Launch: Building a healthier future for all Australians through PREMISE Next Generation

Capacity for greater research impact and a better future for youth mental health kicked-off in Sydney in February with the first Investigator meeting of the PREMISE Next Generation NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence (CRE).  

Changing trends in youth mental ill-health and substance use call for urgent new approaches to prevention.   

The Prevention and Early Intervention in Mental Illness and Substance Use (PREMISE Next Generation) CRE is Co-Directed by Professors Tim Slade, Nicola Newton and Cath Chapman, with leadership in policy translation from Professor Maree Teesson.  

Hosted by the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of Sydney, the CRE will identify new risk and protective factors  and develop new interventions to prevent the leading causes of disease burden in young Australians.

PREMISE Next Generation brings domestic and international leaders in youth mental health and substance use research, together with Australia’s largest group of health economists dedicated to mental health to meet significant new challenges in the prevention of mental health and substance use disorders.  

“Through the PREMISE Next Generation CRE we will work collaboratively to drive policy and practice reforms that address emerging trends, generate evidence about new risk and protective targets and critically reflect priorities identified by young people​”, says Professor Slade. 

The meeting heard from domestic and international leaders in mental health and substance use research and youth and lived experience partners as it sets targets for the coming five years.  

By collaborating with international experts from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and McMaster University, PREMISE Next Generation will bridge international gaps in research and bring a collective force to prevention for mental health and substance use disorders.  

“PREMISE Next Generation will provide a platform for researchers currently working in diagnostic and expertise silos to jointly develop, evaluate, and translate innovative interventions across early adolescence and into young adulthood,” says Professor Newton.  

“A particular focus for the PREMISE Next Generation CRE is supporting early- and mid-career researchers, youth, and people with lived experience to ensure that this innovation can be sustained into the future​,” says Professor Chapman.  

PREMISE Next Generation is funded by the NHMRC until 2030.