Dr Muzaffer Kaser

Muzaffer is an Official Fellow, elected in 2025. He is an Affiliated Assistant Professor at the University's Department of Psychiatry and a Consultant Psychiatrist at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. He was elected as a Fellow of Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2025.

Biography

Having qualified in medicine in Istanbul, Muzaffer trained in psychiatry in Istanbul and in Cambridge. He specialises in general adult psychiatry and liaison psychiatry. He did his MPhil in Translational Medicine and his PhD at the University of Cambridge where he also has worked as clinical lecturer in psychiatry. In his clinical role, he leads the Staff Mental Health Service, an innovative service providing rapid access mental health care for healthcare workers across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. He leads and collaborates in research studies within the Department of Psychiatry. He was a Bye–Fellow at Emma between 2022 and 2025. As part of his Fellowship, he serves as the professional advisor to tutors regarding mental health and welfare matters. This is a unique role that was introduced by Emmanuel College as part of the tutorial and welfare offer that the college provides. He is the Mental Health Specialty Lead in East of England for the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Research Delivery Network. Nationally, Muzaffer serves on the executive committee of the Occupational Psychiatry Special Interest Group and on the Wellbeing Committee at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. In 2025, he was awarded a National Clinical Impact Award.

Teaching

Muzaffer supervises Neurobiology of Human Behaviour module for our pre–clinical students. He also has extensive experience in clinical teaching and continues to teach clinical students in their psychiatry placements. He introduced a novel teaching session during clinical placements where the students hear directly from people with lived experience and discuss various aspects of mental health conditions. The module has since been adopted across all clinical students in Cambridge. He is an examiner for the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ MRCPsych CASC (Clinical Assessment of Skills and Competencies) examination, and has completed formal teaching training through the Integrated Foundations of Medical Education programme.

Research

Muzaffer leads the research into workplace mental health with a particular focus on healthcare workers. One key area involves health economics, using modelling approaches to evaluate service effectiveness, affordability, and value for money. This work aims to inform future policy and development of rapid access mental health service for healthcare staff.

His second major research area focuses on cognitive impairments in mental health conditions. Memory and concentration difficulties are common in depression and significantly impact daily functioning, yet current treatments often fail to address these problems. Muzaffer’s research investigates the underlying mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in depression and seeks to identify new treatment approaches.