lack of awareness of the potential for recovery and improvement, as well as the need to promote parity of esteem between physical and mental health. 

After qualifying in 2018, Ebenezer is two years into a PhD that he is completing part time, alongside his role as principal pharmacist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He has already contributed to 25 publications, including 10 as first author. 

While much of Ebenezer’s research has derived from cohort studies and large datasets, it is his knowledge of the impact on individuals that drives him. 

“You can imagine if you have a family member who has been responding well to treatment and it’s been life changing, getting them back on track living a full life, and then they are told abruptly that their treatment is being stopped due to the potential risk of a haematological event, it can very traumatic and even life changing for them, leaving them with feelings of abandonment and anxiety for the future,” he says. 

He is also working on developing a national service, looking at how clinicians should respond to monitoring results to ensure that discontinuation decisions are optimised, with full consideration given to the potential impact that a decision to stop treatment might have.

Ebenezer is making a rapidly growing contribution to his field. He is an honorary lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London and his expertise is being recognised widely, having been invited to contribute to the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines and to develop e-learning and training resources. 

Ebenezer has the following words of advice for anyone in the early stages of their pharmacy career, who may be looking for ways to get into research: 

“Be open minded and look for any opportunities to get involved. It’s also important to know your ‘why’. Why is it that you want to research a particular topic? Why does it need to improve? Why is this an important question that can benefit patients and improve outcomes?” 

Publications

Egerton A, Griffiths K, Casetta C et al. Anterior cingulate glutamate metabolites as a predictor of antipsychotic response in first episode psychosis: data from the STRATA collaboration. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2022;1-9. doi: 10.1038/s41386-022-01508-w

Oloyede E, Blackman G, Whiskey E et al. Clozapine haematological monitoring for neutropenia: a global perspective. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 2022;31,e83. doi: 10.1017/S204579602200066X

Millgate E, Griffiths K, Egerton A et al. Cognitive function and treatment response trajectories in first-episode schizophrenia: evidence from a prospective cohort study. BMJ Open, 2022;12(11) e062570. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062570

Sarker F, Plant E, Oloyede E et al. Successful rechallenge following clozapine-induced adverse cutaneous reaction. Psychiatry Research Case Reports 2022;1(2)100042. doi: 10.1016/j.psycr.2022.100042

Parkes S, Mantell B, Oloyede E et al. Patients’ experiences of clozapine for treatment-resistant schizophrenia: a systematic review. Schizophrenia Bulletin Open, 2022;3(1)sgac042. doi: 10.1093/schizbullopen/sgac042

Redaelli S, Porffy L, Oloyede E et al. Vortioxetine as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology 2022;12:20451253221110014. doi: 10.1177/20451253221110014

Oloyede E, Whiskey E, Casetta, C et al. Relaxation of the criteria for entry to the UK Clozapine Central Non-Rechallenge Database: a modelling study. The Lancet Psychiatry 2022;9(8)636-644. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00188-2

Livermore C, White H, Bailey L et al. A retrospective case notes review of the effectiveness and tolerability of metoclopramide in the treatment of clozapine-induced hypersalivation (CIH). BMC Psychiatry 22(1)1-6. doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-03940-0

Govind R, Jewell A, Gee S et al. Frequency of neutropenia over time in patients on clozapine. medRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2022.01.25.22269860

Oloyede E, Clark I, Mace S et al. Clozapine augmentation with cariprazine for negative symptoms: a case series and literature review. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology 2022;12: 20451253211066642. doi: 0.1177/20451253211066642

Mace S, Dzahini O, Cornelius V et al. Incident infection during the first year of treatment–A comparison of clozapine and paliperidone palmitate long-acting injection. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2020;36(2)232-237. doi: 10.1177/02698811211058973

Dunnett D, Oloyede E, Oduniyi O et al. Evaluation of the effectiveness and acceptability of the long-acting oral antipsychotic penfluridol: illustrative case series. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2020;36(2), 223-231. doi: 10.1177/02698811211050561

Blackman G, Oloyede E, Horowitz M et al. Reducing the Risk of Withdrawal Symptoms and Relapse Following Clozapine Discontinuation — is It Feasible to Develop Evidence-Based Guidelines?. Schizophrenia Bulletin 48(1)176-189. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbab103

Oloyede E, Dzahini O, Barnes N et al. Benign ethnic neutropenia: an analysis of prevalence, timing and identification accuracy in two large inner-city NHS hospitals. BMC Psychiatry 2021;21(1)1-11. doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03514-6

Blackman G & Oloyede E. Clozapine discontinuation withdrawal symptoms in schizophrenia. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology 2021;11:20451253211032053. doi: 10.1177/20451253211032053

Segev A, Iqbal E, McDonagh TA et al. Clozapine-induced myocarditis: electronic health register analysis of incidence, timing, clinical markers and diagnostic accuracy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 2021;219(6),644-651. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2021.58

Oloyede E, Casetta C, Dzahini O et al. There is life after the UK clozapine central non-rechallenge database. Schizophrenia Bulletin 2021;47.4:1088-1098. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbab006

Whiskey E, Barnard A, Oloyede, E et al. An evaluation of the variation and underuse of clozapine in the United Kingdom. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 2021;143(4),339-347. doi: 10.1111/acps.13280

Casetta C, Gaughran F, Oloyede E et al. Real-world effectiveness of admissions to a tertiary treatment-resistant psychosis service: 2-year mirror-image study. BJPsych Open 2020;6(5). doi: 10.1192/bjo.2020.51

Casetta C, Oloyede E, Whiskey E et al. A retrospective study of intramuscular clozapine prescription for treatment initiation and maintenance in treatment-resistant psychosis. The British Journal of Psychiatry 2020;217(3),506-513. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2020.115

Oloyede E, Dzahini O, Whiskey E et al. Clozapine and norclozapine plasma levels in patients switched between different liquid formulations. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring 2020;42(3),491-496. doi: 10.1097/FTD.0000000000000711