Despite the many challenges presented by 2020, it has been another successful year for PREMISE. We have trained future leaders though our PhD scholarships, Career Development and Seed Funding support schemes, and have provided valuable opportunities for collaboration across institutions and involvement of Associate Investigators though the Health Economic Modelling, Data Harmonisation and the Trajectory, Taxonomy and Typology (TTT) groups.
PREMISE partnered with the Matilda Centre and the Australian National University to responded to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic through the Research Tracker and Facilitator for Assessment of COVID-19 Experiences and Mental Health. This open science initiative aims to track research being undertaken on COVID-19 and mental health by Australian researchers and to provide a platform to facilitate collaboration and encourage open science.
We have brought together key stakeholders to shape national policy through the Leaders in Prevention Summit. This landmark national event was convened through a partnership between the Black Dog Institute, Everymind, the Matilda Centre, and The Prevention Hub and PREMISE. Delegates of the Summit, including government representatives, advocacy groups, people with lived experience, researchers, funding partners, and other key stakeholders came together in a united effort to shape research and implementation priorities to reduce the health, social and economic costs of anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders. Outcomes from the Summit have laid the foundations for a paper that will draw upon priorities identified by the delegates.
Through the PREMISE Youth Advisory Board and Consumer Research Group, the expertise and experiences of people with lived-experience have been central to the success of our work. The Youth Advisory Board have developed a set of principles for youth focussed mental health and substance use research to guide and inspire our work, and the YAB have contributed to national initiatives through participation in the organisation and presentations at the Leaders in Prevention Summit and the #youthgotthis Youth Mental Health forum.
PREMISE early and mid-career researchers, Dr Milena Heinsch, Dr Long Le, Dr Jennifer Nicholas and Dr Matthew Sunderland, Chief and Associate Investigators have continued to each lead innovative and exciting prevention and early intervention research for substance use and mental disorders. We look forward to continuing this work with them into 2021.
