Wellcome Trust

What role will technology play in the future of mental healthcare? From app-delivered therapy and wearables to AI-enabled tools, digital interventions could help make effective support more accessible, flexible and personalised. To realise the potential of digital in mental health we need robust evidence, meaningful involvement of people with lived experience, and collaboration between researchers, health systems and companies. Our new article explores what’s needed to turn promising innovation into better mental health care: https://lnkd.in/eY9PTGyG

How should governments and leaders communicate about climate change and health? Mayor of Miami, Eileen Higgins, shares her views on how to talk about the health impacts of climate change in ways that resonate with people's every day lives. Next week, we will be at Climate Week NYC, connecting with other leaders from the US and globally to discuss how we can act to combat one of the most urgent health crises of our time.

Dr Paulina Yurman, PhD is a Wellcome Early-Career Researcher, working on a project called Maternal Machines: Design Speculations about Fantasies of Care. This weekend she will be displaying some of her research in the installation Soothing Sounds, an interactive sound exploration about the noises used to soothe babies, as part of the Victoria and Albert Museum's Digital Design Weekend.

We're launching a global search for the most promising mental health interventions. From researchers to small businesses, we're looking for solutions that can improve mental health outcomes and reach more people. Wellcome Chair The Hon. Julia Gillard AC shares why we need the Wellcome Prize for Mental Health Science with Nature. Applications close on 18 September. Nature Portfolio https://lnkd.in/deb3KMpB

This week is World Mitochondrial Disease Week. Mitochondrial disease is a rare inherited condition with no cure. Earlier this year, as part of our Health Wonders series, we told the story of mitochondrial donation – a technique 25 years in the making that can prevent the disease being passed to the next generation. Eight babies have been born through the technique so far, all developing normally. "For families like ours, where there are daughters who may pass on that disease, it's really reassuring to know that there is an option and there is choice," says Kat, whose youngest daughter Poppy lives with mitochondrial disease. Read Kat's story and watch the film: https://lnkd.in/eXUr3XBX #HealthWonders #MitoAware and #WorldMitoWeek The Lily Foundation

For many years, global health discussions have focused on why the system needs to change and the general direction of that change. There is broad agreement that reform is necessary. The harder question is what comes next. Today, I'm pleased to share a new paper in Nature Medicine, co-authored with health leaders from across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, that focuses on what practical, politically achievable reform could look like. This is not an abstract question for me. Having been involved in the creation of CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) at the time, many of the ideas behind this global partnership seemed too ambitious and difficult to some. Yet governments, philanthropies, researchers and international organisations came together to create a new institution designed around a shared global challenge. That experience convinced me that meaningful  change is possible. Global systems can change when there is a clear purpose, political will and a willingness to move beyond institutional interests. However, I also recognize that creating new institutions and mechanisms have led to a more complex and fragmented system, and that it is harder to reform the system overall than individual institutions. Our paper argues that the global health community should now focus less on producing new diagnoses on the system and more on implementation. That includes putting countries in the driving seat, simplifying a fragmented system and concentrating international cooperation where collective action and solidarity is essential. The coming year will be an important one for global health reform. The opportunity to shape change remains open, but the window is narrowing. EDIT: Read the paper here: https://lnkd.in/erhRW2MD

How can we ensure that mental health treatments are accessible to those who need them in low and middle income countries? And how can countries decide which treatments to focus on as priorities? It is great to see new research funded by Wellcome Trust addressing these questions. Published in The Lancet Psychiatry and representing a collaboration between GALENOS_Global evidence synthesis programme, MedAccess and Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. this paper: 💊 Recommends a prioritised list of antipsychotic medication for schizophrenia, contextualised to four African countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa). 🗒️Identifies key evidence gaps, for example little existing evidence based in the countries of interest 💡 Includes the perspective of individuals with lived experience of mental health problems See this link for the paper itself: https://lnkd.in/dwvzGnw3 See this link for Lancet Psychiatry's editorial on the paper: https://lnkd.in/dupJcC_e

The best mental health innovations are shaped by the people they're designed to help. That's why lived experience is at the heart of the Wellcome Prize for Mental Health Science with Nature Portfolio. Hear David Harewood's perspective on being in a room full of people working to improve mental health treatments. 🗓️ Applications close on 18 September. https://lnkd.in/deb3KMpB

🎉Please join us in welcoming a new cohort of researchers to Wellcome's Early-Career Awards programme.   These awards support researchers at a pivotal stage in their careers, helping them develop innovative ideas, build research independence and pursue ambitious projects that can deepen our understanding of health.   This cohort reflects the breadth of approaches needed to improve health. Their projects span molecular and cellular biology, infectious disease, neuroscience, mental health, clinical research, data science, ethics and the social sciences. From advancing immunotherapies and pandemic preparedness to exploring health equity, disability, belonging and maternal health, they are tackling complex challenges with creativity, rigour and a commitment to improving health for everyone.   Congratulations to Prachand Issarapu, Ali Amini, Jingjin Fan, Desire Habonimana, Daniel Reumann, Dr Daniel P. Jones, Gianmarco Caruso, Jingxian Wang, Tim Lawn, Carl Michael Graham, Ondrej Suchanek, Sarah K Walsh, Emily Glover, Jae Ryeong Sul, Harriet Nankya, PhD, Giulia Cabbai, Nicola Maciocia, Samuel Liebana, Anselmo Matusse, Pooja Swali and Charumita Vasudev.   We're excited to support their research journeys and look forward to seeing the discoveries, insights and impact that emerge from their work.