Jim van Os, MD PhD, is Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology at the University Medical Centre Utrecht and Visiting Professor at King’s College in London. He is known for his work on how to conceptualize mental suffering in a way that is both scientifically grounded but also acceptable and helpful for users; as well as for concepts of mental health care that also address social and existential needs. The User Research Centre he founded promotes research conducted by people with lived experience, thus producing knowledge for innovative approaches in psychiatry. For his work, he has received several awards: in 2023, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Schizophrenia International Research Society. In 2016, he was appointed Fellow of King’s College London, and since 2014, he has been listed in the Thomson-Reuters Web of Science list of the “World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.”