University of Sydney researchers lead annual mental health conference

For long-term innovations in mental health research, researchers, people with lived experience, carers and people working in the mental health sector need to come together to share ideas.

The Society for Mental Health Research (SMHR) conference is an annual event held across Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand designed to do just that.

With the conference recently held in Sydney, Australia, the Matilda Centre was proud to co-convene the 2024 event with Inside Out Institute and Black Dog Institute. Held over three days in November, the event brought together leading experts to cultivate new research ideas and opportunities in mental health and substance use.

As leaders in this space, the Matilda Centre had a large presence over the three days, with more than 40 presentations, posters and symposia on the relationship between mental health and substance use.

Check out the Matilda Centre highlights.

Matilda Centre Director of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Professor Tim Slade was announced as the 2024 recipient of the SMHR Founders Medal.

This prestigious award is named in honour of the four founders of the Society for Mental Health Research and is awarded to people who have made a significant contribution to psychiatric research.

Upon receiving the Founders Medal, Professor Tim Slade shared an overview of his research in the epidemiology of mental health and substance use in Australia.  

Two other Matilda Centre researchers were recognised for their significant contributions to mental health research at the SMHR Conference 2024.

Dr Marlee Bower was presented with the Professor Helen Herrman Award for Social Mental Health for her work in homelessness, incarceration, housing and the interactions between loneliness and mental health.

Professor Nicola Newton was awarded the Australian Rotary Health Mental Health ‘Impact’ Award 2024 on behalf of the OurFutures research team in recognition of innovation in implementation of their research into real world settings.  

More than 30 Matildas joined the program over three days to present on research topics across mental health and substance use.

Youth lived experience and leadership and was highlighted within the presentations, including research presented by Matilda Centre Youth Advisory Board Member Smrithi Ravinda with Matilda Centre researcher Kate Ross on the Youth Priorities Project. Four members of the Youth Mental Health Advisory Team joined Dr Marlee Bower to share the development of guidelines on mentally healthy youth participation and engagement in activities from youth advisory boards to activism.  

From our Matilda Centre researchers, presentations included the parental impacts on alcohol use, the impact of social media on young people, new methods for measuring substance use in research, among many others.

Poster presentations give a unique chance for a person to share their research where others can ask questions directly and engage in a conversation about the topic with the information directly in front of them.

At SMHR 2024, the Matilda Centre was proud to present more than 10 posters across the three days, giving people ample opportunity to learn more about topics such as the impact of nutrition on mental health, Meta advertising, and the relationship between social connection and mental health.

The Matilda Centre was thrilled to put on a successful 2024 SMHR conference in partnership with InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders and Black Dog Institute, and look forward to seeing the 2025 Conference in Brisbane next year. A huge thank you to Dr Louise Thornton, Dr Gemma Sicouri and Dr Kristi Griffiths for their work running the 2024 Conference.