This project will examine 20-year suicide rates and risk factors among young adults enrolled in tertiary education in Australia. Using secondary analysis of data from the National Coronial Information System, the research will quantify how many young people at university die by suicide each year, identify trends in suicide deaths over time, and examine which young people are most at risk.

This project will fill a notable gap for a cross-disciplinary systematic review to identify and synthesise the mechanisms linking ecological biodiversity to adolescent mental health, utilising youth participatory action research to do so. Funding for this project will support consultation with youth lived experience experts via the Matilda Centre Youth Advisory Board (YAB). 

This project will generate foundational evidence for personalising early intervention for youth anxiety. Utilising the PADDY dataset, a harmonised data repository comprising 79 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), this project will deliver three activities including: developing a prognostic model for an early intervention outcome, examining “what works for whom” patterns for precision-guided care and the translation of these predictor and moderator findings into concise, practice-ready clinical summaries. Funding will support collaboration with machine learning, statistical, clinical, qualitative and lived experience experts.  

This project will co-develop and pilot an online short course to build skills, knowledge and capacity for living and/or lived experience engagement in mental health and substance use research. The program will identify and address collaboratively identified training priorities and provide a scalable proof of concept training program to support innovative, ethical, and meaningful lived experience research practice. 

This lived experience researcher-led project will co-produce an evidence-informed report outlining recommendations for resource development and service delivery to support adolescent girls who have experienced intimate partner or sexual violence (IPV/SV). It will combine national service mapping with trauma-informed consultation and co-design with young women who have lived experience of IPV/SV, embedding those insights into recommendations that reflect both lived experience expertise and the realities of current service provision.  

This project will inform the adaptation of the online “Inroads” anxiety-alcohol program, to address co-occurring anxiety and cannabis use among young adults. PREMISE Lived Experience funding will support the facilitation of lived experience focus groups, collaboration with a research psychologist, and the hiring of a lived experience Research Assistant to be involved in co-producing the adaptation.  

Coleen will undertake a four-week visit to the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research (PBCAR) in Hamilton, Canada, where she will explore a unique longitudinal Canadian dataset, the BETA-H dataset, as part of her PhD research. The trip will provide the opportunity to collaborate with key researchers on the BETA-H investigative team as well as present at the PBCAR on her PhD work and other Matilda Centre projects.  

Dr Prior will attend two Australian conferences, The Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy Conference and the RANZCP Section of Perinatal and Infant Psychiatry Conference to showcase the co-development of an innovative digital program addressing co-occurring mental health and alcohol use concerns among mothers during the early parenting period. The grant will also support the participation of a lived experience consumer, who will co-present alongside Dr Prior to offer a powerful personal perspective on the real world need for, and impact of, a program of this kind.

Dr Byrne will attend the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) conference in Bordeaux, France and share her research using population neuroimaging data examining whether “brain age” is a predictive risk marker for alcohol use in adolescence. The grant will support Dr Byrne to connect and collaborate with key international experts in neuroimaging to support the extension of her research and strengthen her international profile and competitive grant applications.  

Dr Devine will attend the 8th European Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Conference in Amiens, France, in September 2026 and present two first author papers, both of which investigate the impact of low-level prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on developmental outcomes in adolescence, using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. The grant will also support Dr Devine to network and collaborate with leading international researchers in prenatal alcohol exposure and FASD, helping to strengthen international partnerships for PREMISE, the Matilda Centre, and the University of Sydney.