About ABH-GMU

The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (ABH-GMU) stands as China’s first psychiatric hospital, founded in 1898 by John Kerr (an American physician). With unremitting efforts for more than a century, the hospital has developed into a modern research‑oriented psychiatric institution. Composed of the Fangcun Headquarters, Baiyun Campus, Liwan Outpatient Department, and the Brain Science Research and Teaching Center, the hospital shoulders responsibility for the medical treatment, education, scientific research, prevention, and rehabilitation of mental and psychological disorders across South China. The hospital hosts three National Key Clinical Specialties accredited by the National Health Commission (Psychiatry, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Emergency Medicine), and serves as the supporting unit for both the Guangdong Provincial and Guangzhou Mental Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Quality Control Centers. Designated as the Guangzhou Mental Health Center, the hospital functions as the leading technical guidance body for mental health services in Guangzhou and the diagnosis and treatment hub for complex and severe mental and neurological disorders in South China.

Housing 33 clinical departments, 6 medical technology departments, and 1920 inpatient beds, the hospital has developed a multi‑disciplinary “physical and mental co‑treatment” model. It established China’s first Rapid‑Acting Antidepressant Center, and its Alzheimer’s plasma p‑tau217 test—with 96% accuracy—holds international certification. The hospital also innovatively applies EEG biofeedback‑based sleep recognition and intervention, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) neuromodulation, and Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) in treating refractory mental illnesses. Serving the Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area and international patients, the hospital records an annual outpatient volume of over 900,000.

A comprehensive psychiatric talent training system is in place, covering undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, postgraduate, and postdoctoral education. The hospital houses the Mental Health Institute of Guangzhou Medical University, a National Postdoctoral Research Station, and one of China’s first national key training bases for psychiatric resident doctors, which has cultivated and dispatched nearly 400 psychiatrists to various regions in the past three years. In 2024, its psychiatry program ranked 3rd in the ShanghaiRanking “Best Chinese Subjects Ranking”, and its Psychiatry and Psychology discipline has remained in the global top 1% of ESI rankings.

The hospital acts as the South China Branch of the National Clinical Research Centre for Mental Disorders, the National Advanced Center for Cognitive Disorders, and a National Drug Clinical Trial Institution. It also hosts the Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Translational Medicine of Mental Disorders, the Key Laboratory of Sleep and Biological Rhythms of Guangdong Province, and the Guangzhou Municipal Psychiatric Disease Clinical Transformation Laboratory.

The hospital currently owns 3 national-level leading talents and over 60 provincial and municipal high-level talents. In the past three years, it has undertaken over 270 scientific research projects, including 22 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects and 1 project of the National Key Research and Development Program of China. The hospital has published over 360 original research publications in globally recognized academic journals, including JACC, Nature Human Behaviour, and Alzheimer's Dement, and won a second-prize Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Awards. Additionally, it has formulated more than 20 national and provincial guidelines either as the leader or a participant.

With expanding influence, the hospital continues to drive the construction of Guangzhou’s social psychological service system and contributes to formulating the nation’s first local mental health regulation for primary/secondary students. It launched the "Mingxin 36" mini-program for online psychological counseling and a 24-hour free psychological crisis intervention hotline, which has received over 320,000 calls and ranked among the busiest in China.

The hospital has provided psychological support for major emergencies, medical support for the 15th National Games and the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games, and trained national-level health science popularization experts. Its multi-channel health science campaigns have gained over 15 million clicks, covering more than 8 million people.

Guided by its motto “Sincerity, Generosity, Caring and Love”, the hospital will keep on forging a major specialization in brain disease with refined general disciplines and striving to build an innovative mental health hub that leads in South China and extends its influence across Southeast Asia.

For more information on The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, please visit the website at https://www.gzbrain.cn/academicjournal/list.html