Q&As

In this Q&A, we speak to Tobias Hauser, head of the Developmental Computational Psychiatry lab at the University of Tübingen and the Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, and awardee of this year’s FENS-EJN Young Investigator Prize. His research aims to better understand the neurocomputational mechanisms that underlie learning and decision-making and especially their role in the development of psychiatric disorders.

In this Q&A, we speak to Melissa Marselle, a member of the British Psychological Society’s Climate Environment Action Coordinating Group, which supports and advises on the implementation of effective climate change and environment work rooted in psychological evidence, and a lecturer of environmental psychology at the University of Surrey, UK. Her research examines the mental health benefits of contact with nature, with a specific focus on biodiversity.

In this Q&A, we speak to David Furman, the director of the Stanford 1000 Immunomes Project and chief of the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science of Aging at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. His research aims to better understand the aging of the immune system and improve the health and lives of many people.

Adolescence is one of the most important transition periods in life, in which self-esteem and identity are being shaped and individuals experience profound social and physical transformations. In recent years, a concerning increase in the prevalence of mental health disorders in adolescents has been documented, prompting the mental health research community to prioritize understanding the risks of developing psychiatric disorders as well as factors that might be protective. Nature Mental Health spoke about depression in adolescence with Christian Kieling, an associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the School of Medicine at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. Kieling is leading an international project called ‘Identifying depression early in adolescence (IDEA)’ that brings a global health approach to the topic.

In this Q&A, we speak to US Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), who has served as the representative for the 28th congressional district of California since 2009. In addition to being a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, she has also been a member of the Subcommittees on Health, Worker and Family Support, and Oversight that oversee legislation pertaining to health programs, healthcare reform, and research.

In this Q&A, we speak to Jack Turban, a physician–scientist and Assistant Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he directs the Gender Psychiatry Program. His research examines the mental health of transgender and gender diverse youth, with a particular focus on topics related to public policy.

Mental health is essential to a person’s wellbeing, and mental health is a crucial component of the positive functioning and flourishing of families, communities and societies. At CNS Summit 2022, held 17–20 November 2022, Murali Doraiswamy asked Joshua Gordon from the National Institute of Mental Health to explain current limitations in the field of psychiatry and future steps to overcome these impediments.

We spoke to Thema S. Bryant — the 2023 president of the American Psychological Association (APA), academic, author, podcaster and pastor — about the many roles she has and her singular vision for more inclusive psychology.