Hilmar Luckhoff

I am an LGBTQ clinician-researcher with a lived experience of psychosis, bringing a rare insider perspective to my studies of mental health and schizophrenia through a minority stress framework.

I hold an MBChB (2012), an HonsBSc (Pathology) cum laude (2013), an MPath cum laude (2016), and a PhD in Psychiatry (2021) from Stellenbosch University (SU), with my doctoral research focusing on metabolic syndrome and outcomes in first-episode psychosis.

I have served as a full-time researcher at the SU Psychosis Research Programme (Department of Psychiatry) since 2017, developing an interdisciplinary portfolio that bridges clinical medicine, pathology, and psychiatry. My work spans clinical, genetic, metabolic, and social domains, including the employment of experimental, VR-based, and qualitative approaches to investigate relapse risk, stress reactivity, and social disconnectedness in schizophrenia. In particular, I am recognized for having advanced globally pioneering research into the intersections of sexual and gender identities, psychosis, and psychiatric outcomes as an area that is critically underexplored in low- and middle-income contexts.

With 42 publications, including an impressive 20 as first author, I am internationally recognized for my academic rigor, scientific innovation, and cultural relevance. My research has reshaped our fundamental understanding of how marginalized identities influence illness trajectories and treatment outcomes, while also advancing knowledge on biological and clinical mechanisms underpinning serious mental illness.

I have secured competitive national and international funding, cultivated global collaborations, and received multiple prestigious accolades, including the highly coveted SUDVC Research and Innovation Excellence Award: Best Early Career Researcher (2025), as well as the Biological Psychiatry Rising Star Award (2023), the HW Truter PrestigeScholarship for Studies in Psychiatry (2020), SU’s Department of Psychiatry Best EarlyCareer Researcher Award (2022), as well as the Rector and Faculty Awards for ResearchExcellence (Structured Master’s Thesis) (2016).

My overarching goal is to advance inclusive, identity-sensitive mental healthcare through rigorous research, mentorship, and knowledge translation. By foregrounding the lived realities of marginalized groups within psychiatry, I aim to establish myself as a leader in sexual health, mental wellness, and psychiatric research: building bridges between science, clinical care, and social justice, both in South Africa and abroad.